Marker lights front and back, license light, parking lights will not turn off

[94SideEntry]

Well I am in a bit of a predicament. I figure this forum is the best place to seek help.

I recently purchased a 94 side entry. Everything appeared normal during the test drive. I had to drive about two hours home the second portion of which was nighttime, so I turned on the headlights. I stopped for gas and noticed the marker lights wouldn’t turn off. I figured there was a switch I was unaware of and proceeded home. When I got home they still would not turn off, but eventually they went off after about ten minutes on their own. The next morning I found the top right rear marker light lens melted. I disconnected the negative terminal of the battery. As it stands now the marker lights, parking lights, and license light will not turn off even with fuses pulled and also the headlight switch pulled. I’ve been troubleshooting for three days to no avail. What I’ve done so far:

Replaced headlight switch
Replaced 9 pin headlight switch connector
Replaced melted light, wires, and splices for the light that melted
Replaced the wires and terminals for three of the 5 upper markers
Pulled any and all fuses I could out of the fuse block, nothing works

I’ve taken off the interior panel behind the marker lights and don’t see any damage in the daisy chain of brown and white wires

As of now the rig is not drivable because it’s a fire hazard. It’s a lawn ornament with a disconnected battery! I’m pretty lost and would love some input.

1994 side entry premier

[SMan]

If the rig has a trailer connection you might check it for green crusties shorting it on.. If you have a thermal camera you can check fuses and relays with key off for anything hot or warm to touch. Not sure if that circuit is a ground side. Just guesses.

[94SideEntry]

Well I located the inline 7.5amp fuse in the footwell that is in the brown wire. The lights go off with that fuse pulled but are still on all the time if the fuse is on and headlight switch off. Does that draw any conclusion?

[caconcourse]

That indicates there is a short between the front side of that 7.5V in-line fuse and +12V in the vehicle that is bypassing the headlight switch. You need to trace the wire somehow from that in-line fuse holder to its source to find out where it is connected to power. The brown wire probably passes through the Chinook-added fuse panel under the steering wheel, so I would look for the wire in that area and see how it is connected. Sometimes the splices in that fuse block are sketchy and may have an unexpected short or open due to a bad splice, usually the butt splices. The fuse panel itself may have a short.

Good luck.