1995 Camry – AM2 fuse blows when turning ignition – Solution

[austinwpt]

My car was running hot for about 20 miles or so when I discovered my water pump was leaking. I arrived at work without it overheating so I thought I was in the clear as far as any real damage to the engine! When I tried to leave work my car wouldn’t start so I checked fuses under the hood and I found the AM2 30amp fuse was blown. I had an extra and when I tried to start it again with the new fuse it just cranked and wouldn’t start. The fuse blew again. This was the only thing I had to go on so I googled the problem and found a lot of people having the same problem but they had no idea what the solution was. I found that most of the responses to their posts were saying check the ignition coil(around $100) for cracks or see if the condenser(under $10) has melted. What did I do?? I chickened out and had it towed to the shop and told the guys what the issue was and the possible two solutions! Most shops don’t care for you to tell them what the problem is and then tell them how to fix it I guess…..

Well guess what? They told me they need to replace the fuse box under the steering column for some big bucks to start off and then see where the problem lies. I don’t think these guys were scamming me since they thought I should just tow it home and think about just selling it as is since it wouldn’t be worth my time or money to fix the problem. So I towed it home and downloaded the ignition system pdf (California and non California). I was unsure if I should tackle this problem since I am not a mechanic but I did. I followed the instructions to remove the distributor and took it apart to remove the condenser first since it looked melted. Well guess what? While trying to remove the ignition coil from inside the distributor…… I stripped one of the four screws holding in the coil! One screw was potentially holding me back from getting to the condenser! I took the thing inside since it was 104 degrees outside. I realized I could see the condenser and a wire leading to the ignition coil so I thought my only option was to just unscrew the wire from the coil and then cut it off from the condenser. I then put everything back together and closed my eyes and hoped it would start. Sure enough it started first try!! I realized if I had to do again on another Camry that all I would have to do is take the distributor cap off and just cut the condenser wire out instead of taking it all apart!

I believe the condenser is just a noise suppressor. You can replace if for cheap but I was done with working on my car in the heat so I just took a short cut!

Thanks to mustang67408 or else my car would just be sitting in the lot or back to the mechanic to spend some big bucks!

The link to the ignition system pdf is http://www.turboninjas.com/camry/ig.pdf

I hope this helps anyone with the same problem!

Patrick



The original post is below with the solution.

Quote:
Just got to work on my car today! You were right it was the condenser!!! Many thanks for the help and I should have more questions down the line!

Patrick




Quote:
Originally Posted by mustang67408
Quote:
Originally Posted by austinwpt
Hey mustang67408,

Just a quick question about an ignition problem!

To make a long story short....

Water pump went out....engine ran hot (not overheat)......

try to start engine and the AM2 30amp fuse blows every time..... think its my ignition coil gone bad/burned?

My engine has coil inside distributor (engine 5S-FE)

Should I check ignition coil/ignitor/condensor for shorting?

Trying to avoid a second trip to shop (been once and they tried to tell me they would have to do extensive investigating to find the problem! I'm thinking I can do this at home.

If you have any input I would love to know since you have knowledge of electrical.

Thanks!

Patrick

There is a condensor inside the distributor, its about 3/8]"- 1/2" long with 1 wire coming out of it. Remove it. Its really just for noise suppression and you wont notice it missing.
They are known for shorting and blowing the AM2 fuse.
Was the valve cover removed for any reason, Sometimes people pinch injector wires when re-installing the valve cover.
I bet on the condensor
Let me know
mustang67408