95 Roadmaster Estate blowing fuse for turn and tail

Driving yesterday and turn signals stopped working, realized I also had no tail lights or brake lights. Checked fuses and found the 10amp fuse in position 43 was blown. Replaced it and it blew right away. Tried a 15A and it blew right away, so I stopped, and am stumped. Where should I look from this point? What may be causing this? THANKS.

When you have a dead short to ground, like you have, I would look for a bare or damaged wire.

Tom

BINGO...HOLEY MOLEY....you saying that made me remember that I bottomed out the trailer hitch pulling out of a plaza. Just inspected the lighting harness, and sho enuff, it is crushed to crap and shorted out. Going to go rewire the light harness and put a new fuse in. THANK YOU.

Is the fuse blown with the turn signal switch in "off" position?

You have to check each component, looking for a short to ground. You can start at the beginning or the end. You need a wiring diagram. It can be found in the FSM or the back of the Haynes manual. It could even be a worn wire that is touching the metal of the body. Since it is common to the brake and turn signal circuits, look at those components first.

Just on a hunch, the turn signal switch assembly is the first place I would check/replace. Beyond that, disconnect each component starting with the furthest from the fuse and check for a ground at the fuse ground side. When you disconnect the failed part, the ground will disappear. Do not skip any of the components, or you may miss the faulty one. You can also start at the one closest to the fuse, and when the ground remains, it is the last one before the one you currently disconnected. The wires between the components should be ground checked checked as well, especially the wires in the column. You need a VOM to check the ground, or a ground fault light (light with a battery connected between the ground side of the fuse and the body). You could also use a light across the fuse, but it may burn up if the circuit is drawing too much amperage (I do not suggest this method). The fuse is an "always hot" fuse.

Thanks! It was DEFINITELY the trailer hitch wiring harness. Just cleaned it up and all electricals are back to normal for now.

I think you found your problem!

Tom

There was no mention of a trailer harness in the original post. I would suspect something like that first, because they get a lot of wear and tear.