Ignition-off draw fuse #16 blows

You can test along the circuit, jumping two foot sections, that will save you having to open up the entire harness.

A digital multimeter with an audible circuit tester works great for this, but an ohm meter will get the job done, just make sure you disconnect the battery so you don't blow the ohm circuit.

Also, once upon a time, they made audible circuit breakers for testing for shorts--audible until it heats up then breaks the circuit and cools down and resets. That allows you to test the circuit hot.

OK. So you have the wiring diagram for the '97. What does fuse 16 in the PDC feed? Does it feed other fuses in the junction box? Does this PINK wire go from the PDC to more fuses in the junction box? Just because you don't have a dome light doesn't mean that the wire that used to go to the dome light isn't touching the body somewhere shorting out and blowing the fuse. If you pull the fuses in the junction box that fuse 16 feeds, fuse 16 still blows?

Thanks Joe - I'll hit the store tomorrow and see about getting a tester.

@Winterbeater: fuse 16 feeds: radio, gauges, both door switches, dome light, cargo hatch switch (also TCM in auto trannies and underhood lamp which I don't have).

I've unplugged each of these components. Are you suggesting that although they are unplugged that my short could be after the junction box?

If you read above, I unplugged the connector where the pink wire goes INTO the junction box to feed everything else and it still blows. It makes me think the short is between the PDC and junction box, but I have no clue when it comes to wiring.

I thought that is what you meant. Fuse 16 in the power distribution center feeds the junction box with a pink wire. If the pink wire is the only thing coming off of fuse 16, and you disconnect that wire at the PDC, and the fuse still blows, then the short has to be within the PDC itself. Normally with something like this, you will see melting in the plastic box.

With pink wire disconnected at the PDC, check with a meter set on volts, which side of the connection receives the 12 volts. Then set your meter to ohms. Touch the ohmeter leads together. Meter should read 0 resistance. Then with one meter lead, touch the OTHER side of the fuse connector (not the one with 12V). Touch the other meter lead to a good ground or the negative terminal on your battery. If your meter again says 0 resistance, you have found your short. All of this assumes that the ONLY thing coming off of the fuse is the pink wire. Check your wiring diagram closely to make sure that this is really the case.

OK, on rereading your post, you disconnected the wire at the junction box. See what happens if you disconnect it at the PDC.

upon disconnecting from the PDC, there is no blowing of the fuse.

Problem solved. The 3-wire bundle running from the fuse box inside up the A-pillar to the dome light has a short in it. Upon disconnecting from the fuse box, we got the radio to work.
The gauges weren't grounded correctly as I re-tightened a junction box bolt and the gauges magically started working.
So it looks as if most of it is solved and it's about time to start the build...

I found the problem on my 1999