Tail lights in my 88 camry

[wyez]

I just bought a 1988 toyota camry yesterday, and everything seemed okay. It wasn't until I got home and it got dark that I noticed that my dashlights weren't working no matter how much I turned the knob. Later on I also noticed that my tail lights werent working. My Dad and I noticed there were some 7.5 fuses in the dashboard, so we figured that this problem must have been one that the last owner had. We got into the fuse panel and there wasn't the diagram of what fuse goes to what. We found the blown one and replaced it. It blew again. We tried different amped fuses. They all blew still. We called the previous owner and he said that he never experienced the problem. He did mntion that the CD player had just been installed. So we figure that it might be the wiring and be because of the installation of the new CD player, but we know nothing about wiring. If anyone knows where I can go online to see the wiring of an 88 camry I'd appreciate it. Also if you think the lights not working could be caused by something else please reply, it'd be much appreciated. Thank-you

[Joe W]

When fuses blow like this it usually indicates a short(a positive wire touching a ground).You could look around the trunk hinge where the wires are attached as this has been a trouble area.Otherwise the CD installation is the place to look.Let us know how it works out or if you need more info.

[yotatechie04]

I agree with Joe. Most likely a short somewhere. I strongly recommend getting a Haynes manual for your vehicle. (Fairly cheap at your local auto parts retailer.) I'd say most likely the cause of the blown fuse is the CD player installation. Something wasn't wired correctly. Best of luck to you, and as Joe said, let us know if you need any help.

[wyez]

We pulled out the CD player and we put in a new fuse and the running lights worked! There were some exposed wires so we taped them up and put the Cd player back in, turned on the lights and the fuse blew again. It ended up being the antenna wire, when we would plug it in, the fuse would blow. We taped it and just left it, I dont need the radio anyway. Only thing is now for some reason the CD player only turns on when the running lights are off, and when we do play it, the lights dim with the bass and if you turn it up too loud it will cut out. I think I remember reading another post about this problem, I will look. Thank you for your guys' (and/or gals') help. If you know anything about the new problem let me know. Thanks again.