stop light fuse box problem.

[nismospek]

Well I finally got my car on the road and got it inspected yesterday. I my way back i stopped by whataburger and smoke started coming from my fuse box.

I found out that the right prong on the stop light had started to melt.

Today i went and removed a old stereo that didn't work and the associated wires. I also removed a hitch wireing harness that had been attached to the rear brake lights. I made sure that what ever was grounded stayed that way.

Went through the fuse box to make sure the right fuses where in the right place.

Once i add a fuse it still continues to heat when ever i press the brake pedal.

It heats up pretty fast too about 5-10 seconds.

[e_racer1999]

i had a similar problem; these fuse boxes are common areas of anguish

anyway, it turned out that the heat was caused by resistance in the connector. i flipped over the fuse box, cleaned all of the connectors, and soldered the junction point of the fuse connector (if that makes any sense to you)

[nismospek]

Mine actually heated up it melted the plastic. I will try to clean out the back to see if maybe that helps. Any other ideas of what it might be?

[beandip]

Contact zsonthebrain he builds a wiring up grade that takes the amp load away from the fuse block and puts it in a relay . It will save the combo switch as well as cause the dash lights and tail lights to be brighter. It is a simple plug in connect it up modification. The combo switch has become a vary expensive item now because of the short comings of the OEM wiring that is now 35 yrs old. It is important to check and clean all the contacts for the tail lights and marker lights as well. Corrosion causes high resistance which in turn heat. Dave also builds the headlight wiring upgrade as well as the part used to switch from a external regulated alternator to a later model internal regulated one . Do a search and you will find a ton of info. on this . Gary

[e_racer1999]

^agreed. make an investment in dave's headlight relay upgrade. but i'm willing to bet on the fact that there is some corrosion behind the fuse panel, even if it's not visible. seriously, solder that little round part to the larger part. if i had pics i would show you.

[nismospek]

tried the soldering thing, i suck at soldering but was able to solder the small round part to the larger square part, still heats up really fast. I removed my fuse box to take pictures. Ill try uploading them today.

The other problem is I made the wife a promise i wouldn't spend any more money on this car for the rest of the year. It is really disappointing that after spending so much to get all the mechanical things in order the wireing goes bad.

[e_racer1999]

ya, electrical is my kryptonite.

bummer; can't think of anything simple that it could be :/

[nismospek]

Just remembered i have a friend with a junk 260z that should still have a fuse box. Can i replace that one for my 240z fuse box?

[e_racer1999]

i believe that they are different.... what year is your car?

[Arne]

I'm not convinced that the fusebox itself is the root cause, considering how suddenly the problem cropped up. I suspect a short somewhere between the brake light switch and the brake lights. It can be a pain to track these down, as the brake light circuit is routed through both the hazard and turn signal switches on it's way to the rear.

[nismospek]

i touched the round cylinder relay thats by the brakes and that gets pretty warm too. Is it possible that it went wrong? I have a 72 240z. the donor car is a 74 260z.

[e_racer1999]

good call arne! i would bust out a good ol' ohm meter and see what the brake switch is doing..