Caravan Instrument Cluster keeps blowing fuse

[stepheneking2002]

I am having a problem with my 99 Dodge Caravan, 3.3l. A few days ago the cluster/gauges stopped working, they
had lights just no tack, spedo, fuel..etc... When driving the van home it was stuck in second gear. I replaced the fuse
for the cluster and it worked for a short while, long enough to go out to dinner...then it went out again. This time only
it started to blow the fuse everytime you turned the ignition on. I was also having a couple of problems with the IOD fuse
under the hood. Not sure if they are related? Anyways. Everytime I install a new fuse and try to turn the engine over it
will blow the guages fuse and I mean every single time...I have gone through 15 bucks worth of fuses.
I have tried many things, I heard of a bad ground pin on the cluster board...so I checked that and it was fine. I even
tried the replacing the fuse with the cluster unpluged and it still blew. Sounds to me like a short somewhere. Or is there
a different device controlling the voltage to this?
From looking at the electrical scematics it looks as if this circuit runs into the "Body Control Module" Would be the Red/White
wire. Looks as if there is a grounding point for this circuit as well somewhere with the ignition gound. Any suggestions, is
there a voltage regulator on this model? Is it possibly the PCM or BCM? Help...!!??

[RIP]

Welcome to the forum. Too bad your first post is a nasty problem. The good news? You have a dead power short to ground. Easier to troubleshoot than the nightmarish intermittent short. You've already started the process by disconnecting the cluster and seeing the fuse is still blowing. Keep heading down the circuit disconnecting components till the fuse stops blowing. Your short is either that component or somewhere downstream of that component. You can either empty your wallet on new fuses or rig up leads on a circuit breaker and connect it in the fuse socket as a temporary troubleshooting aid.

The BCM could be the culprit. Be carefull though because it feeds several other components that would have to be verified as good. By "IOD fuse problems" do you mean it was also blowing? That fuse supplies the main power to the BCM. I'm thinking if that fuse was blowing, it killed the CCD bus and that probably forced the transmission into limp mode (stuck in second). You should have seen many other accessories die. Just to CYA you might want to disconnect the input and output speed sensors then the TCM and see if that clears the short.

This could come down to wiring. Look at wire bundles that take punishment. I've read of shorting problems in wire bundles routed near the exhaust melting, battery acid dripping on bundles under the battery, pinched wires in doors or leading to them. The voltage regulator is in the PCM. This will likely take a while but you'll get there.

[redzed1]

Here's the wiring diagrams, maybe save a little