New car MAJOR wiring problems!! HELP!!!!

[speed127]

Hey everyone, I have a 96 eagle talon N/T and I have some major wiring problems. My side markers, dash lights, and rear driving lights do not work at all. There is defiantly a short because in the fuse box under the hood the fuse called "tail lamps" blows as soon as I put the fuse in. I believe it's actually all the marker lamps because I started tracing the wire and it doesn't just go to the tail lamps. Basically my question is, where are the zone plugs; you know, the ones that would separate the entire rear wiring harness and maybe another one that would disconnect the dash? I need to get this done ASAP so I can get the car inspected but I have been at this all day and have made little headway. WTF BTW MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!!

 

[will90Eclipse]

Do yourself a favor and just bring it to a mechanic. Electrical problems are the worst thing you could try and fix, a mechanic would just hook it up to a computer and be able to fix the problem in five minutes.

Have a MerryChristmas

 

[97gssleeper]

Do yourself a favor and just bring it to a mechanic. Electrical problems are the worst thing you could try and fix, a mechanic would just hook it up to a computer and be able to fix the problem in five minutes.

Have a MerryChristmas

I don't think a mechanic could fix it quite that quick, especially if one of the wires is shorted to ground somewhere. Did the previous owner have any audio equipment installed and then removed it before you got it? If so, it could be as simple as the illumination wire in the car behind the radio being used for a ground for the radio. I would check every wire to that runs to the park lights, side markers and tail lights first before I take it to someone. Could be as simple as a wire being pinched by a panel somewhere.

 

[luv2rallye]

There is defiantly a short because in the fuse box under the hood the fuse called "tail lamps" blows as soon as I put the fuse in.

Here's how to find that short: http://www.dsmtuners.com/forums/showthread.php?t=179481

 

[Old Mitsu Tech]

Whew, electrical shorts are usually the gray hair/widow maker of the diagnostic world.

You can make a tester by substituting your blowing fuse for a 5 amp circuit breaker. You can then use one of 2 methods for finding your problem.

First you can use a test light and your trusty handy dandy schematic. If you don't have the schematic, get one as you are now driving cross country without a map if you don't have it. Find the wire color that goes to the tail lamps and work forward. When the light lights up, you are on the hot side of the short. If it doesn't light up, you are on the cold side.

You can also use a circuit breaker and a compass or such for the same thing, it's just not as accurate as the test light.

Or you can buy a hundred dollar short circuit detector which injects a signal into the circuit.

Any one of these will work.

As far as where the short could be, Anywhere the wiring is near something that moves or makes a bend. I've seen screws be a great addition to a short circuit when someone mounts something and doesn't look behind the panel they are screwing into.

Tapping into the wrong wire can cause problems, although I doubt this is your particular situation.


Well, try these and let us know.

Good Job Guys

 

[speed127]

Thanx guys... so where can I find the schematics to this car? I'm going to look on this sight but if not hear then where? Do I have to buy a shop manual? I have a Chiltons but I don't think thats good enough.

 

[ndilo21]

Has a deck recently been installed on the car? I would definitely check what wire is being used as a ground on the deck. I had the same problem with my car and it was because I used the wrong wire as a ground. I believe if the green/white wire in the radio harness is grounded it will cause this problem. Try removing the deck and putting a fuse in and then see if it still blows. Hope this helps, electrical problems are hell.

 

[steve]

Thanx guys... so where can I find the schematics to this car?

www.manualcd.com

Steve

 

[speed127]

Thanx everyone on all their input!!! I printed all the wiring diagrams out and then took the entire car apart following this one wire, green w/ a white stripe. I started taking the wiring harnesses apart to try and get the test light to go out. ( i took a test light from the hot side of the battery and put it to the one side of the fuze and it lit up, which told me there was a dead short somewhere because the fuse shouldn't be acting as a ground) I kept finding melted wires and FINALLY found and solved the problem. I found that the previous owner had probably taken out the tail lighs and when he reinstalled them, the wire that goes to the lisence plate lights had been pinched and shorted. Needless to say I had to replace the entire green/white wire BUT everything is as it should be now!! Now all I have left to do is add my modified hahn turbo kit.

 

[abarguy]

Wow, that's great that you could find that short like that. I hear they are almost impossible to find sometimes. Maybe you could help me out sometime. I'm trying to find a short in my car and don't know how to even start looking. You're not too far away from where I live, so maybe we can get together and you can show me where to start. Later, buddy.