the ignition fuse on my car keeps blowing on me. as soon as i replace it and go to put the car in gear and move it, it blows. i think theirs a short or bad ground some where. but i dont know where to even start to look.

wiring scares me. help some one!

motor ka24de btw

need some clarification:

Does it blow when you start the engine? If not, does that mean it will idle in neutral without blowing?

Is it an auto or 5speed?

If it WILL idle but blows when you shift gears (as I think your post reads if I read it correctly), then I would highly suggest inspecting your shifter mechanism (whether auto or 5speed), and look for ANY wires that happen to move when you are shifting gears. Look for any bare spots on those wires...

or does it blow when you press on the brake (for auto) or clutch pedal (for 5speed)?? if so, check your pedal areas for bare/melted/damaged wiring....

For more advanced troubleshooting, you really need a FSM for your car/engine but this is how it's done...(sort of)

Using the FSM, you find a schematic of your car's hardware and the wiring that goes to the hardware. Using your logic, narrow down the problem area by thinking about EXACTLY what you touch/do when it blows. Then find that wiring and start checking that you have voltages where you are supposed to and continuity to ground (but NO voltage with a good fuse in) where you are supposed to.

I know this sounds soooo vague, but I can't narrow down your trouble area until you answer some of my first questions...EXACTLY what you touch/do RIGHT when it blows?? 5speed/auto??

--TJ

thanks tj that helps quite a bit.

the car was an auto, now its a 5speed. still using the auto tranny harness tho.

as for the issue, i can start the car, it will idle. i can put it in gear, and rev the car, but when i start to move the car (i.e. reversing out my driveway) ill might be able to move about 6inchs then the fuse will blow.

when i jumped the fuse with a wire, and tried cranking the car, i did notice smoke comming from where my ignition is(where the key goes in) but that was only once.

its a wired problem because i can start/rev, the car and even move it alittle before the fuse blows.

when it happend originally i was driving on the hi way, in fifth gear about to exit, and the car went dead. it was a rainy day.

hope this description helps a little more... thanks

hmmmm....since you have done a tranny conversion, I can't guarantee anything, but I'll start thinking out loud....

first guess: If you move as slowww as you can, does it still blow? Does it blow if you drive forward also? If it is idling, and it is pushed forward/back (while in neutral) does it still blow?? lol...you're gonna have to buy some more fuses, but these tests might just help you narrow it down to what components are involved...such as:

because of the tranny swap, do you have extra plugs/wires (not needed for a manual) that touch a ground source when the car moves?

if you push the car and you have it in neutral without pushing the clutch AND IT STILL BLOWS, then I would reeeaaaaalllllyy look into loose wiring/plugs, probably under the car swinging??

based on the testing mentioned above, are any specific components being used/engages/signaled?? neutral position sensor or clutch sensor (I'm sorry, I am half asleep if this isn't making sense, I can't think straight)...reverse sensor/lights if it only happens in reverse??

it makes alot of sense. i have to do those test.

i do have extra plug/wires under the car from teh swap. i guess thats a good place to start.

when i moved the car it was in reverse and i was moving slow and it would blow. i havent tried it in 1st.

im going to get some more fuses, and rock the car in netural when its on and see if it blows.

do you think its can be an ignition problem b/c of the smoke from around the key area?

thanks again man

I keep thinking about that smoke you mentioned, and I am just too sleepy to make any sense of it...I am forcing myself to stay up since you are online and live chats are kinda rare but really helpful to you.

The smoke you saw probably came from the IGN wire(s) inside the steering column. The smoke came when you started driving, right? Same timing as when the fuses normally blow? If so, then that doesn't really help too much, but you definitely need to take the covers off your column and check for melted wire damage and repair/replace/re-tape if needed.

Since I am half asleep I keep thinking of my current fab-project and it makes me ask.....have you done any mod's to your speed sensor wiring?? There's another test for you...lol: Unplug your speed sensor from the harness and see if it makes any difference.

Have you gone outside and tested out the 1st gear yet??

--TJ

the smoke was from when i was cranking the car. after it started the smoke went away.

its cool tho get some rest , i cant check anything out casue im at work right now. so i dont want to keep you up.

thanks for the help ill be sure to keep you updated man

going to sleep now....been thinking about it for the last 20 or so minutes...

If you have been idling and revving with it in reverse (clutch pushed in), and it did NOT blow the fuse....that probably rules out the reverse sensor and lighting wiring. I think just being in reverse gear counts and has all that engaged already.

I just keep thinking.."..it blows the fuse when the car moves...."...If it isn's a wire/plug that grounds out somewhere, it may even be the speed sensor fried...who knows?? IFFFF (you need the FSM to check) the speed sensor is powered by the same IGN fuse, then the speed sensor engaging by the car moving could do something weird like ground out or whatever and BOOM: blown fuse??

??

I am just ramblinb now...start with your FSM and look at the IGN wiring schematic that shows your fuse box and stuff like speed sensor, neutral sensor, etc??

--TJ

checked tthe transmission harness and sensors and every thing seems to be in good shape. i blacked taped exposed wires just to make sure.

put in another fuse, started the car up.reved it to 4-5k in netural - no problemsrocked it back and forth - no problemsput it in first and rolled it foward while reving - no problemsput it in reverse and moved back- no problems

started to go up drivway for testdrive, got about 5-6 ft up the drive way and the fuse poped! >:-0

so wtf?why is this fuse still blowing? what else to check?

im going to check the ground's on the engine next, and the ignition switch under the steering column.

any suggestions are appericated.thanks

I guess I am at a loss trying to trace it without being there. You realllllly need the FSM for your car/engine so you can look at a schematic for that fuse and figure out where (all) exactly it sends voltage to. That will show you the possible wires that could be flawed (grounding out??)....

But, ya, you still need to open your steering column up and inspect that wiring. It could be something there from the beginning, but since your smoking incident, now you definitely need to check.

And I did happen to think: check you starter cable and make sure it isn't "troubled" in any way....can't remember: is it close enough to melt to the exhaust?

I'm delirious again...just worked all night on 3 hours sleep cuz I had to drive 2 hours, replace my Father-in-Law's OIL PUMP ( ) at a gas station, and then drive back 2 hours (all after working the night before)...

--TJ

Your electrons are gay if they keep blowing the fuse. Short somewhere

Start at your spark plugs and work back to the fuse, then go from the fuse all the way back to the ignition switch.

I had this problem on my SR. At first it was intermittent. Then it would happen everytime I'd turn the key. My ECU relay would click, my ignition switch wires would melt. I'd change something and it'd work for 5 minutes or two days before it blew again.

Turns out it was my coilpack harness. The terminals in the #1 connector were broken and arcing. So make sure your spark plugs aren't doing something similar with each other or your valve cover or something.

Also, go to walmart and buy a inline spade fuse thing and a few packs of 30a fuses. Crimp some disconnects on the pigtail of the fuse holder and plug it into the fuse box. Much cheaper than blowing up 30a fusible links that are like $3 each. Or you could just straight jump it with a piece of wire. But don't turn the ignition on very long when you do that. Just 2-3 seconds at a time to see if the problem is fixed. You'll notice your ECU relay will click and wire will get hot somewhere and eventually start melting.

Hope this helps. I didn't read all the posts I have to go to work, I just wanted to try to help you out real quick. If this s***'s been covered, sorry.

I've recently starting having this same problem. my blows as soon as I try to start the car. if the key is in the on position and I replace the fuse I watch it pop. on rare occasions it starts. I changed the ignition switch and it blew while trying to take the old one off, and blew once I tried to start it with the new one. Ive covered any loose wires I see, but can't put my finger on what could be causing it.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

turned out to me and injector wire grounding out on my valve cover.. i converted to a top feed rail so i had to change the inj. clips, the black tape i use originally got old and brittle and feel off.. found it taped it up, and it solved my proble,