so here is what happened. one day i turned my car on and realized four or five power ammenities went out. the horn, overhead console light, power antenna, power locks, mirror adjustment, and rear hatch switch. these all went out. when i put a new fuse in the fuse box for the fuse that blew the new one blew immediately. what does this mean. is it a short circuit and how do i go about fixing it. please help

carralo1- I found out that in order to get some help//advice,it would be a good idea to put the year // body // motor etc. info in your profile. That way when you need help, people may be able to answer more quickly and more precise. Factory options may play a part as well as items added by owner. Were fuses blowing regularly or was something added and now you noticed the problem?

its a 1988 camaro 305 tpi. no just one the things i mentioned above went out and then i put a new fuse in acc fuse 20 a it blew immediatley. i havent touched it since then and the few accesory powered things are still out and its time for me to try and fix it. someone told me it could be a short circuit seeing the new fuse blew immediately when i put it in. if so how do i fix a short. is it hard easy what exactly does it involve. im only 17 and new to cars and especially electrics in cars and i really rather do it myself so i can learn if something happens again cuz i really like cars

I will check the HAYNES manual when I get a chance. It'll be after * tonight tho. Hopefuly someone can help you b4 then> At work I'm limited to computer time.

The first thing I check for with fuse blowing problems is do-it-yourself electrical add-on's.

So if you can follow the wire from that fuse, look for any non-factory wires tapped into the circuit.

It is best to remove these things and properly install them. Best is a direct connection to the main power supply with the add-on circuit having its own in-line fuse. The fuse protects the wire and the amperage is based on the wire size used for that circuit. Here are amperage ratings for various wire sizes...

Wire gauge sizes for 12V wiring (10 Ft. length)
18 - 5 Amps
16 - 10 Amps
14 - 15 Amps
12 - 20 Amps
10 - 30 Amps
6 - 100 Amps
4 - 150 Amps

If it turns out there is no add-on wiring, then you pretty much need a factory service manual set to tell you what all is on that circuit, where the wires go for that circuit, the locations of connectors on the circuit, and associated wire colors.

Then use an amp meter* and multimeter to test various location on the circuit.

*Also called ammeter. The 10 amp multimeters sold in auto parts stores are worthless! If you try to measure more than 10 amps with these, it will wreck the meter! These days many vehicles have 100 amp alternators and many circuits are larger than 10 amps. (Tell the auto parts stores we no longer drive model T's!)

So get an amp meter with a 100 amp DC capacity or greater. (NOT 100 amps AC capacity! 100 amp DC.) Many meters will have a 100 amp AC capacity, but a 10 amp DC capacity. So read the fine print before buying. If it does not specifically say 100 amp DC (or greater), then don't buy it. (And of course the electricity in cars is DC or Direct Current. House electricity is AC or Alternating Current.)

Sorry it took a while to get back. That's the best way to go about checking the problem. All I can think of is - find out how much power is going thru that fuse - and then why so much if it's over powered.

I know how frustrating a short can be, I have been hunting down a battery drain on my car for the last 3 months and still no luck. Anyways just thought I would share the following info with you regarding the fuse snapping. I was installing my stereo and realized my overhead light, kick panel lights, and other accessories were not working after I had just checked all the fuses in the block. So I check all the fuses and put a new 20A accessory fuse in and while working around the dash pad to put my new speakers in my accessory fuse snaps again!!! So I was really confused and put another fuse in and started looking at the area I was working in and started flipping switches, such as the rear window defogger, fog lights, power windows, and low and behold when I grabbed the cigarette lighter to check if it was working the fuse blew. I removed the cigarette lighter and noticed that it was extremely worn and rattling around in my hand. So I guess what I'm trying to say is it could be anything and finding your problem will be a process of elimination. Maybe the process I tried can be useful to you too. Good Luck

the cigarette lighter seems to be a common culprit, it happened to me.

I also have a cigarette lighter short problem. I recently installed a new dash cluster for my '87 2.8l v6 and the look of the gauges over the old idiot lights was great. everything worked. One day though the ammeter gauge stopped working. When i got home I tried turning various power accessories on. the only thing that would blow the 20 amp accessory fuse was the lighter. i took it apart and found the ground wire was not touching the casing. however that has not fixed either the gauge issue or the short in lighter. Anyone find why this may be happening? Possible relay issue? Is the new dash cluster to blame?

Same thing happened to me. Somebody somewhere told me that the lighters often short out and take all this other stuff that's on the same fuse with it. Remove the gauge bezel and unplug the connector on the back of the lighter. If you replace the fuse now and it doesn't blow, and you notice your dome light on again you've got it! Either leave it unplugged and insulate the connector since that orange wire is always hot, or unscrew the lighter base and replace. I've got several spares if you can't find one