QUOTE(StratPlayer @ Mar 21 2007, 10:29 AM)
Hi Kevin, nope haven't had the bumper off. Last day I drove the car before putting it to sleep for the winter I was driving on a road that was bumpy as hell. I remember saying to myself this damn road is brutal. I look down at my gauges and all the gauges were out, no gas gauge, no nothing except the gen. light was on. Took it home, replaced the fuse and it blew the fuse. I put the car to bed for the winter. Now its time to hunt down the culprit, I have no turn signals, no gauges at. Something somewhere is shorted out. Matter of tracking it down.
I hate this shit.
OK, I'm looking at #9 on the '73 wiring diagram sheet 1&2 right now. I see it's connected to pin 15 on the hazard switch (red/white #1), to the stop light switch (black/yellow), and it connects to the instruments as a multiple source (red/white #2). I'd pull each one of these 3 wires at the fuse box and identify which one is a short to ground. Once ID'ed, connect that wire to the DMM and now go back through each component in that leg until you find the location of the short.
If your model year is different, the wiring may be different, check to make sure. BTW, when #9 blows, the generator light will come on because you no longer have the battery voltage balancing out the D+ circuit from the alternator. The voltage supply to the turn signal relay goes through the hazard switch - when the switch is in, pin 15 is connected to the turn signal relay pin 49, so yes, your turn signals should be out, too. Your back-up lights should also be out, your brake lights should be out, and if you have a center console, your oil temp and voltmeter should be out, too. Tach, oil pressure warning light, and fuel gauges are out, too.
Note that when you pull out the hazard switch, pin 30 is now connected to pin 49, powering the turn signal relay, so that the lights flash - but - the voltage supply for pin 30 comes from fuse #11, not fuse #9. Why? Because fuse #11 is hot with the ignition off, so that you can run the hazard switch with the ignition off. I'm pretty sure if you pull on your hazard lights and they work, and fuse #11 doesn't blow, then you can eliminate that circuit section from your fault tracing.