Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums General Troubleshooting 98 red svt i am working on at work

hey ceg, thought i would let you guys know what i am diagnosing today at work. its a 1998 svt contour toreador red. it came in for the brakes lights all inoperative. so i check the fuse/ its blown/ replace fuse 24 and it blows again immediately. so its a short to ground. test both brake switchs are good disconn. about 1 ft. above that switch and it blows another. unplug next connector above fuse box. blows agian the short is somewhere above it way in dash. so out comes dash assembly took 4 hours. check all wiring is ok/ by the way i check both tail bulbs are not shorted either. then find splice in wiring near firewall its ok. then that leads me to unplug third brake light. short still there. next two connectors forward of that and its still there. unplug another conn. in dash for that circuit and short is gone. which means it has to be betwen that and the rear seats so i will probably find the bad section and run a new wire rather then take anymore apart. and put everything back together. sorry for the length just thought you woukd like to hear my fiasco. its not a bad car it has some holes in seats and the laft rear quater has been repainted and has dust spots in paint. i am practically drolling all over it seeing as i drive a 98 se/sport/atx.