The other day i tried to use my cig lighter for the first time and didn't know it was bad and it caused a short in the system.... for whatever reason the fuse never blew. The wires got so hot that it melted off about 2" of the jacket on the positive wire right where the connector is. When i turn the key on the only thing i get is a very dim brake light that to me tells me there is a short somewhere.....

I have pulled the whole dash and removed the whole wire harness from the firewall in the cab to all the interior things.. went over it with a fine tooth comb and could not find any other broken wires or anything odd so my question is, where do i go next?

Is it possible that it could fried the PCM or CTM?

Thanks in advance....

 

Is it a dim BRAKE light or PARKING lights? I would remove the burt wire for now. Replace the fuse, not positive, but I think its a 20A and go from there. Inspect the wire all the way up to the fuse block itself.

Are there any other lights going dim or anything working oddly as well?

 

I would be pissed if this happened to me, stupid cheapo fuses. Now do you mean the only light on the cluster that appears is the brake light? I would check the battery believe it or not, a shock like that could significantly shortened its life, like ending it................
I would get an electrical diagram to see what all that loop interacts with but I'm pretty sure you're pcm and stuff should have been safe.

 

Yes the only light is the brake light, it is very dim.... if i do try to turn the key the gauges will move around slightly...

I have now pulled the whole wire harness (- the engine bay) and everything looks fine.. there are no other burnt or broken wires... that's what lead me to maybe a bad PCM... i guess i will replace the battery and see what happends, i was planning on replacing it anyways because i was have a few other issues that where leading to that...

 

Well the 40a ignition switch fuse although it looked good was bad.. Replaced and all is well in Rango Land

 

Awesome!

 

Also, since it didn't blow the fuse make sure you have the right fuse in your cigarette lights fuse location. FYI, dsolorio, it is a 15AMP fuse so make sure you got the right one!

 

I checked, its a 15A. Just off the top of my head, I thought it was a 20A. Thanks though!

 

I've had something happen to me a long time ago. Basically I was using wiring to the speakers that wasn't compliant to Automotive requirements.

 

lol...What were you using. Speakers are probly the only item in the car you can get away with using almost anything. They only have like 2 volts and super low current.