Help, 2008 Tundra! Fuses blowing, stuck in park

My truck keeps blowing 7.5 amp fuses left and right and is stuck in park. I learned the shift override trick and got it home but now I'm trying to repair it. I bought a bunch of fuses and checked all the fuses. Originally had 4 fuses blown. Changed them all out, got it working again. Well 2 days later it happens again. Only fuse blowing is the AM1 fuse, which basically controls the shift lock system and the console, and the dashboard, and power seats, and lights, and turn signals. So at the moment I have none of the above. I changed the fuse again, it blew instantly. Here's the kicker, it's cold today, was warm the last 2 days. I'm thinking I have water somewhere. I checked towing hookups, cleaned them, and sealed with dielectric grease. Still blowing. I bought a brake light switch and replaced that, still blowing. I'm at a loss. Wife is 9 months pregnant, due any day, and we are now down to just her vehicle. Any ideas?

 

Check wiring for rodent damage

 

No obvious wiring damage. Everything looks clean and neat

 

There is a short somewhere...something is causing the fuses to blow. Could be a bad ground somewhere. Chase the AM1 fuse/wire circuitry and my guess is you will find something. Could also be chaffing.

 

No on headlights. I have a tiny crack that appears to only be surface level, not all the way through on my taillight, but not fully positive. I'm wondering if it is enough to have let some water in the taillight, we've had some thick fog a few times the past couple of weeks. I wonder if some water found its way inside and is expanding with the cold creating a short in the wire.

 

I would think it would be more obvious than that to cause the havoc you describe. I am thinking there is a rub or pinch somewhere along the harness that over time is causing a short. Could be anywhere on any of those systems that are on that circuit...seat harnesses, steering column, shifter. Given the constant use of the shifter Id look there first. Neutral safety switch or other assoc harness? Anywhere the harness passes through a metal bulkhead, i.e. firewall could be a possible place creating a short.

Any aftermarket goodies?

 

What do you mean by left and right fuses? Tell us what four fuses blew the first time? Are there any modifications to the truck? After you replaced the fuses and it blew the 2nd time what exactly were you doing (moving the shifter)? Has the truck been in and accident and recently repaired? If you only have the one fuse blown and it blows everytime a new fuse is put in this is a good thing, you can find the fault. Start unplugging wiring on the circuit until the fuse stops blowing.

 

Ok let me get this right it’s a 7.5 amp fuse to control all the above mentioned circuits ????? That seems like a large amount on a 7.5 amp fuse. I would think the power seats alone would have at least a 20 amp. You sure that’s the correct amp fuse it should say on the diagram I’d start there first

 

Any update ??

 

Do you have anything plugged in to the trailer wiring harness? Check the plug for debris

 

Any updates on what was causing this. My 14 crew max is doing the same thing AM1 fuse keeps blowing, windows qont roll up, radio won't come on and I can't shift out of park unless I press the shift release button manually.

 

Today is July 17 2021. I didn't see any updates so I decided to chime in with what I found. I had the same problem, 7.5 amp fuse blowing and can't shift out of park. I tore the entire interior of my truck out and couldn't figure it out. I got fed up and just put a 30 amp fuse in place of the 7.5 amp fuse and look for the smoke. Smoke came from the steering wheel. Took the center of the steering wheel off (air bag) and found that the bag was pressing against a wire behind it. Pinched wire. Problem fixed. No more short, or blown fuses. Hope this helps.

 

Do you know what the wire powered? You would think if it was shorted to ground there would have been something that wasn't working. What color was it?

 

He couldn't shift out of park

 

The shift lock solenoid is responsible for it not shifting out of park. One fuse can provide power to other circuits. There is nothing under the airbag that controls the shift solenoid so some other circuit on that fuse was causing the short.

 

Yes, I get that, but I don't think they drove it to see anything else not function because they couldn't get it out of park to drive. If not driving, not really doing anything with the other components, hope that makes better sense.

 

So a couple months ago my wife called me at work and told me she couldn't shift out of park and that there were a bunch of lights on in the cluster and that nothing was working in the interior of the car(radio,ac,interior lights. etc). I came home and found that the AM1 7.5amp fuse blew so I replaced it and everything came back on. Everything seemed ok but after a couple weeks it did it again, I replaced the fuse and it immediately blew again. Replaced it and it was OK, and my research began. I saw that a bunch of people were experiencing the same issue but had no answers. I eventually narrowed it down to the ignition switch after tracing most of the wires and doing a "wiggle" test to try and make the fuse blow. I bought the ignition switch and started the disassemble and moved the group of wires i pointed at and found that one of the wires was rubbing on the bearing looking thing. I taped up the wire and put wire loom around it and so far so good. Don't know if this is a common spot but saw that others were experiencing the same issue and figured I would show what i found. I made a YouTube video to show what I found. Hope this helps and good luck.

 

Its labeled "sequoia/tundra 7.5amp fuse keeps blowing"

 

Nice! Put a link up to your YouTube video.

 

Here is the link to the video

https://youtu.be/HrwuTOb5gaI