Trouble with electrical system on 2015 DCSB!

2015 SR5 Double-cab short bed, 4.0. A few months ago I took the camper shell off my truck to haul a lawnmower. I learned that if the brake light wires touch, it blows a fuse and the truck will not shift out of park. I separated the wires, put in a new fuse, and no problems. Today I loaded some luggage and accidentally forced the two ends together. I was driving, smelled the distinct odor of burning wires and pulled over. Sure enough, the 10A 'STOP' fuse was blown (I may have had a 15A fuse in there....), and the 15A 'IGN' fuse under the dash was blown. I jammed some larger fuses in to get the truck home, unloaded the family and went back out to start it and ......nothing....., like there isn't even a battery in it. I tried a new fuse in the 'STOP' socket, and it blows instantly (10A this time). The cabin has a burnt wire smell. I am terrified I may have melted an entire harness together.

Has anyone experienced anything like this?

Any ideas on what the fix is gonna be or the potential cost?

 

Sounds like you melted some wires together, you will have to find where.
If it's only a small section it may be repairable but if it's alot melted it may be better to replace the whole harness
That's why it's never a good idea to put a higher amp fuse in, in the old days you could get away with it to an extent but today's vehicle wiring is barely adaquate for the factory sized fuse.

 

The changing of the fuses was on the side of the road to get it home, definitely not ideal

The wiring for the camper lights runs into the sides of the bed on the driver side, do you know where to find schematics so I can try to trace it? I'm hoping they aren't buried in any other large harnesses

 

^This. Fuses are there to protect the wires.

Search the forum for the wiring diagrams - that might help narrow down affected wires.

But before you do that, ensure there aren’t anymore blown fuses or fusible links that might have blown.

 

I can pull wiring diagrams and routing for you when I get in.

 

Thanks!! I appreciate the help. I can put a motor together, but wiring eludes me....

 

I had to piece this together with 13 and 14 stuff, Mitchell doesn't have OE diagrams for a 15 model.
13 and 14 should be very close if not the same as 15.
Toyota does their diagrams kinda screwy, they are broken down by system not by circuits so if you need any others let me know.
I think I'd start by checking things at and around the brake light switch, see what's melted and go from there.

Oh and by the way if you get stuck with a blown stop light fuse again there is an override button under the little cover next to the shifter, pop the cover off and push it down to get it out of park.

 

Man I'm sorry this happened to ya. I just wanted to say good luck with the search!

 

Update: The wiring harness that comes off the back of the brake pedal had completely melted about 6 inches up, and the wires coming off the tail lights that used to go to the camper shell also melted. Had to make a run to the junk yard for the wiring connector. Turns out Tacomas are very reliable and there wasn't any to pick from. Luckily, a 2003 4Runner has the same connector. $6 dollars later, had the new pigtail spliced in and the tail light wires removed.

Lesson learned: never use a larger fuse

Thank you all for the help!

 

Glad you got this resolved quickly and for cheap!