98 gst only getting 9v? help

[lovemyzx9r]

hello everyone. i am new here. i am working on a friends 98 gst. he bought a wrecked 98 gst manual trans with 57k mi a few years ago. recently he found a nice body 98 gst auto with blown motor so we swapped them. the physical swapping of components only took a few days. We then spent the last week and a half chasing wiring issues. i have used this as my primary reference since the problems matched ours. http://www.dsmtuners.com/threads/no-power-to-the-ecu.388852/.
So here is where we stand. We had no power to the mfi relay so we ran a fused power wire from the battery (which i think was causing the dash lights to stay on with the key out). and we had no power to the backup power on the ecu so we traced it and found a broken wire and fixed. once we did that the car cranked and started right up, and i had not bypassed or converted the park/neutral switch yet. we noticed the new fuel filter was leaking but the car ran so we put the interior back together. went out today fixed the fuel filter turned the key to start and nothing won't crank. checked the fuses and he found a 10 amp fuse under the dash had blown. so we replaced it and still no crank. then i turned the key off and the dash lights stayed on again (including cel for 5 seconds). with the key out. i checked the backup power at the ecu and it showed 9 volts. then i checked the starter relay and the constants were at 8.9 volts with key on 10.5 with key on start. it was 10 and 12v when the car worked. i was baffled so i unhooked the terminals off the battery and checked the battery 11.9v. hooked the terminals back up and 9.5v. also now the cel doesn't come on at all key on off start nothing. can anyone help with ideas of what might cause such a large power drain and the dash lights to stay on with power to the mfi and pcm? its very frustrating because after a week of chasing wires and reading post after post it was working reliably and then it just went completely backwards. thanks in advance for any input ideas.

tomorrow i plan on checking the ignition switch. but have to take all the covers back off again. the only thing we hooked up from when it was working to not was the cig lighter, drivers seat and radio. we unhooked those before replacing the fuse and it changed nothing. i will also try and find out what fuse he replaced. we visually inspected all the fuses under dash and hood and they looked ok. sorry my post is so long ill stop now.

 

[pauleyman]

Check chassis grounds close to battery.

 

[lovemyzx9r]

i checked the ground when i did the swap but will put the multimeter to it to be sure. i think i have a relay stuck open. i hear the click when i hook up the battery but cannot tell where in the interior it is coming from. i know its not the starter mfi or fuel pump checked those. are there any hidden relays i am missing? i plan on checking the security relays and the other one in that mess next.

 

[lovemyzx9r]

i also have a question about the anti-theft relays. when doing a 5 speed swap should these be switched as well. i did not see this addressed in any of the swap write ups. i tried switching to 5 spd when it wasn't cranking before this problem but it didn't help. when it did run i think we had both at and mt security relays in. still haven't had a chance to check ignition. also thanks for the reply pauleyman

 

[lovemyzx9r]

i checked the ground with the multi meter it was good. 0.0 ohms on my cheapo meter. i then pulled the ignition switch connector and tested the battery voltage connected to battery key off was 11.5 volts now. battery is 11.7 unconnected. but the dash lights foot lights would account for that. also i found the power window relay clicks when the battery is hooked up. the windows work with key off/out. next is test the ignition switch again. and the wires going to it i guess. any ideas?