lights out! fuses burn. locks turn them on?

[dpegan]

I'm not sure if this is a really odd problem, but hopefully it's an easy to fix one.

My car's gauge lights are out, and the left taillight as well. When I checked the fuses, the one in charge of the left taillight and gauge lights was burned! not so weird yet.

But when I replaced the fuse, a few weeks later, it burned out again. When i replaced that one, it burned out in a few minutes. Here's the weird thing, now i drive without the fuse in, completely removed, and when I lock the doors, the gauge lights flash on for a seconds. and when the fuse burns out, the doors lock.

I'm guessing it has something to do with some wires between the locking mechanism and lights is being crossed. the locks have a higher amperage on its fuse, so it would surge the light fuse and burn it out. and when the car locks, it still surges the lights, making them flash.

Any ideas? What the problem is and possible solutions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

[Jeron]

Early E36's had problems with the wires chaffing where they enter the trunk lid. Wayne mentions it and has a pic on pg. 225 in his new book. Try there first.

[dksix]

I had a recent problem with my tail lights and it was were the wires go into the trunk behind the back seat , I think ( long story ) But any way , I was trouble shooting this and I feed power into the light itself and when I did this it caused lights to come on in the dash panel as well as the radio played ???????? I don't know if this will help you , but I think when those wires rub off the insulation it can cause crazy back feeds . I think the first thing I would check if I had anything strange happening with the tail lights I would check the wires behind the seat where they enter into the trunk . My 92 E36 sedan was up near the top on the drivers side . Hope this helps .

[dpegan]

Originally posted by Jeron
Early E36's had problems with the wires chaffing where they enter the trunk lid. Wayne mentions it and has a pic on pg. 225 in his new book. Try there first.

Thanks, I already had the book and i went to page 225-- and there it was! it looked like the picture was an exact shot of the wires in my car. now everything works perfectly, so thanks again. you guys are lifesavers.