#7 fuse keeps blowing

[couttsdesign]

The other day I was driving my car home from work and everything was great until I turned on the headlights, specifically the high beams. At that point the car started to stumble and would die if I took my foot off the accelerator. It turns out that I blew the #7 fuse (i.e fuel pump, fuel and temp gauges).

The problem is that the #7 fuse keeps blowing out, even when turning the key to the first ignition position. Where would be a good place to look for the shorted out wire? Is there a link between the headlights and the fuel pump circuits? I'd like to try and fix this myself before giving up and towing the car to my mechanic, so any advice would be greatly appreciated.

thanks,
chris

 

[Malc]

Oh Dear,
Well first off the wiring tends to be anything but standard but basically the fuse suppsedly supports the following, but of course that can change with the model year, type.......
switch for the engine compartment light
reversing light switch
turn signal / headlight switch on the column
and the wash wipe switch on the column

It is possible that you have a short somewhere in these areas. It's a bug*er to trace, but from your syptoms I would have a look at the wiring on the steering column and the column stalk switches first. then make sure that the actual headlight switch is ok
HTH
Malc

 

[gpetrus]

I'd start looking in the steering column to see if any wires are crossing causing a short.

Not trying to be snarky here, but keep an extinguisher handy.

 

[Honolulu]

What Malc said, and...

in addition to looking under the steering column, I'd look at the fuse box to the left of it.

Surprising to me, my car would cut out on left turns. It stalled 50 feet from my garage and wouldn't start - this on an uphill section, so no pushing it the last little way.

I opened the panel there and immediately saw one big wire was somehow loose. "Somehow" indeed - I had been messing around in there the previous day. Moral: always look where you last "fixed" something. This one has bitten me a goodly number of times (no I won't say how many) and it's the first thing I suggest to anyone with a "new" problem. What did you do last?