electrical problem

If you know a lot about electrical hopefully u could help me out. I put a new stereo in my car. It worked great but when i went out that night, my lights that illuminat my gauges weren't working. I cheked fuses and they were all okay. I checked to make sure all wires were connected and they were. I end up taking my whole dash out. I looked for shorts but all the wires looked good. I put it back together and notice that i know have a 15 amp fuse blowing. i take my dash back out and look at everything, i even went out and bought a short finder but nothing seemed wrong. the 15 amp fuse controlled the radio and the dome light. I put it back together and my lights for my gauges work but i still blow the fuse as soon as i put it in. If anybody knows anything i would appreciate the information cause i am getting frustrated.

It can be very difficult to arm-chair diagnose problems like this. Make sure that no wires are pinched behind screws. In my '88 'Stang, faulty wire in the swivel lamp above the windshield caused a fuse to blow intermittantly. This is the same fuse as the dome-lamp, I believe. Don't overlook this possibility. However, the problem likely has something to do with your installation. I've seen people do absolutely frightening stereo installations. I would disconnect the stereo, carefully insulate the wires so that they do not short into each other or any metal part of the car, and try the fuse again. If it doesn't blow, and everything works, you may have blown your stereo. If the stereo itself has a fuse, just pull it and try your fuse again.

If you have an ohmmeter, you can test the circuit without blowing fuses. DISCONNECT the battery! One side of the fuse probably reads 0 ohms (or so) to ground (the body of the car). Disconnect wiring until the circuit no longer reads 0 ohms. When this happens, you have a BIG clue as to where the short is. It will be in the wiring you just disconnected! Good luck. But I would strongly suspect your stereo installation.

BTW: Make sure you are using an adequately rated fuse. Some powerful stereos draw ALOT of current. Thisn is in addition to the current required to operate the lamps.

I know that my stereo connection is good. Right now i have my stero out of my car, and the wires i was using caped off, i also metered out the wies prior to my installion to make sure they were correct. But thanks for the tip with the ohmmeter ill try that.

Did you cut and splice the stereo's pigtail into the cars wiring? If so, are you 100% positive that you know exactly what the configuration of the wires are that you spliced in? I'm willing to bet you have a one of the hot wires spliced wrong, causing your short. I believe I have a wiring schematic somewhere that might help you out. Let me know if you need me to dig it out.

use an 80 amp fuse so that it's won't blow. :)

use an 80 amp fuse so that it's won't blow. :)
I really hope your not serious?

use an 80 amp fuse so that it's won't blow. :)

I presume this is a joke, but just in case it isn't...
A car battery is a very good voltage source. This means it can deliver very high current. Once the current handling capability of the fuse exceeds the current handling capability of the wire, the wire will melt instead. This is a very real fire-hazard.

yea if somebody has a schematic thats not to hard to get to i would really like to see it, thanks.

yea if somebody has a schematic thats not to hard to get to i would really like to see it, thanks.
I'll see what I can dig up tomorrow for you. What year is your car?

yeah, that was a joke guys.
seiously though, you probably do have one of the hot wires spliced wrong.

I jave an 86 mustang