fuse blown? Console lights out.

[robdancarter]

Hi friends. I had a radio problem so i pulled the radio out and blew a fuse (the "audio" fuse). The radio, clock light, and gear lights went out. I then replaced the fuse, and tried to turn the radio back on. After briefly turning on, something popped just like it did when I blew a fuse and then everything shut off again. However, the audio fuse was not blown. I tried a new fuse and it still didn't work. Does anyone have an idea what it could be?

[robdancarter]

Or does anyone know how i could run some tests to find out what it is? I really don't want to take it to a mechanic because I know this sort of electrical thing can get expensive.

[atraudes]

I'm pretty sure the interior lights have their own fuse, separate from the Audio fuse. I'd start looking at the wires behind the stereo and clock and look for shorts. Try pulling the dimmer switch and see if there's anything suspicious there, too. Unfortunately there aren't any good answers beyond "find the short".

One other thing you can try is once you replace the dimmer fuse, turn the dimmer all the way down and off (till it clicks), turn on the lights and such, then slowly turn the dimmer up. If it pops as soon as you turn it up, then you have a dimmer short downstream of the switch.

Do you have an aftermarket stereo? I think most aftermarkets don't use the dimmer light wire so it may not be terminated properly. That or the installer may have fudged the wiring up in that area while they were putting the stereo in.

[robdancarter]

I ended up taking it to the dealer. There was a fuse blown on the clock. A light was out on the shifter. and they suspect the short is in my aftermarket stereo so they won't mess with it. I guess somehow all three happened at the same time, causing me to think they all had a common problem.