There's no fuse in the starter circuit so disconnecting it isn't going to affect anything. That starter draws up to 150 amps.

Plug in a pair of spade terminals in place of the fuse, then connect a pair of jumper wires to them and to a 12 volt light bulb. When the circuit is turned on and the short is present, the bulb will be full brightness so be sure it's not resting against a plastic door panel or on the carpet. Now you can unplug things and move wire harnesses around to see what makes the short go away. When it does, the bulb will get dim or go out. In particular, check for the wires to the oxygen sensors to see if they fell down onto hot exhaust parts.

Answered by caradiodoc (expert)
17,655 answers provided