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Radio Fuse Keeps Blowing




Guest birdgirl

I have a 99 toyota corolla, and I have been having problems with the fuse that runs the radio/clock/cigarette lighter keeps blowing. I'm assuming that there is a short somewhere causing this to happen, but as I don't know a whole lot about wiring, I don't know where to begin to start looking for the problem. I don't want to do anything without some guidance as to where I should start. Help would be greatly appreciated!

If you don't already have one - I would suggest a Toyota service manual or a Chilton's or Haynes manual. Even if you don't have experience reading a schematic - the wiring diagrams can save you tons of time troubleshooting potential problem areas. A voltmeter can also be very helpful - or at the very least a lighted auto probe.

Other than probing each wire individually - you can start from the fuse box and work your way back to the component. That fuse is fairly hefty - so there should be an obvious short in the wiring or possible component damage (ie. burn or discolored wiring, loose chassis ground points, split or peeled insulation). Has the dash ever been apart? Aftermarket head unit? Anyone used the cigarette lighter? Maybe a problem with an auxillary power port (not sure if you have one - but my 8th gen has one right by the e-brake?

Just be patient and you should be able to track it down - electrical stuff is tough to pin down because there is so many possible areas of concern.

Guest birdgirl

Thanks for the reply.

The stereo is stock, and I don't think I have an auxillary port. When I changed the fuse yesterday, I tested the cigarette lighter, but it didn't seem to work. I don't know if it ever did prior to the fuse blowing, so I'm not sure if that's related to this or not.

I think I will probably be able to do the electrical work once I get into the dash, but unfortunately this car is new to me, so I've never had the dash apart before.

Will the service manual include how to dismantle the dash?

It should - the 8th generation Corollas are pretty easy to work on. You can check out this PDF for a 1999 Corolla. Cigarette lights are the push in and wait for it to pop out deals - some take quite a bit of time, others are pretty fast.

http://www.installdr.com/InstallDocs/Toyota/PDF/869001.pdf

A good reference for upgrading you head unit down the road - it also illustrates how to pull the center portion of the dash apart - the lower portion just pull out after you pull the center out. As most of those wires run close to ductwork - might be a good place to check.

Guest birdgirl

Thank you so much for your help! This gets me started at least. We'll see what happens once I open the dash...

I think that since I'm going to have to get the dash open anyway, I might just replace the radio while I'm at it. I was going to do it anyway, this just makes me do it a little quicker.

Guest Same problem 2005 Corolla

I have the same problem with my 2005 Toyota Corolla. I had the fuse replaced about 3 months ago because of the 3 things you mentioned, but they all just went out again yesterday. Is there anything that could be also drawing from the fuse making it burn out more quickly?

Unfortunately, have to do some legwork with a wiring guide and some diagnostics with a multimeter - with issues like this, can be a huge number of things causing several fuses to blowout all at once.  Could be a short in the main wiring harness, could be a faulty headunit or short in the clock PCB board, or could be a short in a seemingly unrelated circuit (ie, in some 7th gen Corollas, a bad taillight socket (corrosion) can cause the radio and/or cigarette outlet to blow out), etc.



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