ignition controlled domelight pops fuse

i have a Viper 211hv installed on my '00 MR2 Spyder...

for the domelight, all diagrams pointed me to tag the door trigger for this wire... domelight supervision (unlock) seems to work fine, however it seems like the ignition controlled domelight (when i turn off the ignition and the domelight turns on for 30 secs) seems to keep blowing the DOME fuse...

looking back at the install manual, DEI mentions:  3 IGNITION CONTROLLED DOMELIGHT: If turned on, the system will turn on the domelight for 30 seconds when the ignition is turned off. The domelight supervision output (H1/4) wire must be connected to an optional relay as described in the Primary Harness Wire Connection Guide.

i thought the onboard relay handles the domelight.  am i wrong?  do i need to wire up the relay now? 

I don't have a DEI manual in front of me. Is the domelight output from the DEI positive or negative? I've always thought they were positive which would cause your issue. If so you will need to use a relay to change the positive output to a negative output. However, if the factory setup of the domelight keeps it on after ignition shutdown (which most cars do nowadays) then you don't need to connect that wire at all from the DEI.Kenny

Owner / Technician

KKD Garage LLC

Albany, NY 12205

offroadzj wrote: I don't have a DEI manual in front of me. Is the domelight output from the DEI positive or negative? I've always thought they were positive which would cause your issue. If so you will need to use a relay to change the positive output to a negative output. However, if the factory setup of the domelight keeps it on after ignition shutdown (which most cars do nowadays) then you don't need to connect that wire at all from the DEI.

for this unit, there is an input wire to the brain which i grounded.  so i would expect that the onboard relay should be taking care of any polarity...

the car is over 12 yrs old, so there is no OEM setting that turns on the domelight when i turn off the ignition...

i rather not have to turn off the setting since i like the feature... just a bit annoying that it just started to happen after working fine for a few weeks...

Disconnect the wire from the door trigger and see if the fuse still blows. Then connect a DMM to the door trigger wire and check your voltage. You should show ground only when the door is open. Then if that tests out correctly, put your DMM on the wire coming out of the DEI module and make sure that it is showing ground when you turn the ignition off. Where did you ground the input wire?Kenny

Owner / Technician

KKD Garage LLC

Albany, NY 12205

Hmm I tested the wires during install and they all checked out. I will check it again... I grounded it together with the door lock/unlock input and ground wire onto the chassis under the driver kick. When I turn off the ignition, the dome turns on and unlocks all doors simultaneously. Would it be possible that the unlock ground is pulling too much current and blows the dome? I doubt it.

No, I highly doubt that. I would verify everything. I don't see anything about there being a resting voltage or ground on that factory wire, so its a bit of a tough one.Kenny

Owner / Technician

KKD Garage LLC

Albany, NY 12205

Hmm it did rain a lot this weekend. I wonder if some water got in thru the soft top and is shorting the dome?

I would check all the wires before jumping to any conclusions. Then try pulling the bulb out of the dome light and see if it still pops the fuse.Kenny

Owner / Technician

KKD Garage LLC

Albany, NY 12205

thanks for the help... it ended up being the dome light bulb... lesson learned... stay away from crap Made in China eBay LED bulbs...

took the bulb out, put in a new fuse, everything worked fine... put the bulb in, the dome started smoking!!! now i have burned wire smell in the cabin!!!