Dash lights went out
 

the other day i was driving around and got out of my truck(94 extra cab) and lights were on but the door jam sensor didnt go off so i didnt notice they were on for a little bit. so i relized my tach or dash lights are off and i cant seem to find the problem. so it blew the fuse so i changed it and turned the lights on and the dash lights turned on also like they should then i closed the door and soon as it hit the sensor it blew the fuse and now everytime i change the fuse soon as i turn the lights on it blows the fuse. i had a extra dimmer switch so i changed it but that didnt fix it. then i thought it was the sensor in the door jam so i looked at the wire that went to it and it didnt look the best so i fixed it then tried it again then blew another fuse.
Now i dont know what to check anybody got any ideas?

You didnt say which fuse it was. If it is ENG fuse and I am going by that since your tach isnt working and I think the tach is on that circuit, Check your reverse light wire on tranny.

Link to ENG fuse problem.. https://www.yotatech.com/forums/f199...9/index14.html

Thanks for the quick reply and its on the inside fuse panel. its the 15 amp tail. also my tail lights work fine and so do my reverse lights.

What I had to do on my Eng fuse was go thru each wire at a time. It is a pain, but find out which circuits are on the Tai fusel and follow each wire out one at a time, looking for a bare wire is about the best I could suggest. I am betting one has some insulation rubbed off and getting to a body or frame and shorting out.

Electrical isnt my strongest, so maybe someone can suggest something better, but that is how I did it.

alright thanks i guess i will just start searching hopefully i find it and its not to difficult to handle

Best of luck.

well i found the problem. i was looking at the wires that went to the dimmer and the door sensor and couldnt find anything wrong. then i took the main plug out that goes into the fuse panel in the cab and looked at the wires there was 3 spots where bare wire was showing so i fixed that. the main was this white wire which was the biggest one probably like 10gauge and it was rubbing on the hood release cable so after fixing all that i put a new fuse in and fixed it so they work again

well back on this subject. i thought i fixed it but the next day after i thought i fixed that wiring it blew another fuse. also after getting pulled over i found out my tail lights are out also. im gonna fix that wire beter tomorrow but if that doesnt fix it i was wondering if anybody else has any more ideas that might work?

I feel your pain. Same thing happened to me in the '00 a couple of months ago. I was driving on a highway and a sign said "Bump." Went over it and the dash lights went out, which means the taillights were out too. The fuse was in the engine area and says "taillights." The fuses blew as soon as I replaced them. I did a bunch of searches and it's most likely the aftermarket (professionally installed) tow harness. When I got into it it had been installed with those cheesy wire clamps. The rubber grommets had not been replaced so there was water in the taillight and the converter box had gotten wet. I ripped out all the tow wire and repaired my harness.

Next fuse blew too. Took a day off and only drove in daylight. :ignore:

I had installed a new stereo a month before all this. It was still working fine. I pulled the dash area apart just to check for bare wires etc. A comment I found somewhere in Google-land was to make sure you ground the stereo independant of the Toyota harness. I took the grounds off the harness and soldered them to a brass eyelet piece and ground down to bare metal on the metal stereo surround. Drilled a hole, screwed the ground wires down, reattached battery, new fuse and...it did not blow. So if you have an after market stereo, even if it was installed before you got the vehicle, check those grounds. Another problem people have had is the grounds with aftermarket lights. At any rate what I took away from the experience is that it's a bad ground somewhere. BTW you should disconnect the negative battery cable while you do any work to avoid power surges.

Alright thanks for the ideas. I'll take a look at my tow harness. and my ground to my stereo. that sucks cause this happened awhile ago with my old aftermarket stereo and just last week i put a new stereo in and it would of been real easy to fix the ground then. the dash lights were out with the old stereo as well though. but i will try that and ground the stereo to something and not just the old stereo harness. thanks again for the help.