Ford Repair: Ford F-250 Instrument Cluster Fuse Popping, ford f 250, tommy gate

Question
QUESTION: Hi.  I own a Ford F-250 5.4 V8 (2000).  The fuse for my instrument cluster in the dash keeps on popping and then all of my gauges just stop working...sometimes I'll go 100 miles and then it will pop and then sometimes it will last for 1000.  Any idea what could be causing this problem?

ANSWER: hey there. it sounds like something is drawing a little more amperage then it should be to be poping that fuse, try going up 5 amps on the fuse,  if it doesnt blow it right away then its close to its max capacity for the fuse. if this 5 amp upgrade doesnt work then you are going to have to find a short to ground failure, it may be in the dash itself. or are you using anything on the 12 volt powersource that may be drawing amperage..  go with the 5 amp upgrade and let  me know how it goes..
Chris

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QUESTION: I forgot to mention that I have actually upgraded by 10 amps over the past about year it has been doing it and it still pops.  I'm not wanting to go any further than that.  Anything else you could think that may cause this?  There is a Tommy-Gate on my truck, which is a power source BUT it has been there since I have bought the truck and was never a problem...

Answer
OK then there is something drawing too much amperage, this could be anything though, each circuit is going to have to be tested individualy, to check for excessive draw to pinpoint this problem, the tommy gate could be causing this as well. it depends on what power source it is fed off of, you can also test the circuit by using a multi meter in replacement of the fuse and disconnecting certain things on that circuit to find the certain excessive draw,
Chris