QuestionI have a 1998 Tiburon, the brakes are grinding, can it be just the pads? Or am I in for more? The other question has to do with a fuse I keep blowing that controls the dashboard lights, left brake light, and left driving light. Every time I change the fuse it blows within 15 minutes, why would it do this and how can this be fixed
AnswerIf your brakes are grinding, it's likely that all the friction material is gone from at least one of the brake pads, and the backing plate of the brake pad is now grinding into the rotor. You'll probably need new pads and rotors either on the front or rear.
The left tail lamp fuse blows because there's too much load on that circuit. It could be a problem with the left tail or driving lamp, or any of the interior illuminations that come on with the outside lamps, or simply a short in the wiring somewhere.
Did this begin after any modifications were made (such as installing a radio)? If so, look there first for wiring that may be touching bare metal or otherwise be pinched onto bare metal.
You'll want to approach the problem somewhat systematically-- gradually eliminate components. The exterior bulbs are easy to change. Take them out or change them and see if the problem is still there. If so, remove and unplug your rheostat (dimmer switch) and see if the problem is still there. If not, you know it's one of the items controlled by the rheostat (or the rheostat itself). If so, then you've narrowed it down to interior illumination not controlled by the rheostat (anything that's full brightness when the lights are on regardless of rheostat position) or a shorted wiring issue. This circuit controls many items, so if you can read an electrical schematic, I'd recommend getting a free account at www.hmaservice.com (requires Internet Explorer). You can look at the electrical schematics for the vehicle there under the ETM (electrical troubleshooting manual) tab as well as pictures of the component locations and other useful information.
