Technical when i turn engine off dashboard fuse blows fiat 500

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Technical when i turn engine off dashboard fuse blows fiat 500

olirip

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hello new to this ,when i turn the engine off on my 1.2 fiat 500 pop 08 plate, the dashboard fuse blows, which powers the main display including rev and speed counter so have no idea what speed im doing ,ive found out its the internal 5amp fuse accesible through the glove compartment, it never blows whilst driving only when i turn off engine.

can anyone help many thanks ollie
 
found out the problem is the rear brake lights(I think) as it uses the same fuse as the dashboard lights, when i start the car up with a new fuse in, the dash works, as soon as i put foot on brake pedal brake lights go, but dashlights stay on and work until i turn the engine off, (i have to put new fuse in next time i want to start it up again,(i found that i can take the fuse out with engine running to save it ) and just drive without brake lights until i get it seen to on Monday morning
i cant seem to find anything wrong with the brake lights themselves all bulbs intact etc
 
Agree but also check the fuse size. May be too small. However obviously don't put a larger one in until you know for certain.
 
ive just checked my rear brake light bulbs and they are a single filament but i removed them on both sides but fuse keeps blowing , off to get some new twin filament bulbs anyway, to see if it works with them installed
 
just fitted new twin filament brake bulbs in car and that seems to have worked but now the 3rd brake light is not working , could this have been the problem ?
 
I have nothing to add other than to say that is a properly weird situation to encounter.
 
my 500 is in the garage today and they've found that its one of the wires thats connected between the boot lid and the car body, which will cost 2.5 hours work to fix roughly looking at about £200 (if im lucky) so replacing bulbs was coincidence.
also drives side door handle came off yesterday woohoo.
contacted fiat customer services to help foot the bill waiting now 2 days or so for an answer.
 
my 500 is in the garage today and they've found that its one of the wires thats connected between the boot lid and the car body, which will cost 2.5 hours work to fix roughly looking at about £200 (if im lucky) so replacing bulbs was coincidence.
also drives side door handle came off yesterday woohoo.
contacted fiat customer services to help foot the bill waiting now 2 days or so for an answer.
Sadly they were two issues which occur more commonly than they should :(
 
My car is going in for its 2 year service this Thursday - I can't check the state of the door handles very easily but I guess I can check the condition of the wiring as it passes into the boot.

What would I need to do to see if my wiring is worn?
 
My car is going in for its 2 year service this Thursday - I can't check the state of the door handles very easily but I guess I can check the condition of the wiring as it passes into the boot.

What would I need to do to see if my wiring is worn?

i think you would have to put it through a diagnostics machine , or pull back rubber protector and see if wires are worn .
 
I was thinking of how to see physically. Presumably it is visible - I think that others who have reported your problem over the last few months have been able to see the evidence without serious dismantling.

I am not the most mechanically minded, but probably not the least either, and would like to have a good check of this now as the car approaches its second birthday (and the end of the marginally-less-crap warranty period) and is going in to the dealer. The car has been used for the school run twice a day every day which involves bags going in and out of the boot at least 4 times a day, so the chances of this having started to happen seem reasonably high to me.

So how do I "pull back the rubber protector and check"? (All links to the Durex website will be ignored.) Maybe it will be obvious when I look later.
 
open the boot
top left side you will see ribbed rubber tubing if you can pull down the rubber on one side closest to top you may be able to see the wires.

also if you get in the back of the car and put the seats down the white casing that the rear seatbelt comes through, can be unscrewed at the bottom and just underneath the parcel shelf is another screw undo that, and you can pull gently on the white casing revealing all the wires going to the rubber bit between the boot and car .
 
I was thinking of how to see physically. Presumably it is visible - I think that others who have reported your problem over the last few months have been able to see the evidence without serious dismantling.

Robin, if you're not used to replacing grommets, I'd confine yourself to checking the exterior of the visible rubber. They can be a bit fiddly to put back & if they're not replaced perfectly, you'll be joining the "I've got a puddle in the rear of the car & I don't know where it's coming from" thread. Also, the wiring inside the grommet is double wrapped in cloth & looking at it won't tell you much. I'd expect the outside of the grommet will be the first thing to fail.

Check behind the visible rubber boot (the surface that's against the bodywork when the tailgate is shut) for signs of wear. You might find some of the paint has rubbed off, and there could be a corresponding area of eroded paint on the rear hatch frame.

I've posted some pictures to show what you're looking for, and also one where I've removed the grommet that fits into the bodyshell to show the cloth-wrapped wiring inside it. Click to enlarge - I've left them in full resolution so you can see the detail.

This is a monumental piece of crap design & I'd say the only real question is when it's going to fail. Now that I've checked mine, I'm going to have to think up a fix & also touch up the eroded paintwork - it's actually rubbed right through the primer to the bare metal :mad:.

I wouldn't be surprised to find the grommet is part of the loom & replacing it properly looks like it would be a nightmare. The big problem with any workaround will be finding a way of preventing water from leaking into the loom, the tailgate & the rear of the bodyshell :mad::mad:. Also, once the rubber boot does split, water will once again compound the problem & it won't be long before electrical troubles begin in earnest:mad::mad::mad::bang::bang:.
 

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John - many thanks. You have just persuaded me to inspect using only my eyes, not my hands.

You may need to lift back the rubber gaiter so that you can inspect the underside (which is where it's most likely to have split). It's actually easier to photograph than to look at it directly. Just don't pull it out of the bodywork.
 
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