Stop Lamp Fuse Blowing

[oneslowwdsm]

So I'm stumped and when I'm stumped, I search and if I don't find my answer, I post so here I go. Recently, I learned that my tail lights don't work when I press the brake pedal. I only realized this because my friend was driving behind me and informed me that they don't work so who knows how long this has been going on for.

When the lights are in the on position the bulbs in the tails work but they don't light up when I'm hitting the brake pedal. I look in my fuse box and see that my A/C fan fuse is blown and my stop lamp fuse is blown. (NOT tail lamp fuse) Tail lamp fuse is fine.

I replaced both and so far my A/C fan fuse is still good but my stop lamp fuse keeps blowing every time I hit the brake pedal. I tested it every way (with car on and off) and it only happens when I press the pedal. I think I went through about 15 fuses.

So far I've tried:

-Taking apart rear panel and checking/replacing bulbs and checking grounds or loose wires.
-Putting a 30A fuse in, just to see if it would blow (I know it's a no-no but I just wanted to see if it would blow) and it did.
-Checked every other fuse and swapped relays for stop lamp.

The only thing I haven't checked yet is the 3rd brake lamp in the wing. Is it possible to get water in there?

Any suggestions are welcome, thank you all.

Edit: The fuse blows with all the bulbs out of the sockets as well.
I also checked the wiring for the radio and everything seems to be fine.

 

[dsm4lif3]

I would put a false load instead of the fuse because youll keep blowing it.. Then i would trace the amps with a ampmeter and look at a wiring diagram.. Also discconect connectors or maybe even other fuses until false load (lightbulb) turns off and then find the short from there.. Well atleast thats what it sounds to me correct me if im wrong

 

[luv2rallye]

Here ya go: http://www.dsmtuners.com/forums/art...-partial-short-battery-drain.html#post1496998

 

[93_tsi_fwd]

Remove your radio and check for the illumination light wire. It will keep blowing your fuse if it has a short or grounded somewhere.

 

[oneslowwdsm]

Which wire is that?

Luv2ralley, I did everything the first paragraph, disconnected wideband, radio, boost gauge, turbo timer etc and it's still blowing. I didn't quite understand the second paragraph. If I put a bulb where the fuse is, wouldn't it only light up when I'm hitting the brake pedal?

 

[spyderdrifter]

It would stay lite if there's current passing through it. It would in theory be exactly like a fuse, only illuminated.

 

[oneslowwdsm]

EDIT: So if anyone cares, I ended up resolving this. The problem was my own stupid fault. When I tinted my tail lights, I took them off and when I put them back on, I ended up pinching a couple of the wires out of the harness between the tail light bolt and the firewall. DOH

Needless to say, I was going crazy and I learned that when working on a DSM, never rush anything!