DRIVERS ASK, TOM ANSWERS: ELECTRICAL

PROBLEMS SOLVED

Tom,

Q My 1992 Buick Park Avenue keeps blowing the instrument panel fuse

whenever the doors lock. Sometimes the park light fuse will blow also.
Please help me. My husband needs to know how to fix this problem.

Thank   you very    much.

Karen—Kansas

Karen,

A Tracing shorts can be an exercise in frustration for someone who has

little inkling as to how electrical circuits operate. Basically, a fuse blows
because of too much electrical current flowing through the circuit it protects.

The best method of finding the short is to eliminate the components in
the circuit one at a time until the fuse no longer blows. Your husband will
need a good wiring diagram and a component locator to find those parts.

I often recommend taking a problem of this nature to a professional
repairman, as electrical problems can be very complicated for novices to
identify and repair. However, if your husband must proceed, he needs to get
his hands on a good wiring diagram and the proper test equipment, i.e.,
digital volt ohmmeter and a logic probe to trace circuits. Tell him to be
careful where he probes wires, as he could damage fragile electrical
components that operate on millivolts and meg-ohms when (and if) they take
a direct 12-volt and high amperage hit.