C1 antique auto radio issue blowing 3 amp fuse

[Wally A.]

just install a direct replacement (antique auto radio), looks great only problem is that it keep blowing 3 amp
dash light fuse. disconnected the wire to power up the radio light, and yes still blows the 3 amp fuse.
radio seems to work okay. puzzled, any input on what is the probable cause.. never had this problem with
the stock 1962 radio. yes i tried to go to 5 amp fuse and still blows. . dash lights work fine
when the 3 amp fuse was replaced. what is really strange, when the light wire is disconnected and the radio turned
on the dash light fuse will blow if i turn the dash lights on. radio issue???

[Frank D.]

Re: C1 antique auto radio issue blowing 3 amp fuse

Your symptoms make no sense to me. You disconnect the radio light wire and you blow fuses in the start of your post and with the wire disconnected and radio turned on the fuse will blow with dash lights on at the end of your post. I would pose your problem is unrelated to the radio...you may have pinched or shorted a light wire during installation (its tight in there). Remove the radio and look closely at all of the gray wires (dash light wires) on the back of the dash/center console for issues and retest withOUT the radio installed. The dash light circuit in the radio is separate from the main radio power and the unit only uses an LED anyway - which draws next to nothing power-wise.

Make sure you didn't flip the power wires on the radio as well. The main power line draws a lot more than the light power line...there is also an orange power antenna wire....confirm you haven't somehow mixed that up during the install...

I've installed a 1/2 dozen of these over-priced (but pretty) units with no issues...

[Joe R.]

Re: C1 antique auto radio issue blowing 3 amp fuse

Wally,

I don't quite follow your results either. How does the radio work okay when it's blowing the fuse? Did you bench test it out of the car? How many amps is the radio supposed to draw? What is the current draw of the rest of the circuit with the radio disconnected? To test for a dead short like Frank alluded to, disconnect the battery, pull the fuse, connect an Ohmmeter between the load side of the fuse and ground, how many Ohms do you read? Maybe disconnect the bulbs too before testing for a short.

Joe