Ok Radio, compass/outside air temp display and sunroof are inop. sunroof is on a separate circuit from the radio, and the sunroof fuse is not blown. However the radio fus is blown and blows the instant you try to replace it. Even with the ignition off and the key removed. I tried after letting the car sit for 24 hours and the fuse did not blow, but when I got in the car and flipped the sun visor the radio went dead again (fuse blew)This is the 10 amp in the engine bay. (the 20 amp in the passenger compartment runs the amp under the passenger seat) All the system failed totally at random at the same time without warning.

Obviously I have a short somewhere, before I go tearing my car to pieces has anyone ever experienced this issue before and have any pointers? I am not so good at the electrical stuff it just drives me crazy.

 

02 dodge stratus coupe with the 3.0L and auto trans.

 

I would start by looking for ground points that may be corroded. That type of damage will prevent an electrical flow, so blown fuse or not, things just won't work. Also, it's typical for a lot of different devices to share a common ground bus. My 92 Bonneville had a common ground bus connector under the driver seat, that once corroded, prevented the fuel pump, power windows, radio, rear defroster, and some others from working, although the power locks, a/c controls, and some other items were working (and some on the same fuse as things that didn't work). Turned out the previous owner was known for leaving his windows down... The 2g guys may be able to point in the direction of the ground bus connectors in your car.

 

unplug the stock amp and see if it keeps blowing fuses. when my amp went bad, it blew the radio fuse...but i knew that it was the amp because it smoked a bit when it went bad.