Okay so I installed a set of blue underbody neon lights on my '92 RS a few weeks back and up until now I’ve had no problems. However for a power supply I just spliced into my sterio power supply. What I overlooked is that my sterio is only powered by a 10A fuse and I need a 20A fuse for the neons. Why the fuse didn’t blow sooner I don’t know but what I want to know is would it be safe to replace the 10A fuse with a 20A or would I risk doing harm to my sterio or even causing an electical fire? The other thing I would like to know is because I have an RS I have fuses that are not used such as rear power windows that have 20A fuse which do not serve a purpose right now so I would like to know how to wire into my fuse panel? Thanks for any help in advance it will be much apreciated!
The first thing you do is disconnect the lights power supply from the OEM radio harness wiring, [it is there to run a radio/HU, nothing else] if you look on your under dash fuse box you will see, [just above the top row of fuses] 5 “free pins”, [3 in a row and 2 others above them]. There you will find a constant power, [12V+ at all times] an acc. power, [power when ign. is on and run] also a 2nd ign., [power when ign. is in run] there is also a park light, [power when light switch is on, park and head light] you can use any one of them, even 2 of them, lights power supply/ballast wired to the 12V+ constant, and the off/on switch wired to park light or acc., that way you can never forget them on.
One more thing NEVER replace a blown fuse with one of higher amperage, the fuses are there to protect the wiring and circuits in the car, if you overload the wiring by trying to draw more current through the wire then it was meant for, [and fused at] you will blow the fuse, if you then install a bigger fuse the wiring can get a lot hotter before the fuse blows, if the fuse is so big that the wires get hot enough to melt the insulation around it and the insulation around wiring around the wire, well thats when the do do hits the fan, and it’s no longer just replacing a fuse, [OEM size] but replacing harnessing or fixing it. :whisper: 94
Okay thanks for all the help. I already understood the point of a fuse and all that I just didn’t know if going from a 10A-20A fuse would really be a big problem. I originally tried connecting the wires to the fuse panel but couldn’t really figure out where to connect them so I just spliced the power from the sterio as a temperary setup and then procrastinated finding out how to do it right.
Okay I disconnected the switch for my neon lights from the sterio and plugged it into the connector on the right side of the row with three connectors. I turned them on and something else blew. Is there another fuse somewhere for that connector that I can’t find or if maybe there is no fuse in that circuit at all now and I blew the switch that I originally mentioned requires a 20A fuse… I could really use some help on this one now. If you want to know how the circuit is set up I’ll explain it.
From the fuse panel I have a power wire running to a switch with an LED. The switch is grounded and sends power to a transformer. (the connection has a 5A fuse between them which blew before along with the 10A one that my sterio was connected to but I replaced it with a little 4A fuse because that’s all I had and it hasn’t blown) The transformer then has it’s own ground and has a circuit that connects four neon tubes around the car and back to the transformer. I don’t have any connection problems with the neon tubes and transformer and the LED on the switch will still light up if I disconnect the tubes so I know the problem is with the switch. I checked the ground with the switch and there doesn’t seem to be a problem there.
Oh and everything else still seems to be working. Any idea’s?
Okay I change the connection to the one on the left (constant) and I blew the 4A fuse which I kind of expected because it asks for a 5A but the switch did work. I still want to know what happened with the connection on the right because I don’t really want my lights on the constant. Although I’ll have to pick up some 5A fuses and see if they work. I just hope I don’t blow those too.
This whole situation is starting to frusterate me because they worked fine even off the 10A fuse that my sterio was connected to for at least 2 weeks and I drove with them at least every other night. :argh:
It’s beginning to sound to me like you have a problem with the ballast, as switch seemed to be OK when ballast was disconnected, is there a possibility that the switch is mis-wires, most illuminated switches, switch power, [as it sounds like yours does] the ground is for the bulb/LED in the switch, when you turn on the switch it supplies 12V+ to the bulb/LED and the output of the switch, and it is the first thing I would check for, [does the switches output wire have 12V+ on it when the switch is on and nothing when the switch is off], the output wire is the one the goes from the switch to the ballast, [disconnect it and test it] if there is 12V+ on it when switch is on and nothing when switch is off and the bulb/LED turns on and off, there is nothing wrong with the switch and the problem is the ballast or a short in the wiring to the neon(s) have you tried connecting the wire to the ballast directly to power, [do not do so without a fuse in the line]. :hmm: 94
Well I will test it when I get a chance. Unfortunately today on my way to work at 4:30am a racoon ran out infront of my car and completely shattered the front tube. It even ripped one of the bolts right out of the car so I have to get that replaced before I can get them up and running.
Well shit, when it rains, it pours :bang:94