Triumph Repair: 1979 Spitfire Wiring, amp circuit breaker, haynes repair manual

Question
QUESTION: Howard,

I recently refinished my dash on my 1979 Spitfire Wiring.  As I took the components apart I labeled them and when I put the dash back together I put everything in the same position (or so I thought).  When I turn the ignition the top fuse keeps blowing.  I looked in the Haynes repair manual and it appears that the fuse is for the turn signal, fuel gage, temp guage, etc.  My question is...how do I diagnose the problem?  Do I just get a bunch of fuses and keep blowing them while I disassemble each part?  Any help would be appreciated.

ANSWER: Hi Ethan,
The best way I found is to look at the wiring diagram to see everything that is on that fuse and disconnect all items. Then put a test light across the the fuse terminals and turn on the ignition and if the test light is out it is not the harness so connect each item one at a time and check it as you connect up each item. This way you will only risk the loss of one fuse when you find the shorted item. It is unlikely to have several at fault. Another method would be to purchase a 35 amp circuit breaker and fabricate a test lead with the circuit breaker in it to do the testing with.
Howard

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Howard,

I did what you said and found the source of the fuse blowing.  It was the green wire that leads into the tachometer.  When it was connected to the tach it was fine, however when I attached it, the fuse immediately blew.  Does that mean a bad tachometer? Or could it be something else?

Also, when I pulled off the white and slate wire from the tachometer, the part that goes into the back of the tachometer broke off.  Is there an easy fix or do I need to get a whole new tachometer? could that be related to the first question?

Thanks so much for your help!
Ethan

Answer
Ethan, You are not making any sense. You said; "When it was connected to the tach it was fine, however when I attached it, the fuse immediately blew."
If the last part of your statement was correct that you had everything disconnected and the fuse blew when you connected the tach, then the tach is the problem and must be either replaced or take it apart and see what is shorted in it. Yes, the white w/slate wire could be related. Either way, you have found the problem so open up the tach and see if it is something you can fix. If you can't see what is wrong you might contact Moss Motors as I think they have a repair facility for instruments.
let me know,
Howard