Running lights are popping fuses! long w/ cliffs

[FyreDaug]

This has happened a couple times in the past, Ill turn my lights on, hear a "click" and they wont come on. Turned out it popped the fuse. So I usually just throw another 15 in there and its good to go.

However, this may be a coincidence, but I installed a 550w(300rms) amp for my 2 MB Quart speakers up front the other day around 2pm. Then when I needed my lights around 8:30pm they wont work. I keep trying fuses and they keep blowing.

My whole system is run off its own line directly connected to the battery with an 80A fuse on it, the front amp and the sub amp both run off this 4awg wire.

I dont think its related to the amp, and I havent checked (disconnect amp), but it just doesnt make sence that it would be. And the fact that it has happened before would aid to the fact that I dont think its the amp.

Its maybe happened 4-5 times since I got the car a couple months ago and I didnt think much of it, but the thought I had yesterday was this:

My system was up pretty loud, and when it hits hard it pulls 1550 watts at peak, so I thought maybe because the system was up and it was hitting hard, that the voltage was low, thus making the amperage have to go up to get the same amount of power to turn the lights on, and maybe it was just enough to draw just over 15A and blow it, but no luck this time, I only had a few fuses but this is what I tried:

car off, system off and try lights, popped.
car on, system off and try lights it popped
car off, system on (just for kicks) and it popped.
Also tried revving up a little before turning them on but it still popped, so it leads me to believe something is shorting out



cliffs: this happened before, turn lights on and fuse pops, therefore no running lights. Happens all the time now, recently installed new amp on dedicated circuit, now car is illegal to drive at night... when I need it the most.


EDIT: So I guess the question I should have asked is where to start checking... can I pull bulbs out to narrow it down? I dont wanna rip up the whole damn carpet to try to find a wire. Like if its the back lights can I pull them out and see if it still pops? Because that way it wont be a live circuit coming back, so it "could" narrow it down a little right?

EDIT2: ps, im a mechanic not an electrical engineer, but I can get by most of the time, but I hate stuff like this.

[Nospeed]

i wonder if the factory radio that was in the car had a dimmer wire. i havn't tapped into the 3g wires lately, so i dont know. but some older cars had a wire "accesory" at the radio - some radios dimmed with your dimmer switch. i hooked up mine wrong once, and this is exactly what it did.

also, maybe it could be the black box under the steering column? the one that controlls the interior lights/crap light that?? far fetched, but i dunno, this might help.

[MessyHonda]

well i had the same problem with my tail lights. Everything i would turn it on i would hear a pop. so i got a wire and conected them derect to the battery and they work. i checked my lights and i found out that i had a burn bulb so i changed it and the damn fuse still poped. so i already had the carpet off and i checked the line and then i traced it down to the fuse box. i didnt want to replace it so i ran a wire from the stearing columb...pass the fuse box to the wire for the lights. everything works fine but now they are derect... meaning that if i turn it to the first seting the lights wont go on until i turn it to the 2nd seting. i didnt want get down and check the fuse box but so far that was the only thing that was poping

[speedpenguin]

Is it just your running lights going out?
Or is it the whole circuit? (Running lights, tail lights, instrument lights)

[FyreDaug]

Yes the whole circuit... but you know what, I left out one detail..... I pulled the deck out yesterday to hook up the RCA's aswell... I also know there was a wire in there that I didnt hook up and taped up, its possible that when I pulled the deck out and squished it back in, it could have rubbed some of that tape.... And I also think that wire was hot when I turned the lights on. Godamn, ill check that out.

[FyreDaug]

Well I'll be damned. The 2 wires that werent insulated properly anymore where a white/yellow (I think this was for the electric antenna) and red/black which I think was illumini. So I'm pulling on the deck and I keep seeing little yellow flashes. Turned out that red/black was directlyu connected to the metal basket of the deck and was grounding out. There was no fuse in there, so I'm not sure how it had power, but it kept sparking but didnt blow anything... wierd. The wire was all melted and fucked up, infact it was half melted to the metal and half melted to the next wire... Thats crazy, never thought of that.

Nospeed, you are a god.

EDIT: And just incase it isnt clear in that post, the car is fixed