Blowing fuses on starting attempts

[bwc]

A few years ago I had to repair a bad wire on the passenger side fender area where the big electrical connection is because truck would not start and I had found a rotted wire. Good for a few years until last Fall when it stopped on the hwy and refused to start. Got it home and did some cleaning of the electrical connections on the pump and the cold start switch( behind the top rad hose in the valley). She started right up and I drove it until I parked it for winter. Went to take it out today and it refused to start. I had installed an in line 10 amp fuse to the wire I had installed a few years back and it had blown (same as last Fall). I disconnected all of the electrical connections to the pump one at a time and each time the fuse would blow by simply turning the ignition on to "on". Even after disconnecting the 4 connectors the fuse still blows. Obviously a short. I have 12 volts to the fuse holder so I
have a problem between it and the pump. I also notice that the "Wait to Start" light is not coming on. Is that because the "new wire" I installed also feeds the glow plug controller? I was thinking of running a new wire from the fuse directly to the cold start switch and bypassing the short somewhere in the wiring loom. Is this a good plan?

[bluefishbeagle]

This is a clear case of a stray electrical phenomenal called a "fruitron".

A fruiton is a queer electron that runs up and down the buss blowing fuses.

Basically you are screwed!

[Bill1013]

Go to autozone.com Upper left corner. Select REPAIR INFO -- VEH. REPAIR GUIDES -- CHASSIS ELECT. -- WIRING DIAGRAMS -- SCROLL DOWN TO SELECT YOUR TRUCK. Some where it will ask to select a vehicle. This may help , there are fuse links, they can be bought at an auto store. Some one else may have a better idea. [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/shrug.gif[/img]

I believe the fuse links are color coded for amperage. GOOD LUCK.

OLDBULL [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smokin.gif[/img] [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smokin.gif[/img] [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/rolleyes.gif[/img]

[bwc]

In 2000 I installed a System Saver to save the relay/controller etc from coming on every time the truck was started when the coolant temps were below 165*F. The System Saver would only allow the glow plugs to energize under 125*F. This worked well until I started having problems with the truck dying on the hwy and not starting. Puzzling. Yesterday I removed this system and bingo..fuse does not blow anymore and my "Wait to Start" lamp comes on. The switch was shorting out and thus causing the fuse to blow which of course caused the truck to stop (fuel shut off solenoid had no 12V power). It now starts instantly as it always did.

Brian