'96 repeatedly blowing a fuse. Ideas?

[Chris Broering]

I have a '96 Avalon that still looks and runs great but about a year ago the 7.5 amp fuse blew that controls the automatic locking system, the alarm, the interior lights, the digital clock and some of the dash warning lights. When it first blew I replaced it and the fuse lasted about a month and it gradually got worse until now if I replace it, it only lasts about a day. I had it looked at by local toyota dealer but they couldn't find the problem. I have had a small problem with water getting trapped in the rear passenger door, so I don't know if there could be any connection. I figure this is a fruitless search, but any ideas out there on how to solve this.

[toyomoho]

Just a guess but might be frayed wiring between the drivers door and frame. Not uncommon, usually results in strange door lock and auto window behavior.

[cexsiman]

maybe get a higher amp fuse? lol.

how random is it? does it happen when your lights are all on, or if the alarm goes off, or if it tends to do it when it rains, or if it does it during long trips or short trips. notice what you can, you may have to take a volt meter to the interior light sockets and see if they are pulling too much power, or in all honesty, is it supposed to have a stronger fuse?

try not using the interior lights for a while and see if it still happens. it blows cause its overloaded, try seeing what overloads it.

i'll see what i can help you figure out

[Qslim]

Yeah, some more specifics as to under what conditions the fuse blows would be helpful. Also, is it the 7.5A fuse in the interior junction block labeled 'GAUGE'?

[Chris Broering]

Thanks for the replies. It is a 7.5 amp fuse in the front compartment by the battery and it's labeled dome. The problem doesn't seem to be connected to turning on or using any other feature. I have even tried taking out the non essential fuses one by one to see if there was any connection to something else. For instance, I took out the fuse for the stereo and cig lighter and then replaced the fuse that keeps blowing and it didn't help. I tried this with all of the fuses I could. The only slight connection I have noticed is that it seems to happen more often when I am parking the car rather than when I'm just cruising down the road, although it has happened both ways. I thought about replacing the fuse with a higher amp fuse, but since 7.5 is the recommened fuse, I didn't know if that could damage something else.

[cexsiman]

yeah, i wouldnt recommend using a higher amp fuse, interesting that you say it happens more when you are parking. do you mean parked? or auctually while parking?

[Chris Broering]

It seems to be when I'm actually parking. I often park on the street and several times the fuse was working when I came to a stop to parallel park the car. Then I put the car in reverse and pull back, then put the car in drive to pull forward and by the time I put the transmission in park, the fuse is blown. It's just weird that there seems to be no rhyme or reason to it since I have also seen it blow just driving down the road with no other features on.

[shortrun]

I had a similar thing happening with a different vehical.
I also had a fuse blowing randomly. After much searching I found one of the wiring harness had not been tied down properly during manufacturing. It had rubbed on a sharp metal corner until it was through the wires insulation. Then when going over just the right bump in the road or shifting the gearshifter into park the fuse would blow. The gearshifter caused it because deep down inside the dash one of the gear shifter moving parts was the sharp metal that was cutting through the wire.
Needless to say it was hard to find. I got the wiring diagram for the car and would cut into the wire, on the fuse circuit that was blowing, and I installed my own fuse. I did this on the many branches of that circuit until I found the problem one. Then I followed the wire until I found the problem.