fuse keeps blowing - wiring questions

[tenz0]

here's my problem, it may sound stupid, but it's really pissing me off, and i have a few questions...if it makes a difference this is in a '93 del sol, i posted in here, cuz its not really a car specific question, and nobody really posts in the del sol forum

my situation:
my cd player is NOT hooked up to the factory radio harness - the power wires go straight to the fuse block and my speakers are all connected by regular speaker wire.

every time i push in the cd player just slightly the fuse for my taillights and dash lights blows. i checked all my cd player connections and found that my ground was exposed and could have been touching metal, so i reconnected it and put electrical tape over every single connection just in case. i replaced the fuse. i start the car up, turn on the lights - they work - until i push the cd player and it does the same damn thing.

so this time, i take out the fuse for the radio/cigarette lighter (i thought that since my cd player isnt using the factory harness this fuse wouldnt take the power from my cd player, just the power from the O.E. wires, but i was wrong, i got no power to my cd player) and replace the fuse for the tails and dash once again. i turn the car on - all lights work - push the cd player in and it does it AGAIN.

so now its dark out, i cant drive to my heated garage because im not at home and my taillights dont work (i just got pulled over for them last night) so here are my questions:
1. how does the radio/cigarette lighter fuse still take away or give power to my cd player if im not even using the factory wiring harness for the radio?

2. why is it that my taillight/dash light fuse blows - why not something else? are the wires for the tails and dash lights right behind the cd player and maybe exposed?

3. there are a few exposed wires coming from the factory harness that could be touching metal (the reason i didnt use the factory harness is because the wires are all cut so short i didnt want to take my dash off to use them and i checked a couple wires with a voltmeter and got no power from what should have been the power wires) could these exposed wires be my problem? im guessing they are - but is there something else it could be?

any help would be GREATLY appreciated

[polacek]

I am guessing that you are drawing power from the dash light/tail lights, and that is probably why that fuse is blowing, make sense? Why are you using that fuse? There are a few locations on the fuse box for auxiliary hookup. I use that for my compressor to run an air horn, fog lights, etc. You stated "my ground was exposed and could have been touching metal" Ground wires are supposed to touch metal. Any metal on a car is ground. Do you have an external amplifier for your radio? Is that hooked up to the same circuit? Do you have a bad head unit? Do your homework, post your findings and enjoy.

[tenz0]

as i suspected it was a loose wire from the original unused wiring harness that i didnt see the first time...i taped it off and now everything is fine again