Can i wire direct from battery to instrument cluster fuse

[Curiosity666]

The dash in my 2012 ford focus stopped working.. after some testing, the ground is perfect but there is only .34v going to the harness for the cluster and same coming into the fuse.. there is 12v from battery to high current fuse but i havnt tested from there to engine bay fuse box yet.. the cluster fuse is in the box inside the car.. so im assuming the voltage is dissapearing somewhere between those 2 points.. in any case, i have ran a wire from the positive battery terminal to the fuse for the cluster which now has 12v and works fine.. but i am wondering if that will drain the battery or cause damage.. i dont intend to leave it that way, just while i figure out what the low voltage issue is but is that going to case other issues in the meantime.. everything turns off when i remove the key and shut the door.. cheers in advance for any advice..

 

[brianmoooore]

If you've replaced a switched supply by a non switched one, then there's a good chance that there will be battery drain, but a bigger worry is that you may be providing a backfeed to other circuits, which could cause all sorts of strange things, up to and including a fire caused by cables carrying much more current than intended.