2001 V70 XC right rear driving light blows fuse 31

jamesgf · Post by **jamesgf** » 26 Jun 2016, 22:13

Hi all,

First off, great site. I've learned a ton searching though all the posts.

I have a 2001 V70 XC that seems to have some issue with the right (passenger) side rear driving light. The light will not come on. The bulbs have been replaced in both sides with no change. I recently found the tailgate harness was all split and I repaired all the wires and this fixed the wiper, rear defrost, latch error, and third brake light. My license plate lights were not working even after replacing the bulbs and I found fuse 31 was blown.

Replacing the fuse resulted in it instantly popping. As a test, I put in a 20 for a second and the right side front driving light and license lights came on since they are on the same circuit, but the right rear running light is out still. I removed the bulb holder from the running light and replaced the fuse with the proper 10A, right front running light and license lights stayed on and didn't blow the fuse, leading me to believe the fault is in the rear tail light wiring. As a final test I removed the bulb and put the holder back in, the fuse blew again with in a few minutes.

Anyone have any idea where the short could be? The bulb holder or possibly the tail light itself?

Post by **MadeInJapan** » 27 Jun 2016, 02:00

I think you had two problems and you repaired one but you still have another. You are probably correct that the wiring to that bulb is bad, but I would not look at the socket. Instead, it is not uncommon for a wire to break where the rear gate hinges...look at the strand of wires where they bend in the door hinge area and see if you can't locate a wire that has become bare and is touching metal in that rear door/gate.

jamesgf · Post by **jamesgf** » 27 Jun 2016, 11:22

MadeInJapan wrote:I think you had two problems and you repaired one but you still have another. You are probably correct that the wiring to that bulb is bad, but I would not look at the socket. Instead, it is not uncommon for a wire to break where the rear gate hinges...look at the strand of wires where they bend in the door hinge area and see if you can't locate a wire that has become bare and is touching metal in that rear door/gate.

Thanks for the reply! You are correct, these are two separate repairs/issues. I did have the wires break at the rear gate hinge and repaired/resoldered all the broken wires. I took another look to be sure and all wires at the rear gate hinge were ok after repairing them and everything looks good all tailgate functions are working as they should now.

I also thought that the license plate bulbs/sockets/harness in the tailgate might be at fault, so i removed the trim panel from the tailgate and inspected the wires, no breaks were found. I replaced the 10A fuse 31, unplugged the license plate harness, and replaced the bulb in the problematic right rear (passenger) running light. The fuse popped instantly, ruling out the license plate lights as the issue. I should also mention I that i haven't been able to get the passenger side rear driving light to turn on at all, even if I test for a few seconds with a 20A fuse, its still dead.

jamesgf · Post by **jamesgf** » 27 Jun 2016, 16:22

Posting a quick follow up. I got back out in the garage and traced the wires from the lower passenger tail light, across the trunk. Although there are a few pinch points near the bumper on the inside, all wires were fine and in good condition. I then focused on the connector to the tail light itself, which seems a bit loose. Wiggling it a bit it made a sort of twang sound, my guess is someone mashed it a bit while fumbling with the bulbs. I pressed it hard against the tail light, replaced the fuse and all the lights came back on, fuse did not blow. So it looks like I'll be in the market for a replacement light at some point in case it acts up again. Now to continue to replace bulbs to get rid of the dreaded position bulb failure.

Post by **MadeInJapan** » 28 Jun 2016, 01:06

Ah, electrical problems- how I detest them. Good luck with all of this. We had a "position bulb" failure on my wife's V70 for years...I'd go back and smack the tail light and it would come on...finally got tired of this (it was happening more and more frequently), and so I tackled it one Saturday. Because smacking the bulb caused it to come on, I figured it was wiring or the socket...I never thought the bulb. Finally out of desperation, I decided to replace the bulb and the problem cleared up....the damn bulb had a short in it!!! You would have thought a bulb would just blow- No, not this one!! It just kept randomly shorting internally but not blowing... So, the point is- good luck. The answer might be some odd thing that you go OMG once you figure it out!