15A fuse sparks and blows when changing

Do you have the factory radio, or something else?

You have to look at your manual to see what else is on that circuit.

15 Amps for a radio, clock and dome light is unimaginable to me. Once you find out what other systems are on that circuit you can start disconnecting the power to them one at a time. Take out your dome light, take off the connector to the radio, etc. Basically you have to isolate where the system short is located. If you still can't find the source of the problem then a wiring diagram will be needed to find the wires that come off that circuit and disconnect them closer to the fuse.

It's an after-market Alpine..has worked fine since installed in '02..

During 10 years in the car audio business, I saw some wiring techniques that almost burned down cars. Some radio installers simply don't have a clue. The first thing I'd do is get behind the radio with plenty of light, and inspect every single connection. If the connections were made with either wire nuts or electrical tape, you need to start from scratch. Those two methods are not appropriate in automotive or marine applications. Rewire using high quality crimp connectors. You'll need a GOOD crimping tool for this. The best connectors on earth come from

I haven't checked, but I'm sure they also have a crimping tool that's better than the usual nonsense sold in Radio Shack & Home Depot.

Let me know what you find. If you need to know which crimps are best for this purpose, I can point them out at that web site.

Yes, you have a short somewhere most likely.

Rule Number One: Do NOT install a larger fuse than called for! EVER! The fuses are sized to protect the wires, a larger fuse will allow the wiring to melt and catch fire, and that would be bad.

Read the other three posts for good ideas, and if that doesn't work you will need to physically find the problem. Most likely problem if you can't find the short at a door switch or a light fixture is that the wiring harness is rubbing on a rough edge of sheetmetal along the way, and a grounded piece of metal or a screw point wore through to the dome light circuit wire.

If you really know what you are doing, you can hook up another fuse and a brakelight lamp (32CP - 2 amps or so) in series to the Dome Fuse terminals. Have someone watch the lamp while you physically move the body harness away from suspect edges - when the lamp goes out you just found the ground.

CAUTION: If the harness is in fact compromised, the current draw (from the lamp chosen) must be small enough to not heat up the wires and cause more damage.

If you don't understand this, go have a mechanic that specializes in electrical problems do it. You can easily burn up the main wire harness in the car, and it's 'call the junkyard' time. No kidding, it can easily cost over $2K to buy and replace the body main harness.

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I have a question for you. I haven't shopped for a car stereo in years, but Christmas is around the corner and my son's going to be the happy recipient of an Alpine. I haven't touched any of the units I've seen in stores - I'm usually in a rush, and there for some other item. But, from a distance, everything I see on display looks like something intended to be hung from the ceiling of a disco and spun around all night. Way too much light, especially for cars whose radios are high up on the dash. Does your Alpine offer options for turning the display into something more subtle?

The Apline I have actually has a very simple and clean display...not this array of colors and lights. You might also want to check on Kenwood which is a reputable brand and has clean looking displays...I've got one in my jeep.