Dash Lights won't work, 20 amp fuse blows immediately

[ChevyLife]

Hey all. I'm a proud new owner of a 81 Malibu 6 cyl. When I turn my headlights on none of the dash or a/c lights work. The 20 amp fuse is blown and when replacement it pops immediately when the lights are turned on. I thought maybe that the previous owner wired the CD player head unit wrong with a illumination wire, etc and that was the problem. But I completely removed the cd player and blocked off wires coming from it. The same problem, new fuse, turn lights on, fuse pops. So now I'm at a loss. I had this issue on a Mustang and the issue was just the illumination wire from the cd player needed to not be hooked up and everything was fine. But this still happens when the head unit is completely removed from the car. All wire ends are wrapped in electrical tape and seperated.

This is my first post. I've been digging around for the past hour trying to find an answer that wasn't related to a cd player.

FYI. When the CD player is hooked up it works fine but still no dash lights.

My speedometer mph needle bounces 10 mph or so back and forth if that means anything. Like cruising at 45 mph. It will bounce back and forth to 55 to 45.

Thanks in advance
Josh

PS Its no fun driving at night trying to guess how fast your going ,lol

 

[RITTER]

My bet would be that there is a bare wire grounding out on something and blowing the fuse :idea:

The bouncing speedometer is normal