Completely stumped help...

So my 00 galant died. It started to give signs of trouble about a month ago. Weak starts.. Got a new battery. Thought it was the problem but n no. Every I'd say hundred starts it would give a grinding noise and squeal a Lil followed by a wisp of smoke from the steering column. Found a Burt to a crisp ignition switch, thought that was the problem but no. The car died on me and found it blew the #13 20amp engine relay. Replaced it but it keeps blowing now. Bad ground in thinking...??? Unplugged every sensor I could reach , about 10-12 in total, plugging them back in one at a time to see if that was causing the short, but no luck. Followed the battery's cables down to see if anything was wrong but not it either. Alternator maybe... Starter bad maybe... Bad ground maybe... Anyone had anything similar happen in the past? If so your two cents would be greatly appreciated!!! Thanks

A bad ground won't usually cause a blown fuse, it's high amperage caused by shorting or high resistance. Is your alternator and starter testing good? You said you replaced the battery, is that still testing good?

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