No Signals, No lights, big problem
 

I just got a call from my good buddy Outdoorsman. He just changed the tail light bulb this afternoon. He tested it in the driveway, and it worked fine. Everything was perfect.

Now, this evening, he went to leave home and the turn signals, flashers, and break lights no longer work. It sounds like a fuse, but he's looking to know where he should check, or any suggestions to help him out. He still has someplace to be, so he'll check back later to work with you guys -- I'm just being a pal and posting the question for him now. We appreciate your help. Thanks guys!

He needs to check his blinker fluid.

Hey dude I have a problem with my truck stop being an idiot. We have a place for joking around and it isn't here.Thanks

lol. I thought it was funny. But seriously... I like this truck too.

fuses, what make and model?

Have you checked all the fuses including the fuses under the hood ?

Wow. Sorry that I may have poked fun at the wrong person.

Check your relays as well. Be careful if you do happen to replace them, though, because if you use the wrong relay you can blow fuses.

I checked the fuses under the hood. I'll have to poke around and find out where the other fuses are. I'm terrible at electrical stuff. Are the relays the big square box type of things near the fuses under the hood? Do do I know if it went bad or something?

Jimmeh, I went a little overboard. I just got home and I saw 1 response and it was a smart ass comment so I was already a little pissed and that didn't help. Sorry for immature name calling, it was uncalled for. I'm actually laughing at the blinker fluid hting now, but at the time I wasn't, lol.

The other fuses are in the passanger side kick panel, I"m pretty sure thats where it will be. You need to find the problem that caused the fuse to pop too.

you should actually be able to see if the fuse is blown by looking at it - I believe.

Also, doesn't the owner's manual tell you where the fuses are? I would have mentioned this earlier to ya, but I just started thinking about it.

Yeah it does lol, at least my 04 does, your 05 should too. If it wasn't raining outside I would go grab mine for ya.

I'll check it out in the morning. The only thing I did was change the tail light, light bulb. Maybe the guys at Checker sold me the wrong wattage or something? The models matched up that was stamped on the plastic part near the base of the light. I'll keep you guys updated. Thanks and keep the ideas coming.

yeah...stuff can happen. If it's just a fuse, they shouldn't be too expensive. Buy two. If you replace the blown fuse and it blows again you know there's a problem (and you still have one more new fuse). At that point, you'll remove the new light bulb and start wondering what's up with it. If it works, you don't worry about it, and you have an extra fuse for when your best buddy blows his:smirk:

Yes, the relays are the big black boxes under the hood. I believe with those you need to use an electrical tester as they aren't like fuses that you can just look at.

And if I am not mistaken, you should have gotten an extra fuse WITH the truck in the glove box. It should be either a 15 or a 20, which will work fine. If not, you can get them at your local auto parts store in I believe a 5 pack for about $5.

I found out that I blew a fuse. I replaced it and everything worked fine. Then I started up the truck and it blew. I'll be stopping by my mechanic tomorrow to see wat stupid thing is blowing fuses. I know it's something dumb but I don't like electrical and I don't have the time or knowledge to fix it on my own.

that's a problem...I'm not sure how starting it would cause this problem. It could be a number of things.

unrelated: you have to update your siggy. The Firestik is no longer with us...

Did you try taking the bulb out and then seeing if that stopped the fuse from blowing? You don't have to be a electrical whiz to do a couple small trouble-shooting stuff like that.

I can do that and I thought about it but even if it fixed the problem I still have a tail light out. I just don't feel like tinkering with this thing.

Lol but then you could find out if it was a bad bulb or not. I understand ya though, I get too frustrated sometimes and just don't want to deal with it anymore. Hence the reason I still don't have a bumper.

I have everything working! I just re-did everything. I repalced the 15a fuse for the 3rd time. I took the bulb out. I tested the flashers and turn signals it worked as it did before with the left blinker blinking very fast. I then put in the other bulb that came in the 2 pack of bulbs I bought. I tested it and everything worked fine. I turned on the truck and it continued to work! I then tested my break lights and they still were not working. I began checking all fuses that had anything to do with breaks. I found another blown fuse! It was a 10a fuse that said something in the manual that it was for abs break module. I ran to the store and picked up some 10a mini fuses. Now everything works. I drove a few miles and everything continues to work. I don't understand how a blown bulb caused 2 fuses to blow taking out the break lights, signals, and hazards. I didn't do anything different except use the other bulb that came in the package of the two I bought and that maybe fixed it. I went through a few fuses with the same result. I know how to change a light bulb so I still don't understand. Thanks for all the ideas guys. I was ready to drop this thing off at the shop. Still it makes no sense how this all came about. I've been so busy with school I haven't been able to get out and 4 wheel for a month! It's terrible!

Well at least you got it working again!

EDIT: It was actually a 20amp fuse and not a 10amp. I confused myself.