95 XLS Fuse/Wiring Problem

[sbrader]

We have had a problem surface in the last couple of days where a fuse is blowing somewhat randomly. The fuse controls the a/c-heat fan, power mirrors, radio and temperature display. It initially blew when the A/C was running. I replaced it and it worked fine for a couple of days and then blew again when the heater was running but not the A/C. We kept the heat and a/c fan off and it worked fine for a couple of days and then blew again.

Any thoughts?

Also, where can I find a wiring diagram for this car so I can try to trace the circuits?

Thanks,
Scott

[sbrader]

I'm continuing to chase my tail on this problem. Does anyone have any suggestions where I can get some decent wiring diagrams for this car?

[sseaman]

Toyota has a service you can subscribe to and give you access to the Factory Service Manuals. You can get 1 day, 1 month, or 1 years subscriptions. If you get a 1 day you can download all the pages for you models.

Sounds like there is a short somewhere, i would start be looking behind the control panel in the dash.

Does it go out when it is sitting still or when you are driving and possible going over bumps?

There is a device you can by that is like a breaker, that fits in place of a fuse, so you don't keep going through fuses while narrowing down the problem

[sseaman]

You might try these

http://www.wiringproducts.com/index1.html

[sbrader]

It only happens while driving. I also assume it's a short somewhere, but I don't really know where to begin to track it down. On a 13 year old car, I'm sure there have been plenty of opportunities for the wires to rub and the insulation to fail. I'll take a look at the Toyota site for access to the documents and see if I can track down the wiring diagrams.

Thanks!
Scott

[sseaman]

If it only happens driving, I would start behind the dash area, or where it comes through the firewall.

[toyomoho]

If the fuse controls the power mirrors might look at the wiring between the door and chassis. Often this wiring becomes damaged due to door usage.

[sbrader]

Toyomoho,
Thanks for the suggestion. That fuse does control the power mirrors.


Sseaman,
I poked around the Toyota site and could only find a phone number to call to order the service manuals. Would you happen to know the URL of the site to access the downloads?

Thanks,
Scott

[sseaman]

https://techinfo.toyota.com/techInfoPortal/

I hear it has been changed recently and isn't the easiest to use.

You might google " toyota tis" before you subscribe and make sure you know what you are doing, since the clock will be running.

[sbrader]

Man, do I feel stupid! I almost never drive the Avalon (I prefer to stick with my '08 4Runner!) so I was going on what my sons were telling me. Since it was such an intermittent problem, I wasn't able to just put my VOM on the circuits to find a simple short. I was tracing the wires looking for worn insulation, etc. where it might be touching ground on a bump or something. Well, to make a very long ordeal into a short story, I couldn't find anything so I went back to the beginning and started looking for the easy stuff first. I noticed that he cigarette lighter was on the same circuit. I pulled open the ashtray to start there and noticed that a penny was in there. I pulled it out, replaced the fuse and haven't had a short since. Apparently, the penny would bounce around in there and short out the circuit intermittently. I'm glad it was an easy fix, but I feel stupid for not doing the simple stuff first!

Thanks for the help!

Scott

[sseaman]

Scott, glad you found any easy fix.