Turn Signal Fuses blowing on '99 Suburban

This morning everything worked on a 1999 Suburban 4x4. One hour later, my blinkers (turn signals) were not working. Flashers were.

I checked the fuse (fuse 16) for the turning signals - blown. I bought some fuses - replaced turn signal fuse. It blew immediately and then the hazards no longer worked. I replaced that fuse and the hazards lasted a few seconds.

Hazards & brake lights are on the same fuse (fuse 1) so I am left with no brake lights, hazards or turn signals - I am an accident waiting to happen!

I switched my cigarette lighter fuse for the hazards/brake light fuse - didn't start the car - and turned on the hazards. I heard the fuse blow immediately.

My husband put a new radio in last year at this time and has fog lights wired to it - but that was last year not last week...

I know trailer lights are attached to fuse 16 (turn signals). I bought this car used, but it does have a trailer hitch with wires that I have never used.

Does anyone know where to even start looking for the short... a short that would cause the hazards/brake lights to short out also.

ANY SUGGESTIONS would be very helpful!
Thanks,
Leigh2

Check to see if you have brake lights and tail lights. No turn signals, brake lights, and tail lights usually means the combination switch is bad. The combination switch is the thing the turn signal level is attached to. All of these lights pass thru this switch. It is an expense part , so make sure it really is the problem and fix the short before replacing the switch.

What usually blows the combination switch is a wiring problem in a trailer that you pulled. Shorts in the circuits listed above will also cause the problem. If the combination switch is bad, you need to find and fix the problem before installing a new one. It is expense!

If the wiring harness for trailer is Not factory installed I would start there. Chances are this wiring was poorly routed or not secured properly . Good luck and plz let us know how you make out.
Muff

Check to see if you have brake lights and tail lights. No turn signals, brake lights, and tail lights usually means the combination switch is bad. The combination switch is the thing the turn signal level is attached to. All of these lights pass thru this switch. It is an expense part , so make sure it really is the problem and fix the short before replacing the switch.

What usually blows the combination switch is a wiring problem in a trailer that you pulled. Shorts in the circuits listed above will also cause the problem. If the combination switch is bad, you need to find and fix the problem before installing a new one. It is expense!

Yes I have brake lights - exchanged fuse 1 again and only used brake lights to get home.

I have never used the trailer hitch but I'll take a look at the wiring to see if it is still connected into something.

In January, the turn signals stopped working the day I was taking it in to have a blown tire replaced. I asked for the shop to look at it and let me know. They just fixed it and never let me know what it was and of course I never asked. I called yesterday the part # on my invoice is a generic part number and the desciption says "blinker pads".

Anyone have an idea what that could be? It was a $16 part at a national chain tire shop.

I'm hoping to have this figured out before Wed - goes to my mechanic on Wed.

This is the husband! haha

Replaced the brake light fuse and that worked so we got it home ok. Must have blown the brake fuse when she tested the hazards since it's on the same fuse.

Thx for the replies, it seems to be the trailer wiring. That wouldn't have been the first place for me to look.

There is a blue and an orange wire spliced into the harness (12 gauge). These were hanging down and were shoved into the side of the square tubing of the hitch. I guess the blue one finally made contact with the metal and blew the fuse.

I just wire nutted and taped them. Fuses no longer blowing.

On a side note, what harness can I hook up to put correct trailer wiring? What are the blue and orange wires, do I use them? Obviously the blue one is a blinker, but what is the orange one? I thought you needed 3 wires, left/right and brake? Just curious why there was the blue and orange wire, is it factory or did someone add this?

Thanks again.

here is what I have on my truck , yellow wire for left turn signal, green wire for right signal ,brown wire is for tailights and white is ground . On the plug when you step on brakes both green yellow get power for brake lights. Just get a test light to try it out . Aftermarket wire job so not surprising that it was poorly installed. Sounds like you`ve found the prob .for now

"solved the problem for now" was EXACTLY on the money. Turn signals worked over the weekend and this morning. Fuse just blew again and of course I cancelled my mechanic's appointment - UGH!

Any other recommendations on where to look for a short that seems to only affect my blinkers?

Trailer wires were taped & capped off by my husband over the weekend. Is it possible and easy to remove this wiring completely? Of course this is the wife who doesn't know as much as the husband and neither of us really want to hear "multi-function switch" especially since everything else on the switch seems to be working - cruise control was working this morning, wipers and hi-beams worked on Friday.

My hitch probably should be replaced if I really intended on using it - previous owner hid the rust pretty well on undercarriage and hitch.

I am hoping I still have reverse lights and brake lights but need to borrow someone to make sure. I replaced the fuse a second time now since it blew for the reverse lights.

I would follow the wires right back to where they are spliced into wiring harness,and eliminate them there and also check wiring harness in that area, that being said i would also trace wiring harness to the tail lights if you are still popping fuses. when you heard fuse pop immediately what was on in vehicle,did you have signal light on ? left or right . If wiring at back looks good check the front also . If it is one side only popping the fuse you got half the battle beat

What are the blue and orange wires,

Orange wire is a direct batt feed, blue is for trailer brakes. I've found a lot of times that wires have come loose inside the trailer plug itself. Check it out.........Steve

Definitely will be checking the wires again on the trailer hitch tomorrow. I switched the blown fuse again and waited until I got home to do what "muff34" suggested - trying to see if one turn signal was shorting it.

Both turn signals are working again! I'm going to take it out again tomorrow and see if using the turn signal while making an actual turn has something to do with it. Made a right turn while using signal - no problem. I know this afternoon it was a left turn signal used when it blew.

It's just not making sense though. Fuse 16 (turn signals) blew this afternoon, put another fuse in and tested the turn signal - blew immediately. Got back to work, replaced again and made sure I didn't use my turn signals when driving home a couple hours later, and then tested the turn signals at home and they're fine so far.

Anything that could explain this? Maybe it is a loose wire into the harness.

The only other thing we've noticed is the light on my 2HI WD / 4WD switch flickers on & off with bumps. It is on more than it is off. I didn't notice it until my husband pointed it out. Doesn't go out on all bumps. It went out tonight, was out for about 30 seconds then the next bump it came back on. Any possible relation?

sounds like wires are getting pinched or rubbed when vehicle is moving ,Hmmmm,.Here`s another thought,check the bulbs closely .I had a 1157 bulb go bad many years ago in my truck.filament/element broke and crossed over to tailight element . blew the fuse ,spent a day on that little job before I found it. truck was only 3 years old.. maybe get another flasher and try it. And last but not least if you want to find short in a hurry pull the fuse and put in a jumper wire and look for the smoke ,when you see it you`ve found your problem. Don`t know if I`d do it but just depends on how fed up i was at the time. Have done it before on the Big trucks, lots of wire in those suckers. This info should get the techs fired up, Best bet tho is to start tracing the wires from the fuse box out .

sounds like wires are getting pinched or rubbed when vehicle is moving

Can you tell me about this a little more?

The turn signal fuse can last anywhere from 1-4 days right now. Everytime I get it to last even a day I have "messed around" with the wiring behind the trailer hitch.

The way the wiring looks:

yellow, green, light green & brown thinner wires go into a transfer case
thicker blue & orange wires which 777stickman said were direct battery & brake feeds - and I did see them under the hood up by the firewallBefore the transfer case (from engine working back to rear turn signals-hopefully I'm getting this right), both bundles of wires are wrapped together then split. The thinner wires are wrapped and then go into the transfer case an inch or 2 away. The thicker wires are wrapped a couple inches and then "hang".

They are the ones I tucked into the hitch when they came loose from wherever the previous owner had them tucked into and now my husband has taped & caped them off.

Can you tell me a little bit more about the "pinching" or "rubbing" because I can get a fuse to last about 4 days now? I pull the thicker (orange & blue) wires away from the thinner bunch and stick back them in the hitch. That stopped working any longer than a day so now I use tape to hold them up but after 4 days of regular road problems (bumps & holes) and lots of wind this weekend I assume the tape doesn't hold.

My husband & I have looked at all the wires back around the hitch today - nothing looks "burned" or loose. We just found a little corrosion inside one end of the transfer case - the dark green wire I think. The bulbs all looked good.

Thanks for all the help so far!

do you know which side is popping fuse ? doesn`happen to be right side does it? I think i would be tempted to disconnect all trailer wiring now .also check the light housings themselves .take the light housings right out of vehicle to check wiring leading up to them. pinching or rubbing just look for wires that may be pinched or rubbed and thus allowing bare wire to come in contact with metal surface and popping fuse. Have you replaced the signal light flasher?

Take a look at the drivers side front wheel well where the wiring harness runs on its way to the taillights. I have seen the harness rub on the edge of the wheel tub and cause an intermittent short in the turn signals and brakes on these trucks.

Trailer Harness: Don't think that's it anymore. I found the wires for turn signals and what-not that would go to the trailer all wrapped up and off to the rear driver's underside of the truck. We unwrapped them up to the last couple inches and all looked good.

The wires that are direct feeds from the battery and for brakes are the only ones by the hitch.

I have (with 99% certainty) determined that it is the left blinker that is shorting it out. Using right blinker only and the fuse has lasted more than a day now - havn't used left blinker since yesterday morning trying to test this out.

Next step is to buy a telescoping mirror... I unwrapped the wires again that are behind the hitch - what I "jiggle" and tape to the tailgate and the fuse works again for a while - what I could get to looked fine but then some genius decided to "thread" the wires into and thru the tailgate and they go towards (I assume) the area between the bottom of the body of the truck and the top of my gas tank. I'd love to be able to get the section that goes thru the tailgate out to take a look at the wires even though the casing looks good.

Trying to follow the wiring diagram in the Haynes book is proving to be a little challenging for a newbie but I will take a look up at the front too as mbumgua suggests.

muff34... light housings? I'm trying to remember what the taillights looked like when we had them apart looking at the bulbs... this is where you talking about right?

signal light flasher... I think this was replaced January 2006 at a national tire chain - I mentioned this earlier in this thread. It's located behind the driver's side dash somewhere right? Is it similiar to a fuse in that it will be easy to see if it's bad?

I woke up for work one morning turned on my 99 burban n saw alil bit of smoke coming out from around the hazard light buttonfor a couple mins.I thought nothing of it and went on to work.I parkd it at the shop jumped in a work truck to head to the jobsite.After work I got back to the shop jumpd in my burban and again it started smoking through the same spot this time it did it all the way home.I got home parkd it came inside for a min went back out to leave and it wouldnt start.I removed the neck to the steering whel and seen the haza blinker switch was kinda melted on three of the lil plates so I checked the fuses n seen they were all switched around so I put them all in the right places but of course I guess it had already blown the wires or something.My thought was the fuses blew the wires which exposed em which set off the security system but im no mechanic.My question is what can I possibly do to get my baby running again?Any reys can be sent to my email [email protected] give me a response an honest legit one from an expert would be great thanks everyone and god bless