Engine bay light blows fuse

[bruscreen]

I haven't had a bulb in my engine bay light housing since I've owned the car, because every time I put one in it blows the interior lighting fuse. The trunk, door and dome lights are working well as long as I leave the engine light empty. I tested this out tonight, if I put a multimeter across the connectors for the bulb I get 12 V. Press the switch in and that drops to zero. Pull the battery, put a bulb in, hook the battery up and the fuse blows.

[DMC5180]

I haven't had a bulb in my engine bay light housing since I've owned the car, because every time I put one in it blows the interior lighting fuse. The trunk, door and dome lights are working well as long as I leave the engine light empty. I tested this out tonight, if I put a multimeter across the connectors for the bulb I get 12 V. Press the switch in and that drops to zero. Pull the battery, put a bulb in, hook the battery up and the fuse blows.

What is the wattage of the bulb? See if the purple and purple/white wires are somehow contacting each other inside the light fixture. This would cause a DEAD SHORT if the bulb was being bypassed and the switch contacts close completing the circuit to ground.

[Domi]

Take a look at the plastic, maybe it has melted like mine and result a short circuit.

[Rich]

I haven't had a bulb in my engine bay light housing since I've owned the car, because every time I put one in it blows the interior lighting fuse. The trunk, door and dome lights are working well as long as I leave the engine light empty. I tested this out tonight, if I put a multimeter across the connectors for the bulb I get 12 V. Press the switch in and that drops to zero. Pull the battery, put a bulb in, hook the battery up and the fuse blows.

Take a look at the solid purple wire where it loops around the end of the brass bayonet bulb-holder bracket. The bracket edges are sharp and might have cut through the wire insulation. That purple wire is + and the bracket is - so that would be a dead short (bulb in). With the bulb out the bracket bends inward on itself and gets a bit smaller, moving away from the + wire perhaps 1mm?

Solution in that case is to bend/move the purple + wire away from the bulb bracket where it loops around the bracket. Sleeve it or lengthen it if you need to.

The purple + wire on ours has a a deep dent in its insulation where the bracket presses directly against it but is not broken thru - yet. Same thing seen in Domi's second photo although in that case the + wire has been fully moved away after disconnecting it. Check yours out.

[bruscreen]

Part of my bracket is in the other way 'round, so the wire doesn't have to circle around to reach it's connection. However, I was trying to put the bulb in straight from the hole in the bracket to the rivet at the other end, and nothing I can do is getting me a firm contact there. (I tested this with the Ohm meter from the plug where the wires pass through the firewall.) Angling the bulb as shown it the pictures above, got me a firm connection and now, a lit bulb!

One problem down.

PS for the record, the bulb is one that shipped with one of the new dome lights from DMCH. I put an LED in the dome light and used the factor bulb for testing because it's not directional.