Burn out fuse of the backup lights and kickdown switch after ten miles of my 1995 many times. Checked back up circuit with ohm/volt meter. Where do I go from here?

 

english class?

 

x2....I'm having a hard time figuring out what he is trying to get at? If its a blown fuse just replace it?

 

I have replaced the fuse many times after checking what I can. The 95 fuse holder is #26 which works for just a short time before blowing again. It is the backup lights and the kickdown for the automatic trans and the dtl, which is doesn't have.

 

Remove the bulbs and sockets from the tail lamps and inspect them very closely .Especially where the wire enters the socket.
If the truck is wired for trailer lights , remove the trailer harness and see if it blows again. Most are not wired for backup lights , but people make mistakes.

 

I did remove the backup lights and the trailer light hook up which did let work for 40+ miles. The fuse burnt again which means it did make some difference so I will look again and try another fuse. It never burns out right away which makes it hard to trace. Thanks, will let you know.

 

Could be bad ground.
Use a multimeter and check for a good connection from the socket wall to the frame.
If not that, maybe a pinched wire but no, it doesn’t blow right away.
Are you using the backup lights differently or the trailer plug in a different way ?
the backup Lights and the trailer plug are used so infrequent it’s funny.
I am not sure if there are other components on the same circuit, if so maybe one of them are causing the problem.

 

Good idea, bad ground. Will test first then if no change will pull the lights. Thanks

 

Pulled the backup light bulbs with same results, burned out fuse. Got an idea to check the AT shift switch. Do I have to have the special tool to reinstall the shift switch on the AT? Read this in the manual.

 

Not sure, special tool $uck…
Even if the Switch was shorted, it would only turn on the lights not short them out.

What you might do it check the continuity between the power wire and the frame and see if it might be shorted.
Pull the wire off of the Trans Switch and check between each end of the wire and again from the plug to the frame.

Another thing might be to attempt to bypass the switch with a piece of wire and see if the light work with out blowing a fuse while the truck is sitting still. If they work and run for over your time limit then it might be the switch. Make the jumper with good connections and drive around with them on for a while, if they blow then you know you have an intermittent shorted wire, if they don;t blow out then I would replace the switch.

If they blow out while driving, run a new wire, first from the switch to the lights, if that doesn’t do it then from the power side to where ever that goes. (I don’t know where the power comes from, there may be a relay or maybe directly from the fuse panel I do not know, sorry).

Another thought… check the switch to see if when you put the truck in reverse the switch works, then run new wires, relay and tap the backup lights near the rear of the vehicle, cutting as much of the OEM wire out of the circuit as possible. Run a new fused power wire from the battery to a relay to the backup lights and control the relay with the OEM backup light switch.
Tape back all of the wire that you cut out or remove them.

sorry if this is confusing, just ask if you have any more questions, there will be someone on this site that will know more about the OEM Wiring than I do and maybe they will jump in.

Luck...

 

Thanks for the help. Tried most of the suggestion and had no luck. Priced the switch and it is $56.00. Have to think about it. Will let you know what I do. Trip tomorrow to test latest cleaning of the switch with WD40. It is rivited together.

 

Got it by replaceing the safety switch on the transmission. Pulled the switch apart and couldn't tell where the problem was but it was black where the contacts touched. Switch has 8 wires which do more than control start in park and neutral and the backup lights. Read that it changes engine timing when in overdrive also. Because the problem of burned fuse was intermitten hard to pin point cause but used the suggestions and decided that it had to be the safety switch. Have replaced trailer wire hookup and the circuit stays connected. Thanks to all for the help Got switch for $28 and install was very easy.

 

Thanks for posting the ultimate fix. That's how the rest of us learn.