Electrical Gremlins - short IN fusebox?

[desmo888 at comcast.net]

After getting my 1990 Coupe back on the road after a fender bender, I am having some electrical problems.

I drove the car for about a week after being repaired and painted when the #12 fuse blew.  I replaced it and it blew again after about 5 minutes.  Now it blows immediately when the car is turned on.

This fuse controls many things like the instruments and auto-check items.  While troubleshooting the problem I unplugged the connector from the bottom of the fuse box.  When I did this, I found that the non-hot side contact in the fuse box was grounded!  It did have about 150 ohms resistance but it still has continuity.

Any suggestions?  Anyone ever hear of a fuse box going bad internally?

TIA,
Dave Kase
1990 Coupe Quattro, no clue of speed, rpm, or fuel in tank....