Ok so I just got a 1997 ford ranger xlt 2.3 manual. I found out the reverse lights aren’t working so I chose check fuse 26 and it was blown. I replaced with a 10amp and tried again and blew instantly, tried again with a 20 and it blew as well. Any suggestions on that? And dome light, wasn’t on so I checked fuse 27 for that and it was missing (sorry if I mixed 26/27) so I replaced and they came on, but will not go off at all, any suggestions?

 

In 1997 the Dome light has 2 controls, both powered by fuse #27, 10amp

1st is the main light switch Dimmer wheel, make sure it is not turned all the way "up", which turns on Dome light, you should "feel" a difference in the wheel like a detente when turning it up, if not then dimming unit could be bad


2nd is the GEM Module and interior light relay, the GEM is the Body Computer for Rangers from 1995 to 2003, it is behind the Radio in the dash
GEM is connected to the Door switches and the interior light relay
When a door is CLOSED the door switch is OPEN, not grounded
When door is OPEN switch is CLOSED, grounded

When GEM sees a GROUND from a door switch it will activate the interior light relay AND the "DOOR AJAR" light on the dash

The door switch is at the bottom of the latch inside the door, known issue for these to get dirty and stuck in the CLOSED position, common TEMP fix is to spray WD40 in to the latch, it will run down and into the switch and hopefully free it up

The interior light relay could be broken, stuck in closed position, it is located in Relay Box 1 just above gas pedal area under the dash, it has a cover on it and there are several relays inside


For the Reverse lights, get under the truck and on drivers side toward the top rear of transmission, is the Reverse light switch, 2 wires, unplug it and see if fuse still blows, key on
If it does then the wire from the Fuse to the switch on transmission is shorted to Ground, Ford used a Purple wire

If it doesn't blow then test switch with OHM Meter see if either connector is shorted to Ground, i.e. bad switch
If switch tests OK then the short will be in the wire going to the back of the truck, Ford used Black/Pink striped wire, this can be found drivers side rear where all the tail light wires are located, people often add trailer wiring and can cause shorts
They think "black/pink" wire is a Ground