Ceiling light, spotlights, door lights, & trunk light not working

[eurotrance7]

I've had my 2000 Accord LX for 3 months and all the aforementioned lights were working fine and then all of a sudden they stopped working. It turned out to be a blown fuse, so I replaced it, but it blew out just moments after I put it in.

I went to Auto Zone to buy a new pack of fuses since I had already used the replacement fuse in the car. I put one of the newly bought fuses in and again it immediately blew out. That's two so far and both had the same power rating as the original fuse.

I later then drove to a Honda dealer and asked them to check it out. They said it was nothing more than a blown fuse, and replaced it for me. I noticed once I got home that they had put in a fuse with a higher power rating (10) than the original (7.5). Strangely, this somehow fixed the problem.

I thought everything was back to normal until today the fuse blew out yet again in less than a week. Except this time the fuse actually lasted a few days longer than the earlier ones. So for the last time I tried one of the 7.5 fuses I bought and I still get a blown fuse right away.

I know this is an electrical problem, but how serious is it? Could it be a short circuit? How did it happen? The only thing new I added to the car was an alarm and I'm not sure if that has something to do with it, 'cause everything was fine in the months after the alarm was installed. How does a technician go about fixing it? Is it true that they have to literally take apart the car to figure out the problem?

[mwkirchner]

Did you mention that to the Honda dealer when you took it in to them? I would look into the wiring for the alarm. The alarm has to be wired into the door circuit so if someone opens a door the alarm will go off. You may not have had any problems for a while after getting the alarm installed, but it could be something that wasn't touching at the time and it is now. I would look for a wire that is bare in the circuit where the alarm goes into the Honda harness. The fact that the fuse blows so quickly is an indication that it is a hot wire going to ground.

Do not ask me why a higher amp fuse lasts a while. I am not sure why that would be. The fact that it too blows after a while still indicates that you have a power to ground issue.

[ponchonutty]

Right off hand I have no idea why the alarm could be the problem unless it is a very cheap unit or faulty install. You need to have this checked soon before it gets into an even bigger problem. You should never put a bigger fuse into something.

[hunterr83]

My cousin had the same problem with his 1988 Camry. The fuse for his back lights kept blowing out. It was really strange. After noticing the pattern, he would put in fuses with higher ratings. They would last longer, but eventually they, too, blew out. So he took one of the blown fuses and use some metal stick to connect the ends, this one lasted really long, but the high voltage that was apparently flowing through it eventually destroyed the metal rod. I'll ask him what he had to do to fix it when I see him on AIM. For now, I would just try using a fuse with a higher rating, maybe 20 or something as a temorary solution.

[mwkirchner]

Originally Posted by hunterr83

After noticing the pattern, he would put in fuses with higher ratings. They would last longer, but eventually they, too, blew out. So he took one of the blown fuses and use some metal stick to connect the ends, this one lasted really long, but the high voltage that was apparently flowing through it eventually destroyed the metal rod. I'll ask him what he had to do to fix it when I see him on AIM. For now, I would just try using a fuse with a higher rating, maybe 20 or something as a temorary solution.

NO! NO! NO! NO!

Very bad advice. Do not overload the circuit by putting in higher amp fuses then it calls for. You can actually start wires burning following this practice. Get the system troubleshot and fix the problem.