Electrical Gremlin

[five_o_stang]

Ok so I have a 91 LX 5.0....but I have a Stalker front end and foglights....the problem is the foglight wiring just behind the harness is getting so hot that its burnt through the insulation...i covered it w/ electrical tape...but that sure didn't work...The fog lights are set up to work independently from the headlamps as well. I can install an in-line fuse to eliminate the burning part (cept i need a new harness as well)....BUT WHY is it doing this....obviously something is wrong somewhere?....any thoughts?.....

(A scary lil story side note)...Yesterday my brakes started grinding...got those fixed but there was a little clicking noise that started with the grinding...well after the brakes were done I still had the little clicking noise...so I went to Jiffy Lube for oil and an chance to get up under my car....i got under it messed around a while and discovered that my drive shaft was wiggling itself loose from the rearend.....ALL of the bolts were loose and one was hangin' in by a thread....needless to say that was somewhat frightening....tightened that sucker down and now no clicking....shewww......that was a close one!

 

[bullitstang1313]

How do the lights look. Are they dimmed any? The wiring could be shorted somewhere causing excess current to flow through the wire. Also, the wiring may not be large enough guage for your lights. You need to find out want amperage your lights run on and use that to decide what wire guage to use. Since you have the lights on a separate cicuit than the headlights, i would recommend adding an in-line fuse. If you start burning fuses, then you know you have a problem with too much current in the circuit.

 

[jrichker]

There are two sizes of bulbs that will fit inside the foglight housing. One type draws 5 amps for each bulb for a total current of 10 amps. The other type draws 10 amps each bulb for a total current draw of 20 amps. Using the 10 amp bulbs in the wiring designed for the 5 amp bulbs will cause overheating. Check out the part numbers on the bulbs and cross reference them with the numbers in the bulb catalog at your local auto parts store.

 

[Black Sun 5.0]

I'm pretty sure that the foglight issue is a known issue and that there are instructions online, possibly stangnet, to rewire the foglights with a heavier gauge wire.