My 1993 Ford Ranger that I have had for about 2 years now started having problems about a week ago. The ABS light came on, the dash lights stopped working, and the brake lights stopped working. When I checked my fuse box, I found the #10 fuse blown. It being a 15A, I replaced it immediately. Within an hour, it blew again. I decided to replace it with a 20A and then a 30A. They both blew instantly. My turn signals and my headlights work fine, even my emergency flashers work fine. It is just the dash and brake light that don't work. What's weird, the #10 fuse is the fuse for the passenger airbag on 1993 models. I don't see how that would cause my lights to fail. Also, when I replaced the #10 fuse the first time, the lights worked for that small time that it didn't blow. Any ideas how to fix this? The manual says it could be a short-circuit in the wiring, but I have no idea where to start looking for one.

 

Same thing on my 2004
It was the overdrive switch in the shift.
Remove steering column cover and tape o/t wire to shifter