I have a 1972 olds cutlass supreme and the instrument lights went out while I was driving. All other lights are working and when I checked the fuse it was blown. Put in a new fuse and it blew also. Any ideas?

 

You obviously have a short. You need to find it. There isn't any magic here, just brute force tracing of every wire on that circuit (it's the grey wires in the dash harness). I assume the fuse that is blowing is the 4A INST LPS fuse, correct? Have you added anything to the lighting circuit? The INST LPS fuse powers the gauge illumination bulbs in the three instrument clusters, the clock lamp, the heater lamp, ash tray lamp, and the headlight switch lamp.

 

It is the 4 amp INST LPS fuse. Nothing has been added to the circuit. Lights just went out while I was driving/

 

Pull the map light in the center of the dash and inspect. Something happened to mine and the wiring connections or switch melted, creating a short and jacked up the lights. It's been a few years and cannot remember the details, but such a situation would be easy to identify.

 

Thanks! I'll start there.

 

Does this plug look burned to you?

 

Could be. Hard to tell in that photo, as the damage could also have been caused by someone trying to pry the connector apart with a screwdriver.

 

If anything the picture looks really blurry. What color is the wire and it's location?

 

The wire is gray and it is behind the speedometer