My radio and dome light blew yesterday and i replaced the dome bulb and the fuse but it keeps blowing.
How can i find out what my problem is?

 

Rather than keep replacing fuses, put a test light across the fuse terminals. If the light goes on, you have a dead short to ground (hot wire touching ground somewhere). With the test light on, start wiggling wires (especially around the radio wires). If you have an aftermarket radio, I would start there - Also, you might want to check the wires on the cig lighter.
Good luck,
Corky

 

And/or pull the cig lighter itself out - if that coil gets stuck up against the side , it'll blow a fuse everytime.

 

The curcuit is the radio/dome light/license plate light. Is the cig lighter in that same circuit?

The test light is a good idea i'll have to go find and buy one today.

It does have a after market radio. is it possible the radio has a short in it and needs replaced ? I'll try wiggling the wires i can get to.

Does the cigarett lighter cause alot of shorts like this since both you guys mentioned that?
I appreciate the help i hate electric problems !

 

I've had a couple cig lighters pop the fuse.

If it's not too hard - unplug the radio and see what happens. And pulling the cig lighter - well, don't get much easier.

If you just look in the end of it, you should be able to tell if those coils are touching the sides of it.

My Saturn's is like that - if I plug it in, I'll blow the fuse. So it just sits in the glove box.

 

I got to thinking, isn't there current through the fuse all the time, so wouldn't the test light come on anyway?

 

No. That's the beauty of using a test light with a short. The circuit needs a ground to complete. So, if you put a test light across a good circuit the light will not illuminate, put it across a shorted to ground circuit and it completes the circuit & lights up.
I have a feeling this will be a simple fix for you!
Corky

 

I bought a test light and stuck the ends into the slots and it came on.

I couldn't figure out how to get the console panel off on the sides to get behind the radio but i could barely get my hand in to wiggle wires around and nothing blinked while doing that.
I removed the back license bulb and the new dome bulb and the light was still on.
So for the heck of it i put another fuse in and this time it didn't blow and the radio works now, I replaced the dome bulb and it all still worked, i haven't bought a replacement license bulb yet, so the problem could have been that bulb.
But now answer me this, why did the test light stay on and shouldn't it be on to show current passing through the circuit?
I mean thats what a fuse does is allow 20 amps to pass through and if more than that it blows before a wire burns right?

 

A test light will only light up with voltage it will not tell you how many amps is going through it unless you hit a high current circuit like a starter while cranking, then most likely you will blow the bulb
A test light works in parallel, to get current readings you need to have a meter in series with the circuit

 

So am i supposed to attach the test light to one side of the fuse holder and the other end to a ground?

Or just attach the tester to both sides of the fuse holder ?

wouldn't the test light complete the circuit between the two fuse connections?
i'm confused.