why does the fuse keep popping...

[nmarie51]

ok soo here is the deal.. everytime i put a fuse into the ignition/gage spot and trun the key to start it it pops.. any ideas when.. there is ground and power.. and i am stumped..

[MrWrongsalive]

You have a short to ground somewhere in the circuit. That short is going to ground before it reaches the load (i.e. blower motor, head light) and turning the fuse into a load on the circuit at which point the fuse can't handle that load and pops.
There are two easy methods to diagnosing a short to ground, one is safe and pretty reliable, the other is very accurate and dangerous.
THE SAFE WAY: Install a light bulb in the fuse slot, positive and negative don't matter in a DC circuit when it comes to most types of light bulbs, LED's do matter, I recommend a sealed beam headlight. Once you plug it in and turn the power on to that fuse slot the light will illuminate so long as you have a short to ground. Wiggle wires and watch the light if it doesn't flicker or go out then the wiring is PROBABLY ok. If that doesn't do anything start unplugging parts of the suspected circuit and observe the light, if it goes out then you know the short is somewhere near that part of the circuit you just unplugged. Try to be precise, unplug before and after the load instead of just before, if its possible. What you'll probably find is that when you unplug your gauge cluster the light will go out and you'll need a new cluster, or a more specific part if you can take it apart.
THE DANGEROUS WAY: (Warning, this can start a fire even if done properly, possible harm to life and/or vehicle)
Go to the fuse port and jump the connection with a piece of rapped up aluminum foil, the theory is that the aluminum foil can withstand more of a load than the broken part of the circuit at which point that part will begin to smoke, this smoke will point out the broken part of the circuit. The dangerous part about this is that an electrical fire can start and usually from an unexpected place, somewhere in the circuit that you wouldn't think it went (i.e. underneath the hood, underneath the car, in the trunk, or in a head liner.)
GOOD LUCK

[nmarie51]

ok now i have everything working in my blazer.. but the gage cluster doesn't work. i cant figure out why.. i was told that there is a bare or stripped wire somewhere and i have to take the whole dashboard off.. there has got to be an easier way to do this.. please help..

[16th hippy]

before ripping whole dash apart, go step by step to isolate problem. is entire cluster dead, or just 1 gauge? wiring diagram would help to find if other items share same power circuit and so on.