Where would the short be?

Okay, here's the problem. I'm a newbie XJ owner and have attempted to look at a lot of threads about this. DASH LIGHTS OUT!

Every time I hit the headlights on, I blow the #19 fuse. Now everything I've read from others say that when their lights go out, their radio is out as well. Well, my radio stays on. The only thing that goes out are the das lights. I've attempted to remove the fuse box to check behind but after unscrewing the star bolts (which don't seem to come out); I can't pull the box out to check behind it. I've disconnected the KCs as the person had the light wires running in to the fuse box; as well as the CB. So that stuff has all been disconnected. Still blowing the 19 fuse though.

As for what I have. 1995 w/ manual tranny & 4.0. Any ideas would be appreciated as most of my driving is at night (working graves). Thanks.

Well, I'm a little puzzled now. After I disconnected the lights and CB going right in to the fuse box, I ran through everything again (Turning on radio, lights, etc.) and I can't get the 19 fuse to blow. Problem now is, I still don't have dash lights Wonder if the bulbs blew.

you may need to check the back of the fuse block for loose connections and poor connections. my 89 with 5sp has similiar problems because of the clutch master leaking hydraulic fluid on the fuse block. the hydraulic fluid eats away plastic. i have alot of fuses that dont sit in the socket proporly bcause the plastic housing(fuse block) is falling apart.

I had a short in my dash lights, short was between the parking lamp circuit and the headlamp switch, in the 12V feed to the headlamp switch.

Mine would pop the parking lamp fuse and leave the dashboard light fuse alone.

89xj is correct about the master leaking down onto the fuseblock and ruining it, that's where most of my problems stem from.
Seeing as we've all got 5 spds I'd pull the fuse block and inspect the back of it, I bet you'll find some unpleasantness behind it.

yep I too am a 5speed owner...been there done that with electrical problems in the fuse box.

The reason you couldn't get the fuse box to drop down is you didn't take the bolt off the connector on the engine side of the firewall....

outlander said:

yep I too am a 5speed owner...been there done that with electrical problems in the fuse box.

The reason you couldn't get the fuse box to drop down is you didn't take the bolt off the connector on the engine side of the firewall....

Click to expand...

I'm not sure that he has the c101 connector and it's bolt, I thought that AMC did away with that before the chryco takeover.

both my 87's have it though, and it's a cause for random electrical weirdness when the bolt comes loose.

Wow, the bolt would explain a lot. Thanks. I'll have to check that out hopefully tomorrow. So do I need to take the star bolts out as well? Or is it one bolt holding the entire block?

It may be your headlight switch. The instrument light dimmer in the back of the switch can get hot enough (when it shorts) to blow the instrument light fuse and occasionally gets hot enough to blow the parking light fuse also.

The path is from the parking light fuse (#15) to the headlight switch back down to the fuse block through the instrument light fuse (#19) and back up to the instrument lights. You can often feel the heat on the metal rod behind the headlight knob or by holding your finger on the #15 fuse.

When the #19 fuse blows and the instrument light dimmer is the problem, the fuse blowing doesn't stop the short. Something you want to fix quick.

It may also be a rub in the harness where it goes up, it runs along a pinch seam.

Well, weird thing I guess. Probably the fuse block because I went out and tightened the fuse block bolts back down, put a fuse in and everything stayed good; no blown fuse. So I try the lights tonight and they work. Who knows what I did, but it's working now

The next time you have the headlights on for awhile, slip your finger behind the headlight knob and check the metal rod for heat.
If it is getting hot, the connector behind your headlight switch may be slowly cooking.

In wiring, a short can be be anywhere but you can narrow it down by looking in areas where there are wires rubbing against metal parts of the vehicle. The best way to find a short is to use a multimeter. Probe all the wires that go into your headlight switch. Check to see if any of the wires read continuity to ground (do this while power is off). consult your schematic to see which wires normally recieve power and grounds. That should narrow your search down a whole lot.