89 Honda Civic Tail Light/Dashboard Fuse keeps blowing??

[Crunchyknees]

The fuse to my tail light/dashboard lights keeps blowing. The right tail light harness(bulb holder) is extremely corroded as well as the bulb. I replaced the bulb and the fuse keeps blowing. I took out the new bulb and tried it without anything in the bulb holder and the fuse blew again. I have checked around the junk yards in my town for a harness. I dont want to spend 65 bucks if its not the problem. Can you tell me how a real mechanic would track down a problem like this??

thanks

 

[SteveD]

You're on the right track. Check for any bare wires in that area. If necessary cut the wires( long enough to repair them) and try it again.Has the car been wrecked and or repaired recently? If so check those areas where a wire may have gotten pinched.

 

[DonSteboni]

Clean out the harness with some sort of cleaner (CLR works for a lot of things, maybe this) and make sure it is dried out really well. If the problem is still there, you're power wire is touching a ground somewhere and the only way to find where it is, is to follow the wire.