2G Several electrical problems

[jlgeclipsegsx]

Hey I had this already a thread before but this is written better then the other on.
I've been working on my car for about a year now and everything has been going good on it electrically and mechanically then one day I was driving around and my aftermarket cd player shut off and turned back on. It kept doing that for a bit until i powered it off. I shut my car off and then turned it back on and it turned back on but did the same thing. So i kept it off for the time being because i didnt want other things to start going wrong.

About this time my dome lights decided that they wont turn on, and when i open my door, either side, there was no dinging sound that you would usually get. Also, when i locked my doors, the security light comes on but now it doesnt and i always had an engine light that is on but now that doesnt come on anymore, only when i turn the key but right when i start it, it turns off.

There are a few times if i turn the key over, not all the way over and wait a bit, then start it, the engine light would stay on. The engine light is for my rear 02 sensor so i know that is not the thing thats causing this.

Finally, i was with a friend and we stopped somewhere to eat and before we went in i decided to turn my cd player on. it worked but then my friend opened the passenger door my aftermarket cd player shut off, i told him to shut it and when he did the cd player turned on. Now, the cd player doesn't turn on at all and i have done a bunch of stuff already to trouble shoot.

What ive done so far is; i checked my ecu to see if there was any melt capacitors but it was all fine. Took off my door panel and everything seem to be fine. Looked underneath my dash and all the wiring that was visible looked like they havent been touched since its been rolled out of the factory and its very clean. Checked all my fuses and they were good. Used a 12v voltage tester on all of them too and that was good. The only aftermarket part on the car is a Greddy bov and aftermarket cd player.

Thanks

 

[ktgurl87]

Did you check the wiring for the CD player?

 

[jlgeclipsegsx]

Yes I did, and how would that cause the dome light to not work or all the other things? This issue cant be that bad if it doesnt effect anything mechanically, at least for short time.

 

[Palmetto_TSi]

Sounds like you have a bad ground connection somewhere. Usually when more than one thing does that, it is the ground. I dont have the chiltons guide for that model, so I can't guide you much beyond that. I attempted a search for the diagram online, with no luck. Did you use a harness or do a cut and splice job like I used to do back in the day?

 

[jlgeclipsegsx]

Alright well I will check more grounds to see if any are loose. And that chiltons guide that your talking about, is that something you can buy or what is it ha. I havent cut and spliced anything except for the aftermarket cd player but the wiring is fine. I also looked online for a diagram but had no luck either. well if you can help decide where i should start first for grounds.

 

[STLskater92]

Start in your engine bay. Had a similar problem in a mustang last summer. I replaced the negitive battery cable and 2 grounds (motor-frame and frame-tranny) and it fixed the problem. After that I'd move inside and start checking grounds and looking for any loose connections. You may also check for an accudental ground caused by wires rubbing against a jagged surface.

 

[96Esiemc13g2008]

Just a thought but look under your passenger seat for a factory amp harness. I had a 97 eclipse where that connector was getting caught in the track and would keep turning my radio on and off randomly, then on day it shorted so bad it fried almost all my grounds to where half the car wouldnt function, lights(interior) power windows, instrument cluster, ect... hope this help

 

[jlgeclipsegsx]

alright, i will try that when I get up tommorrow and i will let you all know if either of those are the problems

 

[Palmetto_TSi]

Alright well I will check more grounds to see if any are loose. And that chiltons guide that your talking about, is that something you can buy or what is it ha. I havent cut and spliced anything except for the aftermarket cd player but the wiring is fine. I also looked online for a diagram but had no luck either. well if you can help decide where i should start first for grounds.

Chilton's guides are the model specific books you see at Advance Auto and other parts stores. They hold a lot of great information. Anyone who works on their own cars should have one. They are written from a complete tear down and rebuild of the car, so the info is pretty accurate. Occasionally you find some misleading info, but for the most part they are pretty good, and far cheaper than the factory service manual. They have wiring diagrams, vacuum line diagrams, step by step instructions on how to disassemble, and rebuild all the different parts of your car. I got mine on amazon used for $5 I think. New ones are about $40 at the parts stores.

There are other companies that put these type books out, like haynes, but the chiltons have always seemed to be better to me.

Good luck, and keep us posted if you run into any dead ends.

 

[jlgeclipsegsx]

Alright, I replaced by grounds from the frame and from the tranny and still didnt help anything. I also checked under my seat and the wires were fine. Is there anything else i can do
?

 

[Palmetto_TSi]

It is pretty hard to diagnose an electrical issue without a diagram. try this, just because we know the cd player is involved, and without a schematic to actually verify branch wiring, we will have to eliminate each item individually.

remove the cd player completely... Since the first thing you noticed was the cd player it will be a good place to start. then check your dome light, engine light, etc... I know that right now it doesn't seem like one should have anything to do with the other, but there are no coincidences in electrical work. One way or another, these symptoms are all related.

One question, How long was the CD player in the car prior to the symptoms beginning?

 

[STLskater92]

I agree with Palmetto. Try completely removing the cd player and see if the other symptoms still exist.

 

[jlgeclipsegsx]

Since these problems happened, I had already disconnected the cd player and it hasnt been in the car for about a week or so and still nothing has happened. I plan on checking the dome light by following the wiring to see where it leads to, but in the meantime my car is going to sit for a couple of months because i am working on the oil rigs so I wont have time to work on it, but when i come back i plan on getting a chiltons book and then going from there, I just cant afford to have more problems come up so thanks for helping me so far.

And Actually to note, I still have to remove the wiring from the cd player. The cd player has been in the car when I first bought it which was about 8 months ago.

 

[94_TSi]

Have you checked your fuses under the hood? On 1g's there are a couple things under there that will give close to your symptoms. I would also suggest to check fuses with a meter instead of visually.

 

[GodNero]

Correct me if I am wrong but like most Chrysler vehicles they never installed a ground wire in the harness, sadley I have a 1G so I can't say from experiance but based off the '90 Eclipse and my '99 Dodge Stratus all the way to my grandparents 07' Chrysler Van the only thing I have ever seen is MAYBE a ground strap.

Any way point being if there is no ground wire MAYbe your antenna lead is grounding, I have had that happen ince in the stratus, Or one of the other wires, power antenna, dimmer and so on that, may or may not be used could be grounding.

 

[jlgeclipsegsx]

i have checked the fuses with a meter and they are all fine. And GodNero, i will have to check and see if thats the issue, but im no where near the car so it will be awhile before get to check it, thanks

 

[jlgeclipsegsx]

http://www.dsmtuners.com/forums/newbie-forum/403990-anyone-forum-good-electrical-need-advice.html

i looked at that thread and its seems that the last one on there has all the ones that went out on my car.

my bad, i think that diagram was for a diff kind of dsm.

Ok so far I checked most of the smaller amp fuses in the engine bay including the TAIL LAMP, ABS, FOG LAMP, HI BEAM, A/C CLIM. , and COND. FAN. I used the 12v tester and the tail lamp, fog lamp and hi beam ones didnt light up, and the fuses are good. I didnt have time to check all of them. oh, i forgot, i also checked the engine one also and that was good. any ideas?

Ha sorry again, i found out that you had to turn the lights on for them to work so forget the post earlier

 

[jlgeclipsegsx]

i want to add that i did have a short somewhere hence if i pull my neg battery cable and put it right on that it would spark a little. well now since all this happened, there is no spark. and also i used to get power to my connection to the ecu because one day i was trying to diagnose it with a obd2 and there was no power to it.

 

[jlgeclipsegsx]

Hi guys, I noticed when taking the ground from the battery terminal off and putting it back on and it made a spark. Knowing that I have a short in my car so i wanted to start doing tests and I bought a multimeter but i have no idea now to use it or set it and also the numbers i will be getting. My problem with my car is that my radio, most of my interior lights, door ajar dinging sound, and there is no power to diagnose my ecu. My engine light comes on when i turn the key over but then shuts off when idling. I should have a light on because the o2 sensor that is located under my car is not connected. once and a while it will randomly come on but when i turn the car off and turn it back on it disappears. disconnected the radio already and i am now trying my best to fix this. so if there is a thread out there for knowing how to use a multimeter that would be great. Whatever is going to resolve my issues will be greatly appreciated.

to add when i first found out i had a spark to the ground on the battery terminal, all my issues that i am having now i never had but one day i checked to see if i still had a spark and now i dont but i got all these problems. seems strange.

And also, The fuses under the dash look fine and i tested the fuses and they were also fine.

 

[jlgeclipsegsx]

by the way i didnt replace the ground to the tranny, should i do that? looks like hard work. I dont know how to use a multimeter to find this short

 

[johnovision27]

If you had a short, a fuse somewhere would be blown. I may be wrong with this, but i'm sure everything in the car that gets power has a fuse.
You'll get a spark when you remove or replace the neg terminal because the car always draws a little bit of power. (door open, interior lights, radio, etc.)

What makes you think you have a short?

The CEL will come on when you turn the car over because the power is momentarily interrupted from the ECU, so it restart and does some form of a check, then the CEL turns off.

To use the multimeter to check for a short, turn it on and set it to measure resistance. You'll have to check the power to a system against the ground. If the resistance is very very low or zero, then chances are, there is a short (depending on the system) If there is resistance, then there isn't a short. A continuity tester, it's much easier because it'll beep at you. Mind you, that is a general "how to" I'm sure there are systems in our car that remain open when the power is off.

The car has to be in the on position for the ECU to get power. (maybe ACC? I can't remember right now)

As for the door ajar, interior lights and dinging, my car is on and off with that. Some days it works, other it doesn't. It might just be a loose connection on the switch but I'm just too lazy to fix it. Does the pax door work?
As for the radio, if it isn't stock, make sure the ground is solid to the chassis or frame. (clean surface!) And on that note, be sure to check the fuse in the back of the stereo.

 

[TsiJohn333]

http://www.dsmtuners.com/forums/art...inding-short-partial-short-battery-drain.html

http://www.dsmtuners.com/forums/articles-electrical-wiring/404574-multi-meter-usage-primer.html

Try both these threads here. They should be helpful for you. i hope you find your short.

P.S. Try not to post the same question in two different threads. Just trying to look out for you.

 

[68442]

Probably need to see how much juice is being drawn with nothing running. This topic should help you.

http://www.dsmtuners.com/forums/newbie-forum/287599-parasitic-draw-please-help.html

 

[DSM_munky_man]

I agree that with a short you would have blown fuses, melted wires, or a burnt down car. You can do the continuity test as stated, or maybe try the last lost method, and find an open. And ground one side then just check voltage at all the different connectors to see if your getting volts wherever, this also may require back probing.

 

[9!'clipseDOHC]

Here is a basic explanation of multi-meter terms which will help you to use one and therefore find your short. http://www.dsmtuners.com/forums/articles-electrical-wiring/404574-multi-meter-usage-primer.html