Electrical problems with my XLE.

[BRomero]

Alright so I got a '94 Camry XLE sedan. Its got a little less than 240,000km on it. Im having some electrical problems with certain things.

What works: Sunroof, power locks, power windows, dashboard lights, and cigarette lighter.

What doesnt work: Radio, both dome lights (driver and passenger roof ), and just today my headlights stopped working, but they were working fine before.

Now with my radio, I checked its fuse and its fine. The cigarette lighter and radio are one fuse and the cig lighter while the radio does not. I checked the engine fuse box and saw that there was no fuse in the dome slot. I put one in and the light worked for about 1 min, and for some reason it allowed the radio to work too. But then after I closed the hood and turned on the car again, the dome light and radio stopped working. I rechecked the dome fuse and it was blown. I put in another 20 Amp fuse and it blew immediately. What could my problem be? From what a friend told me, a wire must be grounded, or rubbing against something...Thats what I head (I didnt really understand what he said). What could be wrong with my car?
And also, how can I get to the headlights to see if the bulbs are blown?

[Mike Gerber]

"From what a friend told me, a wire must be grounded, or rubbing against something..."

He's probably right. You have to check all the items protected by that dome fuse for a wire that has it's insulation frayed and is allowing the metal strands of the wire to come in contact with a metal ground source. It will be the positive wire for an item protected by that fuse. When you find it you can wrap some electrical tape around it and then reinstall a new fuse and you should be fine.

Mike

[BRomero]

How can I check all the items that are protected by the dome fuse? What should I open in the car and such?

[jmborchers]

Normally this kind of problem is in the engine side main terminal blocks / harness and not a wire.

[BRomero]

Nevermind, I fixed the problem haha. So what I did was, instead of putting in a 20 Amp fuse, I put in a 10 and it works perfectly now. My radio works, along with my door sensors, and my interior lights haha. Im so proud of myself!.

Thanks anyways guys. This site is still a great help.

[Mike Gerber]

I wouldn't expect that fuse to last very long. If it is a frayed wire, vibration will make it contact some metal ground again and the fuse will pop. After that you can start looking for a frayed wire. Good luck.

Mike

[500KCamry]

Originally Posted by BRomero

Nevermind, I fixed the problem haha. So what I did was, instead of putting in a 20 Amp fuse, I put in a 10 and it works perfectly now. My radio works, along with my door sensors, and my interior lights haha. Im so proud of myself!.

Thanks anyways guys. This site is still a great help.

This won't fix the problem permanently. A lower fuse size isn't the cure - but it is safer because it will blow quicker.

You need to find out what is on the electrical circuit, then investigate the harness in areas where it can move or passes through restricted areas.

An example is a door/window/lock problem - the solution/problem is usually where the wiring goes from the door to the body (the hinge area). This is where the wiring is always flexing and moving.

[BRomero]

How can I check where it is frayed though? do I gotta remove the radio and check behind it? Im not sure what to do to check out the circuit. Please someone help me..

[BRomero]

I found the repair manual for my car online

http://www.**********s.com/camry/

but I dont know which one to use and how to use it cause I cant exactly read those electrical diagrams. can someone please tell me what to check and how to check if the wire is frayed...If I take it to a mechanic, they might charge me big bucks...