'83 GL wagon. Suddenly began blowing fuse 11 (taillights, front running lights, dash lights) after hitting chuckhole. I've looked for the short til I'm blue and haven't found it yet. Anyone else have any suggestions? Fuse blows instantly after turning on lights with ignition on.

have you checked the bulbs too? I had a similar problem in one of my other cars and it turned out to be a buld was messed up in the socket

Have you checked the resistance in each circuit with a DMM?

my hatch did this same thing.. i looked for shorts, neer found any.. but i did figure out that the bulb sockets in the back for the tailights were gettin wet which was poppin the fuse

 

got rain/snow/ice yet? hehe

I have tail-lights and front running lights unplugged from the car. DMM tells me a dead short at the fuse connection.

First off Ed, it is very refershing to see someone that knows the difference between a "short" and an "open"

Most folks just say "short" for any electrical anomoly they encounter.

Nuff of that.

Do you by chance have a trailer light set up on this rig?

If so check it for problems.

If not you may want to lower the fuse box for a look see.

Probably will not help but, hope your lesson in

short vs open does

Yea, I'm beginning to think the short is under the dash since the kid recently installed a radio (I did assist so it could have been my doing also). I was hoping it'd be in one of the feed throughs in the body around the bumper, but I can't get at the bumpers right now since I'm really pressed for time (still trying to get the old house on the market in a timely fashion).

 

No, no trailer wiring.

ahh new stereo huh.. dbeen there done that as well.. if i remember correctly there is a wire or 2 that run the lights

 

i'd try unhooking the stereo completely making sure all the wires are taped up temporarily and see what happens.. my guess is ya might have gotten a wire crossed or shorted in the process of wireing the stereo in..

when I first replaced the stereo in my hatch I had the same problem - power wire behind the deck touched the body of the deck and grounded the lead that comes from *wherever*

 

That's what got my my $62 ticket... tail lights out. These guys in corvallis are dicks. No fix it ticket for me.

heh i'm lucky here, they give fix it tickets for everything. lol

i'd be checking the wires around you radio first i let one of my freind hook up a stereo in my car thought i could trust him aweek later i notice i was blowing taillight fuse's after getting a ticket he had crossed the two wire's that went to the light that turns on in the radio

yep Ed it sounds like a radio problem cause of I had the same problem in my old 91 loyale and the 86 battlewagon if I remember right