Keep blowing fuse. Please Help.

[sethmsk88]

Hi,
My car keeps blowing the fuse that controls the illumination of the instrument cluster. Oddly, this fuse also controls the front right parking light and the back right tail light. So everytime I replace the fuse and I turn on the lights, it will blow immediately. This is no good for when it is dark, because I can't see how fast I'm going, and also, I could get pulled over for having a tail light out. I've tried pulling the instrument cluster out and checking to see if there was a loose connection or something, but I made no progress. I have been considering buying a replacement instrument cluster, but I would be very irritated to find out once I have bought it that it is not actually the problem. :(
So any help would be greatly appreciated.

[johnf]

Check the trunk to trunk lid wiring where it bends most sharply approaching the trunk lid. The wiring inside the rubberized sheath may have split and shorted.

And stop replacing that fuse. You may replace a fuse exactly once to check if it had aged and failed. Thereafter, you find the short before some other, me$$ier thing happens. Good luck!

[E36 Phantom]

And stop replacing that fuse. You may replace a fuse exactly once to check if it has aged and failed. Thereafter, you find the short before some other, me$$ier thing happens. Good luck!

+1!!! Regardless of what is affected, where the problem may be, etc, a fuse that repeatedly blows means you have a larger problem. You may be lucky so far that the wiring has shorted out something more costly, and if you keep replacing that fuse you're allowing more and more chances to cause more damage. And if you haven't noticed yet, you will soon: BMW's are not one of the cheaper makes to replace things on!

[sethmsk88]

Ok, I will check the wiring there. Thanks for the advice. Now I can save money on fuses too. :D

[doomed]

I had the same problem not long ago, found out it was a wire going to my headlights

[sethmsk88]

Hmm, I checked the wiring to the trunk lid and it looks undamaged. I will check out the headlights, but I am not having issues with the headlights, so I don't see how that could effect it.