1954 Mercury Monterey Fuses

gtmomerc

gtmomerc

Junior Member
I was replacing a dome light and now I have no interior lights. I can't find any fuse location. All of the other lights, dash exterior lights all work. They were all fine until I tried to replace the dome light, which was loose in the socket btw.......Is there a fuse block or a fuse location? Thanks!!!!
 
There should be a fuse near near the interior lamp switch, yellow wire from the power circuit to the fuse, green wire with yellow tracer from the fuse to the switch.
 
If it's like the '55/'57 Fords there is a small fuse on the back end of the headlight switch for the dome/courtesy light.
There is no fuse block for the car.
The other lights on the car have thermal circuit breakers built into the headlight switch.
If equipped; the turn signal flasher, clock, radio and heater fan have inline fuses... power windows & seats have their own thermal circuit breakers, and the operating relay for a manual 3spd w/overdrive transmission has a fuse on it.
 

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Thanks again, how do you access the headlight and dome light switch? Looks like a bunch of screws hold the top and bottom of the panel. Looks like someone has stripped the heads on the screws..... It doesn't look like I can access the switches from under the dash due to the depth of the switch mounting...
 
The interior (dome) lamp switch is likely mounted on the lower edge of the dash just to the right of the steering column. That's where it is on my '55 Merc. It's a toggle switch. The headlight switch is a bit more problematic to get to but it's doable if you're limber. If you want to remove it you'll need to remove the knob and shaft 1st. Reach up and push down on the button on top of the switch (refer to dmsfrr's pic) and pull the knob out of the switch at the same time. If there's a bezel unscrew it and poke the switch with your finger. You should be able to pull it down far enough to get to the fuse and wire connections.
 
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Well it's not on either the interior light switch or the headlight switch. Headlight switch does not have a fuse holder. I did get a service manual dvd today but it doesn't show the location only that it looks like an inline fuse in the wiring harness. I've traced the wiring harness and it's taped up all the way to where the wires separate to go to the various interior lights..... any suggestions? Thanks so much!
 
There's a circuit breaker breaker up under the center of the dash. They rarely give trouble but maybe worth a look. Thing is, if it did fail everything on that circuit would be inop, not just the interior lights. Have you checked the switch itself? The only other thing I can think of is an open somewhere in the harness for the interior lights.
 
Hey thanks for the replies. All of the dash lights and clock light work but I'm pretty sure I shorted one of the dome lights as I was installing the new bulb. The bulb housing came out of the holder and likely touched something it shouldn't have. It's not a huge deal but it was pretty cool to have a car this old that even the trunk light worked! I just can't help but thinking it's in a service book somewhere.....
 
Actually, I'm not sure exactly what it would look like. I'm thinking of a modern bayonet fuse holder but that may not be correct...?
 
Ford didn't change the wire colors too often.... look for a Green with yellow stripe wire coming off of the headlight switch. That color was used in '55 for the courtesy lamp circuit.

On the backside of the domelight fixture(s)... the wire itself or the dried out insulation on it may have broken off and shorted out on the fixture housing.
 
Okay, thanks! The 54 has a dome light switch where it looks like they did a home run from to every courtesy light. So I'd be looking for a wire from the headlamp switch to the dome light switch. If that's it then the fuse would probably be in between those. I may have to hire a chiropractor......
 
A member on another site post this wiring diagram company. I've got one of the 24x18" versions for an OT old car. If you're going to be messing with the wiring, they are well worth the money. The color and the large size make a huge different.

https://www.classiccarwiring.com/
 
The dome light itself may only have a single wire, the ground was through the bulb holder to the car roof. If you can trace that back. The fuses on the HL switch are real small, try to find a picture that may help you visualize it.
 
gtmomerc said:
Okay, thanks! The 54 has a dome light switch where it looks like they did a home run from to every courtesy light. So I'd be looking for a wire from the headlamp switch to the dome light switch. If that's it then the fuse would probably be in between those. I may have to hire a chiropractor......
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If there is a switch on each(?) dome light fixture that can turn the light on when the doors are closed, yes it has a home run power wire from the same source as the door switches.
 
as to your question on the fuse type it would not have been a blade type.it would be a glass cylindrical type unless replaced over the years
 
To answer an earlier question, on the right side there is an interior light switch where you can manually turn on the interior lights. But the good news is that the offending fuse was affixed to the backside of a relay located the right right back side of the instrument cluster(as you're sitting behind the wheel). I pulled the instrument cluster to find the fuse but it can be accessed from below. It's would be blind feel for the fuse but probably could be done from below. I disconnected the battery first because who knows about the wiring. A trip to the autoparts store and all is well with the world. I did pull the bulb socket and wiring from the one that had shorted. Insulation all looked good but I taped it as far back as I could reach. Thanks for all you help!!
 
gtmomerc said:
... I disconnected the battery first because who knows about the wiring. A trip to the autoparts store and all is well with the world. I did pull the bulb socket and wiring from the one that had shorted. Insulation all looked good but I taped it as far back as I could reach. Thanks for all you help!!
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Great news! :)
 
Believe it or not, the owner's manual (not the shop manual) has a comprehensive fuse and bulb chart! See the attached image. The barn forum limits the size of images. I can send a higher-rez image if anyone needs it. Just PM me.
 

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