Good morning. My instrument panel lights stopped working, with Fuse #3 constantly blowing.

I’ve gone through all the previous threads on this site. Armed with this information, I have replaced the instrument cluster fuse, the relay behind the cluster that is commonly mentioned as a problem (I can’t remember the relay name at the moment), the rheostat, and the headlight switch. Prior to this, i unplugged each headlight/taillight/turn signal in success to see if the fuse would blow if reattached one by one. It didn’t.

Despite all this, I had no luck getting the cluster lights on until this…

When the rear hatch is open, the lights work. When it’s closed, the fuse blows. Because of this, I believe the wiring is being crimped at the hinge, causing a short.

How do I fix this?

 

Common issue of the wiring at that location breaking.
Open the loom at the hinge and start looking/testing with a meter, if necessary.
It'll be quite noticeable once its' opened to the visible eye.
Cut and slice in a new section (solder if at all possible) and then before wrapping it up again with tesa tape, check all the other wires for damage.

 

Stupid Question... does the plastic loom covering at the hinge come off, or do I need to carefully slice an opening to gain access to the wires. I'm assuming the former, and if so, I'm not sure how hard to tug at the loom to have it release. However, based on your response regarding the use of tesa tape, I think my assumption may be wrong and that I do indeed have to slice the loom covering. Basically, I don't want to damage anything in the process of trying to fix it because I didn't ask about something obvious.

Thanks for the input. I appreciate it.

 

There is no slack on ANY wiring in any cars (ie. to keep costs down) so you need to unwire, if you desire, from the trunk end (is easiest). They dont make it easy for you...
Depending on your setup, the plastic loom may be an already split loom (some are not). If it is split already then you need to open a section of it by carefully cutting a good section of it to remove it.
Likewise, if it’s not split already - cut a segment of it and then split it. It can be reused later.
Tugging on the loom isnt a big deal, just dont go ‘ape’ on it.
When I tackle unsplit looms, I use a sharp short tip exacto to cut around it’s perimeter and then either thr same exacto to split or a good sharp pair of scissors along the length of the loom to open it. Just stay tight to the loom if it needs to be split open. Once the loom is open and exposed, you’ll see the wiring bundle - easy to avoid then.