probably not a short, more likely a bad/intermittent connection

 

it all became very obvious last night when my central locking stopped working. the fuse wasn't blown.. yet.. but it was very hot. changed it out and the radio and locking are back to normal. is there any way to alleviate this? or should i just keep plenty of fresh fuses on hand?

 

if the fuse is getting really hot, something is drawing more power than the circuit is intended to provide.

I'd think about running your stereo on a heavy gauge power wire pulled directly from the battery, with an adequate fuse, like 15A, inline in the wire near the battery. of course, this fuse and wire has to be automotive grade (or better, marine grade).