An inexpensive multimeter can be easily gotten at Radio Shack or like stores. Many auto stores such as Checker, Autozone, or Pep Boys offer meters that are set up for automotive work. I would strongly recommend that you not get the cheapest $2.95 Harbor Freight type meter. You get what you pay for.

Read the instructions for the meter and get familiar with it. There are some things you can do to damage or ruin it by putting the leads in the wrong place with the switches in the wrong position. e.g.; trying to measure voltage with the meter set up for Ohms. (can destroy meter, or at least blow it's fuse)

To look for a short without going through a fistful of fuses, you can disconnect the positive terminal of the battery and put the red meter lead on the positive cable and the black lead on ground. Set the meter to measure Ohms and look for a low reading. Then you disconnect fuses one at a time until you lose the low reading; you have now isolated the circuit that has the trouble. (You are pretty much at this point, since you know which fuse is blowing.)

The next part is where you need patience. You need to leave the fuse out and hook the battery back up. You shouldn't have any other fuses blowing, but if you do, there is another short somewhere. You can repeat the procedure until you find the circuit with the problem.

If you've hooked up the battery, left the one fuse out, and everything except what is on that fuse now works, you have taken a large step forward. You now need to determine what components are powered by the now missing fuse.

There is usually a label on the fuse cover or in the manual that tells you this, and the next step is to put the meter on the side of the fuse terminal away from the power supply and check to see if you still have the low Ohms reading. Theoretically, it should still be there.

You should now start looking for wear spots on wires, places where wires are bent over metal corners, bare wires, loose connectors or wires, and components or connectors that are out of place.

If you move things around and gently tug on wire bundles, connectors, or components, you need to check your meter often to see if you've lost your short reading. You may just have 'accidentally' fixed something. Try to find out what, if possible.

If you still have the short reading, you need to disconnect each component on the circuit one by one until the reading goes away. Disconnect one component, check meter, leave disconnected, then disconnect another, and so on. There are usually connectors that let you do this, and you may have to get behind trim panels, under the dash, in wiring channels, or under carpets to get to things. You may have to remove things such as seats or consoles. Check your meter often, you may pull a wire bundle away from a sharp edge, or remove a screw that was run through or pinching a wire.

If you find a broken wire or worn away insulation, I would not recommend simply twisting it back together and wrapping it in electrical tape. This would be a temporary fix, but you will have the problem recur in the future. There are connectors available at auto supply stores that are crimped on the wires and come with heat shrink tubing filled with an adhesive, like hot glue, that will prevent moisture from getting into the repair in the future.

If you find a component that is causing your short, you will probably have to replace it, but first look for obvious failures, like exposed or crushed wires, or burn marks. Older Becker radios are known for failing and causing odd problems with seemingly unrelated systems.

Good hunting, and keep us up on your journey.

Scott

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Remember, it's not just a car. It's an Adventure.