so i should put a 20 amp fuse in between the battery and strobe box? I'm still confused on how to do the indicator and not fry my battery?

 

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Either of AbeCedarian's will work (one is switched hot, the other is switched ground, the choice is mostly dependent on which wires are closest to your switch location). There should be a fuse between the battery and anything else; you don't know where the short may occur, and you want the fuse to protect as much as you can. (Which is why the fuse box is so close to the battery on your truck.)

But your problem is that you have shorted something in your wiring. You need to find that short. I would start by using an ohmmeter on each component (disconnected from the battery). You'll need one with a good low scale, as the strobe is probably near to 2 ohms, and you need to be able to distinguish that from zero ohms. By all means test the indicator itself; it should be in the hundreds of ohms. Then start putting the parts back together. If you suddenly measure zero ohms for the system, you've got a short.

There was a mention of an intermittent indicator. Intermittent means there is a mechanical break, which is doing something with vibration. If the indicator assembly had something break inside, shaking it could cause it to short.

And yes, putting any short between your battery and ground (for more than a second ) can fry the battery, the wiring, your hands, your house ....

Be careful, and good luck.