My daughters 96 Avenger ES
I could not locate a fuse for the dash lights after they went out until a nice occifer pulled my daughter over to let her know the taillights were not working. After changing the blown fuse for the tail lights amazingly enough the dash lights are obviously tied into the same fuse.
Problem is fuse keeps blowing every other day. Any known issues on these so I know where to begin?

 

Intermittant shorts are very hard to find , have you done anything recently ...New head unit ?? Changed taillight bulbs ?? installed anything new??
Are the fuses just opening up or are they blowing grey and very dark ??

 

I know, almost every problem we have on this car is always intermittent ant & we can never find anyone to properly diagnose it.

The fuse is always just opened up, not grey & dark.

The only thing we've done recently is change the transmission speed sensors.

 

well its no longer an intermittent problem as it blows the instant the lights are turned on. I tried unplugging the tail lights and it still blows when turning on the lights. Dang, I didn't want to get into that dash.
Is there any wiring diagrams available anywhere on these?

 

Manuals have them ,,, I've not seen online ones anywhere ...
Try one thing unplug the brake switch I've seen that short

 

I thought I had it fixed when I found the tail light relay was blown. It worked again for a short time then blew the fuse again. This time I switched the fog light and tail light relays, but the fuse blows instantly when the lights are turned on.
The brake lights & headlights all work, it's just the parking lights & dash lights.
I'm trying to find an accurate wiring diagram to help trace for a short, I only have a Haynes on this car & it's not very good.

 

Update on short problem. I found & ordered a set of factory manuals with wiring diagrams on ebay. Although they have not yet arrived, I went to the local carquest & bought a powerprobe tester and after a few minutes of wire tracing, I learned the vanity mirror lite had a short and amazingly is connected to the tail light circuit. So if anyone experiences this tailight problem of blowing fuses, be sure to check that sun visor mirror. This was a challenge to locate, but looks like problem solved.

 

Congrats on the repair