I did something really stupid

[sweaty]

2019 4R TRD Offroad.

I was replacing a blown fuse. It is the number 1 15A fuse on the drivers side. This fuse powers the usb charger and 12v sockets in the center console. I mistakenly put a 20A fuse in there and somehow, there was a short along the wire and now the whole circuit is dead. I could swear I smelled burning plastic when this happened.

Now the whole circuit is dead. None of the 12v sockets work and the USB also is dead. New 15A fuse blows as soon as I turn the key.

I did a search on the forum and couldn't find any direct hits.

Please help!

 

[T4R2014]

I'd take it for legit electrical diagnostics. Fuses do not blow without reason, especially on a 2019. If you're planning to do this yourself you'll need wiring diagrams. And an appetite to learn on your own car.

 

[Humble Leader]

2019 4R TRD Offroad.

I was replacing a blown fuse. It is the number 1 15A fuse on the drivers side. This fuse powers the usb charger and 12v sockets in the center console. I mistakenly put a 20A fuse in there and somehow, there was a short along the wire and now the whole circuit is dead. I could swear I smelled burning plastic when this happened.

Now the whole circuit is dead. None of the 12v sockets work and the USB also is dead. New 15A fuse blows as soon as I turn the key.

I did a search on the forum and couldn't find any direct hits.

Please help!

my suspicion is that that burning plastic smell was the wire insulation melting. you now have wires touching that is going to keep blowing a fuse. remove the fuse, do not put another one in. the unfortunate thing here is that a lot of the wiring is hidden and can be hard to locate this problem

this may be one of those expensive lessons where it might be better worth your time to have a dealer or shop diagnose and fix this

 

[sweaty]

my suspicion is that that burning plastic smell was the wire insulation melting. you now have wires touching that is going to keep blowing a fuse. remove the fuse, do not put another one in. the unfortunate thing here is that a lot of the wiring is hidden and can be hard to locate this problem

this may be one of those expensive lessons where it might be better worth your time to have a dealer or shop diagnose and fix this

You are almost spot on.
AI is a thing these days so I used one of them and it walked me step by step through the whole process of pinpointing the issue.

That fuse feeds the 12v sockets and that circuit is fried. The dealer is for sure going to charge an arm and leg to replace the wiring and the harnesses.

Luckily these sockets are not that important and it is pretty cheap to install a tap-a-fuse to build another circuit, which is what I am going to do.

If this were some important circuit then my wallet would hurt a lot.

 

[Humble Leader]

You are almost spot on.
AI is a thing these days so I used one of them and it walked me step by step through the whole process of pinpointing the issue.

That fuse feeds the 12v sockets and that circuit is fried. The dealer is for sure going to charge an arm and leg to replace the wiring and the harnesses.

Luckily these sockets are not that important and it is pretty cheap to install a tap-a-fuse to build another circuit, which is what I am going to do.

If this were some important circuit then my wallet would hurt a lot.

how much wiring was damaged. were you able to visually locate it. if it's only two wires you can cut, butt splice and heat shrink. you probably don't need to replace the whole harness. the dealer will probably fix the existing harness rather than tear your car apart to remove the entire harness.

 

[AuSeeker]

how much wiring was damaged. were you able to visually locate it. if it's only two wires you can cut, butt splice and heat shrink. you probably don't need to replace the whole harness. the dealer will probably fix the existing harness rather than tear your car apart to remove the entire harness.

I disagree, most dealerships will not repair a wiring harness by splicing in new wire, yes they may "repin" a bad connector...maybe, but for the most part it's too much of a liability for them to repair a wiring harness, they almost always replace a entire wiring harness.

 

[emmantik]

What is the background? Did you do any mods?

 

[sweaty]

how much wiring was damaged. were you able to visually locate it. if it's only two wires you can cut, butt splice and heat shrink. you probably don't need to replace the whole harness. the dealer will probably fix the existing harness rather than tear your car apart to remove the entire harness.

I can see some burning marks at one location. I used a multimeter and tried to isolate the short and eventually decided to give up. There are lots of harness/connectors and wiring in the center console area and it wasn't worth the effort to figure it all out. I have done mods in that area too.

Much easier just to leave the socket circuit dead and build a new one.

 

[sweaty]

What is the background? Did you do any mods?

Yes I have done the backup camera mod, plus the hardwired stereo output, plus some additional USB ports etc. The wiring of those all passes the center console. So in my case, it makes sense to abandon the dead circuit and rebuild.