Electrical nightmare ### help im ready to drive it off a cliff

[thricestrat]

ok...sry if i posted this in the wrong place...didnt really know where to post this problem...
i have a 99 eclipse rs...and when i go to turn the key to turn off the engine it doesnt when i take the keys out it still runs?(sometimes it works mostly it doesnt)...i checked the ignition and as far as i know it works it shuts the radio on and off, fuel pump, etc....but not the engine...heres the weird part if i turn my blinker on with the keys out of it and itll kill the engine!! i have an autopage alarm and keyless entry and i thought that was causing my ignition relay to go nuts cuz a few times i heard a relay clicking like crazy... also my alarm will sound sometimes for absolutely no reason.. what should i look for and has any one else had this problem...

p.s. a place that does car audio alarms starters etc. said that it couldn't cause my engine to not shut off...

please help im sick of using my blinker and pulling the plugs on my engine to turn it off its a little emberacing

thanks

 

[BISHILVR]

Accessories can cause the car to stay running if they are wired in a way that they feed back to the ignition switch, or they draw current through the ignition switch. Definately disconnect the accessories first and try it that way and then lets see what happens.

 

[Old Mitsu Tech]

Something is holding the ignition on. Turning the blinker on with the engine running kills the engine. Is it the same key on as it is key off? I'd definitely remove any after market accessories. One at a time to see what actually is causing the problem. You can then either opt to find another hook up for that particular accessory, or you can just remove it entirely.




Good Luck

 

[ndilo21]

I don't know why the place that installed it would tell you that, but it is clearly related. Does the alarm have a remote start option or even a built in turbo timer? I know my alarm has a remote start and a built in turbo timer, but reguardless the problem is deffinitely related. Removing the aftermarket accesories will resolve the issue but it could probably be fixed. If you dont know much about electrical or don't want to deal with it, try taking it to another shop and have them take a look at it. Good luck, electrical problems are hell.

 

[1993eclipseGS]

I turn my marker lights on by stuffing something between the steering wheel cover so the horn button stays pushed in..... The horn is disconnected obviously. I hate when people mess stuff up and do not fix it.

 

[thricestrat]

Alright update on the situation. The alarm was causing the problem, just unhooked it about 30 seconds ago and the car started up and shut off about 10 times just fine. I bought a new Autopage 520LCD, and now im trying to find out how to install this thing. I have the wiring diagram but i want to tap into the pre-existing lines instead of having 300 million wires under the dash...has anyone ever install autopage's?

oh and the problem was that the alarm had a built in relay that was fried and also fried all the wires that tap into the ignition. My alarm is built to kill any power if blinker is on etc. so it was crossing on the relay that runs through my ignition!

 

[thricestrat]

ok...after i thought the alarm was causing the problem (### when i took it out it stopped) it wasnt....it worked good for a few weeks...now i have the same problem again but worse. my engine will stay on and radio with the keys out, if i pull the radio fuse the engine will die...sometimes i have to pull the dome light fuse also to kill the engine. i checked all the wires and they all look solid and good. also when the radio fuse is out or the dome light fuse is out everything seems to work ok..except the radio doesnt hold memory (which is a given) but when those fuses are in the ecu makes a buzing sound and so does my egr sensor...what could this possibly be?

thanks guys for putting up w/ me

 

[beatshack]

It sounds to me like there is a few problems. #1 is you may have a loose/bad battery ground connections (your radio not saving data tells me that). Also whoever installed your alarm may have crossed one of the two ignition ON wires with a constant power wire (killing the engine by pulling fuses tells me that). Any way you can take your knee gaurd and steer column plastic cover off and take some pics? Many times inexperienced alarm/turbo-timer/auto-start installers who are used to cars with 1 ignition ON wire will be confused when faced with our cars which have 2 ON ignition wires, and mess things up.

 

[thricestrat]

ill take pics tomorrow of under the knee guard and by the steering column i also have a few wires running across there that were running a/f guages and fogs...ill try to photoshop it and point out spots i think could b causing the problem...also my radio today turned off and on every 2 seconds which may be the ignition positive loosing power, does that sound right?
thanks beatshack

 

[beatshack]

That sounds like a loose/bad ground on the battery terminal. Check the terminals for corrosion, rust, etc, clean them off well, and re-tighten everything down. I had the same problem, and actually had to buy new terminal clamps. It could be something messed with one or both of the ignition ON wires, but I'd put my money on bad ground.

Could you hear a relay clicking on and off while this was happening?

 

[thricestrat]

ya.....a relay thats under the hood clicks a few times when i try to kill my motor w/ the windshield wiper...its the one next to the brake/clutch resevoir the one on the right if your looking toward the back of the car...when i use the windshield wiper to turn the engine off the circuit by the stem of the wiper control arm buzzes really loud. il check my ground tonight and take a few pics of all the things u said...the horn for the alarm was hooked up directly to my ground on my battery could that possible do it? i dont know too much about car electrical soo this is hell to me

 

[DSM_Spume]

Hey let me know if you get this fixed... I'll be in amherst next week and could give you a hand I'm not very good at explaining things...

~J

 

[thricestrat]

hey guys sry i havent gotten pics up weve had a few real cold days....dsm spume...i could use all the help i can get if u wanna take a look at it gimme a call at 812-0676 (cell) anytime after 4ish on week days im free id really appreciate it...i would take it to an electrician but the last time i had a mechanic look at my car he cost me 400 in parts he tottally wrecked (long story) but ya if your free sometime give me a call and well try to sort all of this out...

thanks guys