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keep blowing fuse

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Care, Maintenance & Troubleshooting' started by kroupas, Sep 3, 2013.

  1. kroupas

    kroupas New Member

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    i have a 2011 Prius 3 and it keeps blowing fuse 29, its the fuse
    for the dome lights and then the dome lights don't work and the
    traction control light stays on. does anyone know why this fuse
    keeps blowing?
     
  2. phoenixgreg

    phoenixgreg Senior member

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    Welcome to Priuschat :)
    Are you the original owner? Perhaps someone did a mod of some sort and tapped into that circuit incorrectly.
     
  3. Drdiesel

    Drdiesel Active Member

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    Yes! It has a short.
     
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  4. xliderider

    xliderider Senior Member

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    Sounds right to me. Any recent accidents? Changes or modifications made to the car, especially involving removing trim pieces around the floor boards or headliner? A wire may have been pinched or the insulation damaged, causing a short circuit to ground (chasis).
     
  5. rdgrimes

    rdgrimes Senior Member

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    I've see shorted light bulbs cause this, and simply replacing them solves it. I can't say if these type bulbs can do that.
     
  6. Drdiesel

    Drdiesel Active Member

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    Is the car equipped with a cigar lighter ?

    I had a case were the owners daughter was storing her pennies inside the housing and causing the fuse to blow. She would remove them before exiting the car. The father would replace the fuse,
    only to have it blow again later on. I had fun finding that one.
    She had a little trouble getting them all removed once and I managed to find and solve the riddle :eek:

    The customer was blaming me for not finding the problem and kept saying it was the
    worst shop he had ever done business with.
    He never called to apologize after I found the problem (n)
     
  7. kroupas

    kroupas New Member

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    yes i am the original owner and no nothing has been done to the car lately or ever that i can think
    of that would cause this. i do have a charger plugged into the cigarette outlet in the middle council
    for a portable dvd player, i will try unplugging that and try a new fuse again.

    well that wasn't it, i removed the charger and the fuse still blows as soon as i
    put it in.
     
  8. frodoz737

    frodoz737 Top Wrench

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    Try removing the bulb if not already done. If that's not the problem, remove the lamp assy and disconnect the plug. Not sure about the traction control light, but can look it up on the print tomorrow morning if needed. Work tonight.
     
  9. RRxing

    RRxing Senior Member

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    The traction control light had me puzzled until I checked:

    Fuse 29.PNG

    As mentioned above, I'm going with a short, which can be a b*tch to locate. Good Luck.
     
  10. phoenixgreg

    phoenixgreg Senior member

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    OP, that's allot of items to check thru. I find it odd that Toyota put the interior lights on the same circuit as the electric power steering. Is the car drivable with this blown fuse?
     
  11. xliderider

    xliderider Senior Member

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    Start with the most likely areas, places that are exposed to movement and possible pinching. That would be the wiring harness that goes into the front of the front doors for the door courtesy lights.

    You will need a multimeter and you are looking for continuity where it doesn't belong between a contact/wire and ground (chassis ground point).

    My guess is a wire is pinched against an edge of sheet metal and the wire inside is shorted to ground.

    SCH-I535
     
  12. kroupas

    kroupas New Member

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    what bulb are you talking about? and what is a lamp assy?
     
  13. jdcollins5

    jdcollins5 Senior Member

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    Start with the dome light bulb since you list this as being off. Try replacing the bulb first. If this does not work, the lamp assembly is the fixture that the bulb plugs in to. Remove this and check the wiring connection to the dome light fixture.
     
  14. frodoz737

    frodoz737 Top Wrench

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    jd is correct. If this does not do it, use the provided (private) info I gave you, disconnecting the plugs at the ECU for each affected light/system on post #9 (one at a time) will narrow it down to the affected circuit real fast with out continually replacing fuses. Then use the meter as I mentioned to isolate. ;)
     
  15. xliderider

    xliderider Senior Member

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    Why keep the info private?
     
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  16. kroupas

    kroupas New Member

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    This problem ended up being my steering sensor was shorting out causing that fuse to blow.
     
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  17. Former Member 68813

    Former Member 68813 Senior Member

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    How did you figure it out?
     
  18. WE0H

    WE0H Senior Member

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    Thanks for coming back and posting the solution ;-)

    Welcome to the Prius addiction :p

    Mike

    Mobile on my SGH-i717
     
  19. aliti19

    aliti19 Junior Member

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    I'm having the exact same issue with fuse 29. I've ruled out the cig plug, so off to the dealer it goes. I'll let you guys know what the problem is.
     
  20. aliti19

    aliti19 Junior Member

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    Ended up being some loose wires coming from the homelink rearview mirror into the dome light. Problem solved.


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