98 Camry- Blows Fuse

[sashby]

98 Camry LE, V6. Auto. When I put the car in reverse I blow fuse #22 which contols the gauges, trac. control, power windows and charging system. Doesn't matter if backup light bulbs are installed or not. Doesn't do it all the time.

[Tireburner]

There;s a two pin plug at the transaxle. It contains a Red/Black wire and a Red/Blue wire. If you unplug that, does the problem go away??

[sashby]

Tireburner - Thanks for the reply. I've only found 3 connectors on the transaxle. The Park/Neutral postion switch (8 wires), the solenoid electrical connector (4 wires) and the vehicle speed sensor (1 green, 1 red). Of course, now that I actually have time to work on the thing, it's working OK. If I assume that the vehicle speed sensor is the connector you're talking about do you know of anything I should look for (Ohms, short, etc.)? I've got a Haynes manual that shows me a couple of things to test on the Park/Neutral and the solenoid connector but they're both buried so I have to take a few things off to ge to them and neither seem to match the manual's description so I'm not sure that their sggested tests will do me much good even when I do get to the connectors.

[Tireburner]

AF just crashed and dumped my last message, so lets try again!!

Unless you are blowing the fuse the second you insert it, you don't need to worry about a short in the red/blue wire Pin # 2 and the 8 pin plug on the transaxle. In Pin # 8 there is a red/black wire that runs through a couple of connectors under the passenger side of the dash, then back to the reverse lights. I think your problem is between the last connector and the reverse lights.

Next time you get it to blow the fuse, remove the reverse light bulbs, and unplug the wire from the last connector before it goes back to the reverse lights. Test the wire for ground. If ground is present, check the wire for a pinch, or a screw that has nicked it.

I have some very clear diagrams on the reverse light circuit that I can fax you if you like.

[sashby]

Tireburner - Once again, thanks. I'll try to be proactive and trace the wires before the thing starts blowing again but probably not until at least this weekend. I'll let you know what I find.

[sashby]

After a little gentle persuasion I was able to get enough slack in the wiring harness where the wires exit the trunk to reveal some chaffed wiring. A little tape and back in business.