Cruise Control blowing fuse
 

I have a '01 F250 V10 2wd. I keep blowing a fuse for the cruise and brake light circuit. The fuse blows immediately when inserted. What could be causing this.

A chafed wire in the steering column could cause both of those issues.

Bad switch on master cylinder is very common issue on this vintage SD.

It depends on the fuse. Please identify it specifically by its fuse #.

Did you have the speed control recall performed?

I just found out about the recall when I was researching the issue from this site. I will get the recall corrected either today or tomorrow. If this does not fix the problem, where else would you suggest to look?

The fuse information is:

#13 20A

Stop Lamps, Center High-mount Stop
Lamp, Trailer Tow Stop Lamp, Speed
Control

The speed control recall is corrected now. I am still having the same issues. I had to replace the plug to a ABS lead on the front left tire due to damage from a blowout. I did not see any damage to the sensor. Can the sensor be tested for continuity?

If that fuse blows as soon as you insert a new one, then that list is of components is where you want to start. You have a dead short. It could simply be a bad lamp holder in any one of those. It could even be a bad bulb (rare). Start unplugging lamp fixtures until you find the one that is shorted. A corroded lamp fixture commonly causes shorts. Could also be a short in the trailer plug. Could be a short in the steering column. Wires for those functions go through the steering column, because of the turn signals. We can't tell you where the short is. You'll have to either ohm out each fixture, or use a process of elimination.

This should be easy to find, because it is a dead short, right? Not intermittent, which are a bitch to find.

Thanks! I will start checking one component at a time.