dashboard light fuse blowing

Hi, my disco 2 53 plate has started blowing dash lights (Fuse 2). Put in new one and central locking went weird, locking car with remote or key made 'doors open' bleep of horn. After using car doors ok but dash fuse blew again. Book says fuse 2 is instrument pack & switch illumination only so cannot see a connection. Any ideas why fuse might be blowing and would doors/alarm be connected in some way. Thanks

which book are you talking about, and F2 from where, engine bay or interior fusebox? cos F2 has nothing to do with what you say no mather from which fusebox...it's for the fuel flap release switch(interior fusebox) and MAF+EGR+Wastegate modulator(engine bay), if really F2 in the interior fusebox blows, see if the fuel flap is working or not, and check the wiring to the switch, maybe it's a shortcut to earth somewhere....which would explain the central door locking missbehaviour too cos the alarm/central locking is connected to the fuel flap solenoid circuit

Apologies. It is the handbook and it's fuse box under steering wheel, fuse 3 (instrument pack and switch illumination), sorry for confusion.

the confusion remains, cos you didnt say from which fusebox and F3 is not for what you say again... see the attachments in my previous post, are you sure you are looking to the correct handbook... i want to help you but i can't in these conditions

Just looked in RAVE for the 2003 Disco 2.
It does list Fuse 3 (10 Amp) on the internal fuse board (under the steering wheel) as "instrument pack and switch illumination" in the owner's handbook section.

Hope this clears up some of the confusion.

There seems to be some confusion here between the Owner's Handbook and the Fuse details in the Workshop manual section of RAVE.
It might help if the OP could describe which fuse has blown by saying:

1. Which fuse board (engine bay or passenger compartment)
2. Which side of the board (relay side or plug side)
3. Which fuse counting up or down from an identifiable point (say the puller tweezers)
4. The size of the fuse.

That might help to locate the circuit at fault.

Handbook that comes with car says passenger compartment fuse 3 10 amp for instrument cluster and switch illumination. Haynes manual (don't have RAVE) adds LH headlights main beam to list. Under steering wheel looking at fuse box it's the row of fuses next to relays and third down from top as below
Fuse 1 25a central door locking
Fuse 2 10a fuel flap release
Fuse 3 10a instrument cluster, switch illumination, LH headlights main beam

Have attached photo and have removed fuse that keeps blowing. Pic needs turning anticlockwise to view proper way up,but don't know how to do it!

Right, working from RAVE and the electrical diagrams in it, that fuse, identified as F3 feeds the left hand (nearside) headlight main beam.

Just a simple circuit involving just one wire, blue/grey between the fuse and the bulb filament.

Things to check:

1. Blown bulb causing a short circuit
2. Damage or water ingress to the LH main beam bulbholder
3. Trapped or damaged wiring to the LH headlight unit
4. Damage or water ingress to the fuseboard.
5. If you have additional driving lights fitted it could be down to damaged or incorrect wiring on those.

No need for fancy test kit yet, visual inspection and substitution is all that's required at the moment.

i inspected the diagrams too...before i said that F3 is not for dash lights ...i agree with the 5 point diagnostic list...the most obvious seems something within the lamp/holder... unplug the LH headlamp then put the fuse to see if it blows or not

Have you had the unit out at all ?

Maybe some arcing on the back of the PCB at the back of the dash or the fuse unit itself ...

the Ford Focus 1 had similar problems a few years a go ...

just a thought ...

discoveryphil said:

Hi, my disco 2 53 plate has started blowing dash lights (Fuse 2). Put in new one and central locking went weird, locking car with remote or key made 'doors open' bleep of horn. After using car doors ok but dash fuse blew again. Book says fuse 2 is instrument pack & switch illumination only so cannot see a connection. Any ideas why fuse might be blowing and would doors/alarm be connected in some way. Thanks

Click to expand...

Hi Phil is Fuse 2 under the bonnet or under the steering wheel ? Thanks Clayton

Wow after weeks of searching I came across this , having the same issue with my 2003 D2 , what I found was I replaced the bulb the first time and after an hour of using it blew so be checking the 5 points you guys have mentioned