Tail lights shorted out

Asked by Jkp28 Feb 03, 2016 at 02:45 PM about the 1997 Ford F-150 XLT 4WD Extended Cab SB

Question type: Maintenance & Repair

My running lights , tail lights and dash lights
on my 1997 f150 xlt have shorted out. I have
replace mini fuse 7a and after 1 minute it
blows. This has happened several times .
can anyone help me diagnose this problem
so I don't have to pay $400 to fix a simple
short

11 Answers

Look for a short in the wire going to the tail lights. The wire under the bed that goes to the tail lights might be damaged. The dash and tail lights are on the same fuse.

Is it close to the wire plug in under the bed of the truck close to the tail lights. I'm not sure how to tell if which wire would be the shorted wire. Any suggestions on how to figure that out

Had same problem with my Cummins not to long ago look along bed rails for any flat or chafed wire that was problem in my case

34,665

To find out if it's shorted before or after the plug, disconnect the plug, if short still there, look for shorted wire before the plug. If it is gone, then the short is after the plug

Best Answer Mark helpful

Ok so I unplugged the tail lights by my spare tire and the fuse is not blowing anymore . can u tell me my next step . do I need to disassemble the tail lights ? What am I looking for?

34,665

There's other plugs further to the rear. Isolate right and left tail lights, ur narrowing it down. Disconnect all plugs and check for short by doing a resistance check or if u don't have a meter and can spare a couple more fuses, Disconnect let tail light and see if fuse still blows and do each one till u find out which side it is and keep going til find it

34,665

Remove, fuse, re-connect the plug u removed earlier and then perform the above step otherwise ur gonna waste the fuse righaway

Check your cigarette lighter & it's socket ( plug ). I had the same problem. The lighter was shorted. They are on the same fuse.

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