My 97 F150 keeps blowing the 5 amp fuse on the inside fuse box and it takes out the complete dash board gages. Some times it has worked for a month and then it did it twice in the same day. Had auto light and gage light off. Turn signals work and flash as normal. All other lights and bells work. Im thing it might be a relay shorting to ground. The fuse # is 29.Thanks for any help!!

 

Take a look at the base of the gear shift lever for a wire that is bare. This is at the end of the gear shift lever tube, under the steering wheel column cover.

Fuse #29 controls the overdrive button, as well as the instrument cluster items. After time, some will develop a bare wire in the base, and cause a short.

 

If worst comes to worst, add a resistor. Its blowing since the current is too strong. The resistor slows/weakens the current. It will cost barely anything. First do what sscully said though and see if you can do anything before that

 

Adding a resistor to a short-circuited wire is about like applying a Band-Aid to a sucking chest wound..

Fix the problem properly!

 

Thanks for the imput about the shift lever, I'll check it out the next time I use the truck and let you know what I find out.

 

sscully was right on with what he said and now i have all my gages back and working.