I just noticed this today. I tried turning on my parking lights and the instrument gauges don't light up. I checked the fuse and replaced...work fine. Then I tried to turn off my headlights and they don't go down...checked tail fuse and replaced, worked fine. Well, I was playing with my shifter and heard a pop and sure enough the tail fuse blew again. I parked the car changed it and it worked. As soon as I shifted into drive it blew again. It seems there is something going on when shifting to blow the fuses. Is it possible my neutral safety switch is going bad? are the tail and instrument fuses tied into this somehow, or is something getting shorted out? Like I said, it seems to do it when I mess with the shifter or just plain shift. Don't have time to look at it right now so any input would be appreciated.

 

There is a wire on the P/N switch that goes to that fuse for the "Back-up" light

 

so when I shift I must be hitting that wire somehow. Would it be shorting out or what?

 

Okay, in my last post I said it was a wire going from the shifter to that fuse for the Back-up light. I went back to my manual and double checked and found that I gave you the wrong info. That wire goes to the "Turn/Backup" fuse. The only wire in that area that goes to the "TAIL" fuse is the shift indicator light and the ash tray light. I would check those wires.

 

I could check those out. I don't even have that harness connected though because I was changing out my upper shift plate and never hooked them back in so the lights don't get power. Unless the wires that give power are somehow grounding out or touching something else...I'll have to look.

 

Well, I took my console apart and found out what was happening. Since I often take my console apart I just keep the connector for the shifter light and cigarette light unplugged. Well, when I shifted I must have caught the harness and caused the connector to touch the metal part of the shifter causing it to short out and blow the fuse. Just to make sure I touched the connector to the metal and sure enough it sparked. Probably not the best way to test but I wanted to see if that was the problem. I have since plugged it back in and it all seems to be working fine.