Harry wrote:
All of a sudden, every time I turn on my driveway lights, they blow the
fuse. I checked and changed the switch (just in case), but the problem
persists. We had a chipmunk problem in the yard, and someone told me
that it's possible the chipmunks ate though the underground cable, and
it is now shorting. (The electric wire goes to the light posts,
underground, through the chipmunk infested area). Before I start
digging the yard to check the wire, is that possible? Is there an
easier way to check, other that digging up the yard? Could it be some
other problem?

Thanks

Don't worry, a failed light switch would not likely cause a short. If
anything, the lights served by that switch would either not come on at
all, or stay on either way.

So if the switch is off, the fuse does not blow. What if you remove the
light bulb? On second thought, since you are blowing fuses, you should
use an electric meter to check for shorts. Learn how to use the meter to
check the resistance of the white and black wire leaving the switch box.

Remove the light bulb, if everything is fine, you should get infinite
resistance, or something near there. If something is wrong, you'll get
low resistance, and the meter may beep.

Remove the wiring from the lamp, below the bulb socket. It is possible
the short is there. Work your way back. Could a chipmunk have chewed
through the cable? It's possible. But does it really matter? What
matters is finding the fault, and possibly taking steps to prevent it in
the future. Running conduit might be the solution.
--Mike