mavidatt

i turn on my turn signal to the right and my tail light fuse blows. My car is a 1989 corvette 6 speed manual with zz4 crate motor and has been converted over to carburetor. Any advice or ideas would be appreciated before i tear into it.

mavidatt

also if my headlights/tail lights are not turned on when i use the signal then the tail fuse does not blow, only when the tail headlights are switched on.

I also stuck foil in the tail fuse to see if i seen any smoke coming from the back lights when i turned on the turn signal, i had the lenses removed to where i could see the wires and the bulbs at the tail and didnt see anything. However when i turned my right signal on my running tail lights on the driver side of the car would get really dim like they were about to go out but as soon as i turned off the turn signal switch would go back to normal brightness again.

Oh yeah when i turn on my turn signal also the dash starts to flicker and get dim with each pulse of the turn signal, just something i noticed as well.

Hooked on Vettes

Examine the wiring and the bulb socket going to the front right side Cornering lamp.

The Cornering lamp is the clear lens and shares the same housing as the amber side marker lamp.

If the wiring looks good. remove the bulb from the socket. Turn
the ignition and headlights on and then the right side turn signal on.
See if the fuse still blows.

jmartynuska

My '89 was blowing tail light fuses as soon as I'd turn the lights on.

I followed all the lighting wiring harnesses looking for shorts. Ended up having to remove the tail light panel. Found that the lighting wiring harness had vibrated against a seam on the gas tank long enough to wear a one inch long piece of insulation away on a tail light wire which would contact the gas tank and short out, blowing the fuse.

Shrink tubing, electrical tape, and securing the harness to the frame more securely with zip ties cured the problem. No money involved since I had all the materials, but it was one long summer day removing and re-installing body panels.

Just one thought for you....

mavidatt

i removed the front passenger right signal bulb and turned the right signal on, with the foil in the fuse. and it still made the rear tail lights go dim like they were going to go out, and the left signal doesnt do this. However i did notice that no matter which way i turn the signal right or left it makes the dash get dim every time the signal lights blink.

Hooked on Vettes

The bulb was a 1156?


That's normal.

If you want to eliminate the Cornering Lamp wiring you need to locate
connector C104 which is a 11 pin connector and a 3 pin
connector. Both of these connectors plug into the harness coming
down the steering column from the turn signal switch.

The wire colors for the 3 pin connector are a Black wire, Orange wire
and a Brown wire.

The 3 pin connector is for the Left and Right Cornering lamp circuit.

The connector is located in the middle right side of the steering
column and below the harness that goes to the ignition switch.

Unplug the 3 pin connector and see if the fuse still blows.

If the fuse doesn't blow the problem is in the cornering lamp wiring
for the right side.

If the fuse blows the problem is in the turn signal switch or the
wiring from the turn signal switch to the 3 pin C104 connector
that you unplugged.

aminnich

If one of the filaments in the bulb breaks and contacts the other filament you will get exactly what you are describing.

Chuck Tribolet

Foil around the fuse is a real bad idea. If there's a dead short, you
could fry the wiring harness. A wiring harness with an unfused dead
short will destroy itself in about one second. I've seen it happen
(body shop did something stupid to get things going after an
accident. Fortunately, it was a single wire.


Chuck

mavidatt

yeah i know, but ive had this problem forever and am trying my best with what i got to get to the bottom of it

Cliff Harris

Exactly what I was thinking as I read through the thread. This can also cause non-blinking turn signals and turn signals that blink really fast.

mavidatt

hey guys thanks for all the help. I replaced both of the bulbs on the right side and it seems to have fixed the problem, so far so good. Thanks for all the help greatly appreciated.

aminnich