My son has a 1997 Camry with a 2.2 engine. He was driving to work this morning, and the car died going down the road. He pulled over to the shoulder, and the car restarted right away. The problem is none of the instruments work now. No speedometer, no gas gauge, no heat gauge, no check engine light, nothing. Also, the transmission will not shift into overdrive. The instrument cluster lights work, just none of the instruments do. Anyone have any ideas? Thanks so much.

Have you checked the fuses by the driver's legs and in the box under the hood by the battery? Check for stored codes in the ECM.

We found the fuse, and when we replace it, it blows instantly.

If you can read a wiring diagram, there is one for your vehicle linked in the sticky post at the top of this forum (see below for link). One of the wires or devices linked to the 10 A gauge fuse is shorting to ground. You might be able to trace it physically under the dash. Sorry I'm not more help.

http://redirectingat.com/?id=252X400&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.camrystuff.com%2Fmanuals%2FGe n4%2F99EWD.pdf

You can try disconnecting some or all the devices and reconnect them in some logical pattern that will tell you which is the one blowing the fuse. That is the device or wiring that needs to be fixed or replaced.

Thanks so much, but I am at a loss, looking at the diagram. LOL I am tryig to figure it out, I do appreciate your help.

Never had this problem, wiring on my Camry is remarkable in its design -- but first thing I'd be checking is a real close inspection under the hood with a flashlight or service light.
Look for missing insulation, wiring not routed correctly - anything that looks out of place, anything that may be grounding where it should not.
Next take the light under the dash and do the same thing - look for anything out of place, check insulation and routing - chafing, bare spots.
Also the Owner's manual will show you all the components on a circuit controlled by a certain fuse so that may offer some guidance. For example (just an example may not be accurate) they may show the dash and dome light on the same fuse. Point is, the Owner's manual shows you which items are on the fused circuit without having to read the wiring diagram.
If you know which fuse is blowing, you can locate that fuse on the pictures and diagrams in the back of the Owner's manual.

Which fues and location? I had a similair problem and it was the rear wiring harness in the trunk. I found it by noticing that when I replaced the fuse and left it in Park, it did not blow the fuse. When I put my foot on the brake and moved the shifter through "Reverse" the fuse blew and took out the rear lights, gauages and shifting the transmission into second. The fuse was in the kick panel next to the drivers side. Wiring was along the trunk hinge.





We found the fuse, and when we replace it, it blows instantly.

It is the fuse that supplies power to the gauges, the window motors, overdrive in the transmission, and I am not sure what else. We are tracing down every wire at this time, trying to find the bare spot. Thanks for the help, everyone.