Need help, gauges messed up

[24 Karat Brown]

94 Chevy C1500, 350, NV3500
I was driving at night, and my gauges and a/c controls went black. They all still worked, but the backlights went out. I checked the panel lamps fuse and sure enough it blew. I put a new fuse in, flicked the lights, and it popped immediately. I blew 3 fuses like this. All 5 amp fuses like it should have. Is my wiring messed up somewhere?

 

[RawbDidIt]

94 Chevy C1500, 350, NV3500
I was driving at night, and my gauges and a/c controls went black. They all still worked, but the backlights went out. I checked the panel lamps fuse and sure enough it blew. I put a new fuse in, flicked the lights, and it popped immediately. I blew 3 fuses like this. All 5 amp fuses like it should have. Is my wiring messed up somewhere?

Mines a 97, but I had this problem a while back. Mine turned out to be an improperly insulated harness on an aftermarket head unit. If you have one installed, I'd try there first, otherwise you'll need to pull the dash and check all of the components on that circuit. If you have power locks or windows that illuminate with the lights, you'll want to check there as well. Pull components and check for connectivity to ground. Start at the furthest end of the circuit and work backwards. Check for a circuit diagram for your truck, but it should go from the fuse box to the light switch, to the convenience center. From there I believe it goes to the doors (if equipped) and to the dash, then to the head unit and HVAC controls, and somewhere in there it'll go to your secondary audio unit as well (if equipped). You can use a test light, but I prefer to use a multimeter and test for resistance between light circuit and ground. Anything other than infinite resistance indicates a problem further up the circuit than you currently are testing.

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[24 Karat Brown]

Mines a 97, but I had this problem a while back. Mine turned out to be an improperly insulated harness on an aftermarket head unit. If you have one installed, I'd try there first, otherwise you'll need to pull the dash and check all of the components on that circuit. If you have power locks or windows that illuminate with the lights, you'll want to check there as well. Pull components and check for connectivity to ground. Start at the furthest end of the circuit and work backwards. Check for a circuit diagram for your truck, but it should go from the fuse box to the light switch, to the convenience center. From there I believe it goes to the doors (if equipped) and to the dash, then to the head unit and HVAC controls, and somewhere in there it'll go to your secondary audio unit as well (if equipped). You can use a test light, but I prefer to use a multimeter and test for resistance between light circuit and ground. Anything other than infinite resistance indicates a problem further up the circuit than you currently are testing.

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I do have an aftermarket head unit, but it isn’t wired into the lights. My whole in dash harness is sketchy because of it though. That and some trailer brake(?) controller

 

[RawbDidIt]

I do have an aftermarket head unit, but it isn’t wired into the lights. My whole in dash harness is sketchy because of it though. That and some trailer brake(?) controller

The lights may not affect how your head unit appears, but every harness that I know of has an illumination wire as well. If it's sketchy, that's the first place I'd start. If it were me, I'd replace or repair it anyway. Electrical problems tend to show up at the worst times, and are hard to diagnose, make future you happier and get it done correctly now while you already have to pull the dash.

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[24 Karat Brown]

The lights may not affect how your head unit appears, but every harness that I know of has an illumination wire as well. If it's sketchy, that's the first place I'd start. If it were me, I'd replace or repair it anyway. Electrical problems tend to show up at the worst times, and are hard to diagnose, make future you happier and get it done correctly now while you already have to pull the dash.

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I think I’ll just have someone that knows what they’re doing look over the wiring in the dash, I don’t like how any of it looks