15A fuse sparks and blows when changing

I lost power to the the radio of my '02 Tacoma while driving. Noted
that the dome light and clock were also not functioning. I located and
pulled the 15A fuse labled "DOME" (under the hood) and noted it was
blown. Tried changing out with a new fuse, however, each time there was
a spark and the fuse was blown. The ignition was off, door closed, and
battery connected (I assumed this was not a problem). Is this indicatve
of a short elsewhere and if so what would be drawing power to blow the
fuse. Any help is appreciated.

<blacktiepup@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:1161663534.139994.66030@b28g2000cwb.googlegroups.com...[color=blue]
>I lost power to the the radio of my '02 Tacoma while driving. Noted
> that the dome light and clock were also not functioning. I located and
> pulled the 15A fuse labled "DOME" (under the hood) and noted it was
> blown. Tried changing out with a new fuse, however, each time there was
> a spark and the fuse was blown. The ignition was off, door closed, and
> battery connected (I assumed this was not a problem). Is this indicatve
> of a short elsewhere and if so what would be drawing power to blow the
> fuse. Any help is appreciated.
>[/color]

Do you have the factory radio, or something else?

[email]blacktiepup@gmail.com[/email], 10/24/2006, 12:18:54 AM,
<1161663534.139994.66030@b28g2000cwb.googlegroups.com> wrote:
[color=blue]
> I lost power to the the radio of my '02 Tacoma while driving. Noted
> that the dome light and clock were also not functioning. I located and
> pulled the 15A fuse labled "DOME" (under the hood) and noted it was
> blown. Tried changing out with a new fuse, however, each time there
> was a spark and the fuse was blown. The ignition was off, door
> closed, and battery connected (I assumed this was not a problem). Is
> this indicatve of a short elsewhere and if so what would be drawing
> power to blow the fuse. Any help is appreciated.[/color]

You have to look at your manual to see what else is on that circuit.
15 Amps for a radio, clock and dome light is unimaginable to me. Once
you find out what other systems are on that circuit you can start
disconnecting the power to them one at a time. Take out your dome
light, take off the connector to the radio, etc. Basically you have to
isolate where the system short is located. If you still can't find the
source of the problem then a wiring diagram will be needed to find the
wires that come off that circuit and disconnect them closer to the fuse.

JoeSpareBedroom wrote:[color=blue]
> <blacktiepup@gmail.com> wrote in message
> news:1161663534.139994.66030@b28g2000cwb.googlegroups.com...[color=green]
> >I lost power to the the radio of my '02 Tacoma while driving. Noted
> > that the dome light and clock were also not functioning. I located and
> > pulled the 15A fuse labled "DOME" (under the hood) and noted it was
> > blown. Tried changing out with a new fuse, however, each time there was
> > a spark and the fuse was blown. The ignition was off, door closed, and
> > battery connected (I assumed this was not a problem). Is this indicatve
> > of a short elsewhere and if so what would be drawing power to blow the
> > fuse. Any help is appreciated.
> >[/color]
>
> Do you have the factory radio, or something else?[/color]

It's an after-market Alpine..has worked fine since installed in '02..

<blacktiepup@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:1161695032.964410.197400@i3g2000cwc.googlegroups.com...[color=blue]
>
> JoeSpareBedroom wrote:[color=green]
>> <blacktiepup@gmail.com> wrote in message
>> news:1161663534.139994.66030@b28g2000cwb.googlegroups.com...[color=darkred]
>> >I lost power to the the radio of my '02 Tacoma while driving. Noted
>> > that the dome light and clock were also not functioning. I located and
>> > pulled the 15A fuse labled "DOME" (under the hood) and noted it was
>> > blown. Tried changing out with a new fuse, however, each time there was
>> > a spark and the fuse was blown. The ignition was off, door closed, and
>> > battery connected (I assumed this was not a problem). Is this indicatve
>> > of a short elsewhere and if so what would be drawing power to blow the
>> > fuse. Any help is appreciated.
>> >[/color]
>>
>> Do you have the factory radio, or something else?[/color]
>
> It's an after-market Alpine..has worked fine since installed in '02..
>[/color]

During 10 years in the car audio business, I saw some wiring techniques that
almost burned down cars. Some radio installers simply don't have a clue. The
first thing I'd do is get behind the radio with plenty of light, and inspect
every single connection. If the connections were made with either wire nuts
or electrical tape, you need to start from scratch. Those two methods are
not appropriate in automotive or marine applications. Rewire using high
quality crimp connectors. You'll need a GOOD crimping tool for this. The
best connectors on earth come from [url]www.panduit.com[/url]. I haven't checked, but
I'm sure they also have a crimping tool that's better than the usual
nonsense sold in Radio Shack & Home Depot.

Let me know what you find. If you need to know which crimps are best for
this purpose, I can point them out at that web site.

On 23 Oct 2006 21:18:54 -0700, [email]blacktiepup@gmail.com[/email] wrote:
[color=blue]
>I lost power to the the radio of my '02 Tacoma while driving. Noted
>that the dome light and clock were also not functioning. I located and
>pulled the 15A fuse labled "DOME" (under the hood) and noted it was
>blown. Tried changing out with a new fuse, however, each time there was
>a spark and the fuse was blown. The ignition was off, door closed, and
>battery connected (I assumed this was not a problem). Is this indicatve
>of a short elsewhere and if so what would be drawing power to blow the
>fuse. Any help is appreciated.[/color]

Yes, you have a short somewhere most likely.

Rule Number One: Do NOT install a larger fuse than called for!
EVER! The fuses are sized to protect the wires, a larger fuse will
allow the wiring to melt and catch fire, and that would be bad.

Read the other three posts for good ideas, and if that doesn't work
you will need to physically find the problem. Most likely problem if
you can't find the short at a door switch or a light fixture is that
the wiring harness is rubbing on a rough edge of sheetmetal along the
way, and a grounded piece of metal or a screw point wore through to
the dome light circuit wire.

If you really know what you are doing, you can hook up another fuse
and a brakelight lamp (32CP - 2 amps or so) in series to the Dome Fuse
terminals. Have someone watch the lamp while you physically move the
body harness away from suspect edges - when the lamp goes out you just
found the ground.

CAUTION: If the harness is in fact compromised, the current draw
(from the lamp chosen) must be small enough to not heat up the wires
and cause more damage.

If you don't understand this, go have a mechanic that specializes in
electrical problems do it. You can easily burn up the main wire
harness in the car, and it's 'call the junkyard' time. No kidding, it
can easily cost over $2K to buy and replace the body main harness.

--<< Bruce >>--

<blacktiepup@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:1161695032.964410.197400@i3g2000cwc.googlegroups.com...[color=blue]
>
> JoeSpareBedroom wrote:[color=green]
>> <blacktiepup@gmail.com> wrote in message
>> news:1161663534.139994.66030@b28g2000cwb.googlegroups.com...[color=darkred]
>> >I lost power to the the radio of my '02 Tacoma while driving. Noted
>> > that the dome light and clock were also not functioning. I located and
>> > pulled the 15A fuse labled "DOME" (under the hood) and noted it was
>> > blown. Tried changing out with a new fuse, however, each time there was
>> > a spark and the fuse was blown. The ignition was off, door closed, and
>> > battery connected (I assumed this was not a problem). Is this indicatve
>> > of a short elsewhere and if so what would be drawing power to blow the
>> > fuse. Any help is appreciated.
>> >[/color]
>>
>> Do you have the factory radio, or something else?[/color]
>
> It's an after-market Alpine..has worked fine since installed in '02..
>[/color]

I have a question for you. I haven't shopped for a car stereo in years, but
Christmas is around the corner and my son's going to be the happy recipient
of an Alpine. I haven't touched any of the units I've seen in stores - I'm
usually in a rush, and there for some other item. But, from a distance,
everything I see on display looks like something intended to be hung from
the ceiling of a disco and spun around all night. Way too much light,
especially for cars whose radios are high up on the dash. Does your Alpine
offer options for turning the display into something more subtle?

JoeSpareBedroom wrote:[color=blue]
> <blacktiepup@gmail.com> wrote in message
> news:1161695032.964410.197400@i3g2000cwc.googlegroups.com...[color=green]
> >
> > JoeSpareBedroom wrote:[color=darkred]
> >> <blacktiepup@gmail.com> wrote in message
> >> news:1161663534.139994.66030@b28g2000cwb.googlegroups.com...
> >> >I lost power to the the radio of my '02 Tacoma while driving. Noted
> >> > that the dome light and clock were also not functioning. I located and
> >> > pulled the 15A fuse labled "DOME" (under the hood) and noted it was
> >> > blown. Tried changing out with a new fuse, however, each time there was
> >> > a spark and the fuse was blown. The ignition was off, door closed, and
> >> > battery connected (I assumed this was not a problem). Is this indicatve
> >> > of a short elsewhere and if so what would be drawing power to blow the
> >> > fuse. Any help is appreciated.
> >> >
> >>
> >> Do you have the factory radio, or something else?[/color]
> >
> > It's an after-market Alpine..has worked fine since installed in '02..
> >[/color]
>
> I have a question for you. I haven't shopped for a car stereo in years, but
> Christmas is around the corner and my son's going to be the happy recipient
> of an Alpine. I haven't touched any of the units I've seen in stores - I'm
> usually in a rush, and there for some other item. But, from a distance,
> everything I see on display looks like something intended to be hung from
> the ceiling of a disco and spun around all night. Way too much light,
> especially for cars whose radios are high up on the dash. Does your Alpine
> offer options for turning the display into something more subtle?[/color]

The Apline I have actually has a very simple and clean display...not
this array of colors and lights. You might also want to check on
Kenwood which is a reputable brand and has clean looking
displays...I've got one in my jeep.