Strange electrical problem

tylerk · Jul 12, 2004

I got into my car today and noticed that the radio seemed not to have power anymore. After doing some errands (stopping and starting the car), I got out and noticed that the headlights were still on. I flipped them on and off, but they wouldn't go on. I tried starting the car again, and the horn started going off and wouldn't stop (holding steady, not like the alarm would sound). After a few minutes, the horn stopped and the lights went off. What could be causing this?

nelapse · Jul 13, 2004

Check the fuse under the drive side of your dash for the radio. Thats all it probably is. If you arent very wire friendly take it to circuit city or some audio place they will trouble shoot it for 15 bucks

tylerk · Jul 13, 2004

I checked all relevant fuses and everything looked ok. Oddly, once I had removed and replaced them all, everything appeared to be working normally. I think this is going to be one of "those" problems.

nelapse · Jul 13, 2004

okay pull your head unit out of your dash and check to see if the wiring harness is clipped in, if so pull i out and cean it wih avionics contact pray or use some sort of compressed air... clip it in and see if it will work.. if not get a multimeter from walmart for 10 dollars or go get a voltage tester from teh dollar store...( looks like a screw driver with a wire and a light bulb sticking out) and turn your car on with the clip off and ground your voltage tester and touch the inside of he power wire... i havent looked at it yet i am assuming its either RED or WHITE Sometimes GREEN... if the light glows you have voltage. if you are using a multimeter same concept cept the black test lead touches ground an red is the lead you touch the connecters. if you dont have a multimeter and you proll dont spend the money and get it trouble shot.

tylerk · Aug 18, 2004

Problem solved, I think. I was pulling some wires out from the console, and what comes out in my hand but a black ground wire. I grounded it securely, and I'm going to bet that I'll be all set now.

tylerk · Dec 23, 2004

Update:
This problem continued intermittently since my last post to this thread. It became permanent this week, and I was forced to bring it to my local Mitsu dealership. Luckily, the issue was handled by a knowledgeable DSMer. Here is the problem and solution in his own words from the newengdsm.org forums:

Mitsu Matt said:
Symptoms: Shut headlights off, lights remain on, horn begins blowing and will not shut off. Also, rear window defogger inop, power locks inop, blower motor inop.

All fuses good, if you pulled the relay for either the horn or the headlamp, they would shut off and not reactivate until you turned the switch on again. Turns out that there was not any power going to the fuses for the inop circuits. Traced it back to the 60 amp fusible link in the engine fuse box. The link was good, but one of the bolts that secured the link was apparently cross-threaded at one point, causing a poor connection and no current. New bolt, tap the thread in the fuse box, troubles go bye-bye. The horn and headlamp problem was caused by a ground signal backfeeding through the inoperative circuits, keeping the relays activated.

In english, freaky problem you rarely get to chase.

TylerK said:
I'm curious...how do you start looking for a problem like that? I at first assumed that it had to be something I had caused, so I started looking at the hack wiring job that I did for my boost gauge. Beyond that, I just tested the fuses and that was about as far as I could go.

Mitsu Matt said:
Started with the horn/headlamp problem, was kind of stumped by that one, so I moved on to the other issues. Testing the power at the fuses for the inoperative circuits showed no power. Followed the circuit diagram to the 60 amp fusible link. It feeds all those. Started poking around that fusible link and I saw the bolt was cockeyed. Pulled the link, and I could see signs of heating where it was just barely connected. After I fixed that the horn and headlamp problem was gone.

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