ive wired some auxiliary reverse lights to a switch. i opted for the switch because i was blowing the stock reverse fuse when i tapped into the stock reverse wire. these lights are 55watts and i have them wired as follows:

- power wire for lights runs up to front and into switch
- power for switch runs direct to battery with inline 15 fuse
- ground wire from lights has a good ground in rear of rig
- ground for switch runs down to footwell ground on drivers side

problem is with the wiring set up this way i keep blowing the inline 15 fuse as soon as i flick the switch on. i tried a 20 fuse and blew that one also. ive seen all the write-ups and dont understand schematic diagrams. any suggestions ??? i hate electrical stuff. thanks in advance.

 

sounds like a direct short. from what you have done do this.
1.) remove the lights from the equation and see if it still pops the fuse.

1a.)if you do not get the fuse to pop then its wiring or light problem past the switch.

2.) check wiring of switch. you could have a wiring backwards and it is going to ground when turned on.

3.) swap out the switch.

4.) check the fuse holder, some times they fail.

5.) if still blowing fuse after checking all of the above...... go to your local minimart.. get one cigar, 12 pack of good beer, come home, ask wife/gf to fool around..... then who cares about the $^#@^ jeep for a couple hours.

 

Why do you need to ground the switch? Should only have two wires to the switch, power in and power to the lights when switch is on.
It sounds to me you do have a direct ground through the ground wire you put on the switch.

 

switch has three prongs. i assumed power, ground, lights.

 

haha good advice. #5 sounds most likely to occur.

 

What jlarso said. Your switch "ground" should probably be your lights power feed. The switch is just there to interrupt the power to the lights. CM

 

The ground on the switch is for the little light that comes on the switch. (indicating on).
The wire may have been knicked when running to the lights.
You can disconnect the lights, then turn the switch on. If it blows the fuse its the wire to the lights. Check the run see if it got knicked somewhere.
Also check the switch. The connection may be touching. (did you use any connectors to the switch? ) remove the ground from the switch, and turn on if nothing happens the ground is connected to the wrong terminal.test the switch to get the lights to work.
There is also the possiblity that one one the lights may have a crushed wire in side. To test bring a fused wire and touch the light feed. If its good, it will light up. If it pops the fuse. Open it and see if the inside wires a damaged.

 

Check to make sure that you have the switch ground in the correct location.

 

Your switch is a 2 way switch, that is it will power two things but not a once.

The power should go to the middle connection.

If you leave the ground hooked up and with the power to the middle you will only blow the fuse in one switch position and the other will turn on the back up lights.

You do not need the ground wire. The indicator light is wired internal to the switch.

Good Luck!!!!

 

Everything above this appears to be partial information. You need to determine what switch you have. If your switch has two lugs shorted when closed, open when open, the third appears to do nothing, then one is ground for the LED that almost has to be in switch. If the switch is not lighted, and has three lugs and two switch positions it is SPDT which means it shorts the center lug to one side or the other depending on which way the switch is thrown. If it is not lighted and has three positions and three lugs it is the same as the last (SPDT) but the center position is OFF. Do you know which it is? You can check continuity with an ohmmeter.
SPST:
SPDT:
SPDT w/ center off:
For SPST with LED schematic, see my KC windshield light post.