1995 Toyota Tacoma Keeps blowing fuse

LOSTWRENCH

MEMBER
1995 TOYOTA TACOMA
4 CYL
4WD
MANUAL
45,000 MILES

The fuse in the fuse panel (located below and to the left of the steering wheel in the front panel) for the cigarette lighter keeps blowing immediately after I insert a new fuse, before I even start the truck. Hard to get to wire, is there an easier way to determine where the short is? I'm reasonably handy with a voltmeter and an ohmmeter and have these items.

It blows the fuse whether or not the cigarette lighter is in its socket.

1 Reply

JIS001

MECHANIC
3,411 POSTS

This is as an example.

Remove the blown fuse and disconnect all loads of the fuse.
Connect a test light in place of the fuse.
Establish conditions in which the test light comes ON . Example:
A- Ignition SW ON
B- Ignition SW and SW 1 ON
C- Ignition SW, SW 1 and Relay ON (Connect the Relay) and SW 2 OFF (or Disconnect SW 2)

Disconnect and reconnect the connectors while watching the test light. The short lies between the connector where the test light stays lit and the connector where the light goes out.
Find the exact location of the short by lightly shaking the problem wire along the body.