1996 Lumina APV keeps blowing fuse

I have a 1996 Chevy Lumina APV. The A/C worked great for a recent long trip but then on a shorter trip all of a sudden the fuse blew and all of the instrument panel went out. We replaced the fuse and almost instantly (with the blower turned on) the fuse blew again. We tried a new fan, still blows the fuse, a new relay switch, still blows the fuse. Does anybody have any ideas of what to try next? We are heading on another trip and it will be sweltering without that A/C working. Thanks in advance!!!!

if it works, maybe just to get it to work, a bigger fuse? I wouldnt run it too long, but if nothing else....

You could do the old "put a paper clip in there where the fuse goes, then fix whatever catches fire" diagnosis, but I don't recommend it. :grinno:

Am I to understand that it doesn't blow the fuse until the blower is turned on?

Just so we have our terms straight, you said the fan was replaced. The blower for the system, or the radiator aux cooling fan? And this was the A/C relay you replaced?

OK. Get back to me on that so I can understand what you've done.

What you need to do is try to isolate what part of the system is over loading. If it is fine until the blower is turned up, I'd think that's where the trouble is. If it blows the instant the compressor engages, then there is the problem. If you keep it away from the A/C selections, and just run the blower on heat, does it work or blow the fuse?

Look at the pigtail where the wiring connects to the compressor. Make sure it isn't melted, chewed up or anything, and follow that wiring as far as you can to make sure it isn't laying on something hot.

That's a pretty hefty fuse, whatever is blowing it is probably shorted straight to ground somewhere.

See if that blower works OK in a non-A/C position and get back to me.

Also, is this the standard system? No dual-zone or auto-controlled (where you set the desired temp on digital display and leave it), just the standard three-knob, selector, temp, speed?

Reason I ask is, the auto systems are so complex, there would be almost no point in trying to figure it out from a distance. If you told me there was peanut butter and jelly coming out of the vents with one of those, I'd believe you. :sly:

Hi there. Thanks for all the help. We changed the front blower and it still blew the fuse. Even just turning on anything (defrost/heat/or a/c) blows the fuse which also controls the instrument panel so then you have no gas gauge, no speedo, no temp gauge or battery charge gauge. However, the fan continues to blow air (but just pushes through the cabin air temperature, not a/c or heat). We tried a 20 amp fuse in place of the 15 and it still blows.

Still gotta know which climate control system you have. If it's a computer controlled auto system, it might be a spent servo motor overloading it. If it's the standard system, It sounds like your problem is in the dash, possibly the cluster with the controls on it. If it were mine, I'd probably try to take the controls out and have a look behind there, see if there's a short, or some heat stressed wiring, burned contacts, etc.

Is anything else on that fuse? Look in owner's manual if you have it, should tell all on that circuit. Maybe it's not the A/C at all. Could be that when it is turned on, it puts it over the amperage limit with some other item drawing too much.

It is just a standard system, nothing digital, nothing fancy. On the fuse that keeps blowing are the following: ABS Lamp Driver Module (which by the way the ABS light came on after about 5 hours into our long trip), A/C Compressor relay, DRL Module, ABS, Electronic Level Control Height Sensor, Instrument Panel Cluster and Power Sliding Door Controller.

hello, I just read your post and the replies,... and one person said to use a bigger fuze...that is not a good idea, as your wiring could get hot, start melting and and start a fire, or at least fill the inside of your vehicle up with nasty smelling smoke from melting/burning wires and if it gets to hot, then cause fire, so whatever you do, keep the recomended 15 amp fuze in there and dont ever put a bigger fuze in any car to try and fix this type of problem, cause I did it about 15 years ago and the entire cab of my pickup filled with smoke, and once i pulled over imediately..realized the huge wiring harness leading to my fuze box was just about to catch fire, which could have resulted in a serious diesaster..

there is a known issue with the power slider doors blowing the fuses. I don't have access to TSB's (Technical Service Bulletins), but call your dealer with your VIN # and see if your van is covered by one.