16' Viper keeps blowing taillight fuse?

[Norse]

Comes and goes, kills my display too. It started happening after I tipped the sled last week. Haven't found any shorts. Checked every connector except the ones below/behind engine that are hard to reach. I don't have heated shield acc. I suspect oil got into the engine connectors... Ideas?

 

[InRBigness]

Tail light fuse is also tied to the cigarette lighter and the helmet visor plug if you have one. Most times I have seen people with this issue is when the helmet plug tip hits the running board. Just a thought.

 

[Norse]

Tail light fuse is also tied to the cigarette lighter and the helmet visor plug if you have one. Most times I have seen people with this issue is when the helmet plug tip hits the running board. Just a thought.

Checked cigarette lighter, also never used it. Don't have the visor plug acc either.

 

[maim]

have you checked under the fuse box? wires are known to rub out there and cause issues.

 

[GR8BBQ]

Thanks to Mtnviper in another thread for this advise on how to search for a short...

"My preferred method for detecting shorts in fused circuit 10 amps or higher is to use a halogen head light bulb. To use a bulb, make a harness long enough so that you can sit the bulb off to the side (the bulb gets very hot). On one end of your harness use terminals to fit the bulb, on the other use spade terminals the same size as the fuse blades.
Then plug the bulb harness into where the fuse connects and turn on the key. If the bulb illuminates, you currently have a short. At this point you'll want to SLOWLY and gently start touching/moving the wiring harness. Start at one end while checking the bulb to see if it goes out when you get to a specific area. If it does then your close to the fault!

If the bulb doesn't illuminate when you turn the key on, you can still use it. Only in this case your watching for the bulb to illuminate when you get to the suspect area.

For fused circuits less then 10 amps I use a 194 bulb instead, as they only draw about an amp instead of the 6 to 7 amps that a halogen head light bulb draws. This is so that you don't overheat the smaller gauge wires in the lower amperage circuits."

 

[Mike P]

Comes and goes, kills my display too. It started happening after I tipped the sled last week. Haven't found any shorts. Checked every connector except the ones below/behind engine that are hard to reach. I don't have heated shield acc. I suspect oil got into the engine connectors... Ideas?

When you say "tipped the sled", what side was it tipped on and was there any damage other than the fuse blowing? Did the fuse blow at the time you tipped the sled?
It is unlikely that oil on a connector would cause a fuse to blow however it is possible. It is also possible that the tipping has nothing to do with the current condition of the fuse. Timing of events is important and if I remember correctly canondale may have had a similar issue last year.

 

[Kevin]

Have you had your reverse motor out lately?
If so check for pinched wires behind it.

 

[sxr70001]

When this happened to me it was because my GPS power plug came apart in the cigarette lighter type power plug and shorted out which blew the fuse. Is it possible you got some snow in there or something. You could just unplug it from the back to eliminate it as a suspect.

 

[Norse]

When you say "tipped the sled", what side was it tipped on and was there any damage other than the fuse blowing? Did the fuse blow at the time you tipped the sled?
It is unlikely that oil on a connector would cause a fuse to blow however it is possible. It is also possible that the tipping has nothing to do with the current condition of the fuse. Timing of events is important and if I remember correctly canondale may have had a similar issue last year.

Tipped on right side. No visual damage inside. After waiting for the oil, I started driving and about 100ft away the display died. The reason I think of the engine connectors is that they're mounted with the wires going downwards to the connector, and I had a bit of an oil spill.

 

[Norse]

Have you had your reverse motor out lately?
If so check for pinched wires behind it.

I'm in the middle of a service right now, did last 1 year ago. Reverse wires all look good, even measured them.

 

[Norse]

have you checked under the fuse box? wires are known to rub out there and cause issues.

Found no issues there, but thanks.

 

[ClutchMaster]

Comes and goes, kills my display too. It started happening after I tipped the sled last week. Haven't found any shorts. Checked every connector except the ones below/behind engine that are hard to reach. I don't have heated shield acc. I suspect oil got into the engine connectors... Ideas?

Not an oil issue, I’m pretty positive of that. Connections are IP65 rating and oil has a high resistance anyway.

Wire pinch is most likely the cause. Checking the connectors really does nothing. You should start by taking off the seat and unplug the tail light and see if it still blows a fuse.

 

[ClutchMaster]

Where the wires run under the fuel tank is most likely where your problem is

 

[ClutchMaster]

The wires run inside the tunnel under a very thin sheet metal guard. This is a bad spot, if the guard gets crushed it will short out the tail light wiring.
Remove your seat and on the left side there’s a connector for the wires going under the tank. Unplug it and see if the fuse still blows.

 

[Norse]

By the way "checked connectors" means I tested them with an instrument while moving the wires around. No measured short with all of them connected. So maybe some faulty equipment that only shorts when applied power? Difficult to find out which one without a proper diagnostic tool. Heard there is a diagnostic mode in the display. Can this give me answers?