Hey everyone, I'm having some problems I can't seem to figure out on my own...

Around last thanksgiving, I had my alternator give out on me at 195k...problem is, when it went out, it took out some wiring with it - the thing invoked multiple shorts in several locations throughout the vehicle. I corrected some of them, but I'm still having issues correcting the ones that remain. Here's a list of the discrepancies:

1.) 6 extra amps show on the "small light" fuse in the fuse box, so I usually leave it out - stg somewhere;

2.) With this fuse out, I have no parking lights, no tail lights (I do get brake lights), and no dimming feature on my instrument panel. I drive blind at night pretty much. Blinkers work fine though;

3.) If I install a 25amp fuse (since it blows the normally rates fuse) in the "small light" spot, I get my instrument lights as well as parking lights when I select them, but the right turn signal light stays on constantly in both the front and rear of the vehicle. I haven't checked, but I imagine that I have tail lights as well with this fuse installed.

Another issue that recently came up is the other day, when I was searching for the short(s) mentioned above, I removed my dash, pulled out the instrument cluster to inspect the wiring from the harness as well as within the cluster, and now since I put it back, my speedometer shows as going 10mph faster than I'm actually going, and both my fuel gauge as well as my temp gauge shoot all the way to full/max temp and stay there. Does anyone have any idea what I could have done to cause these problems?

Thank you for taking the time to read and consider this; I'm a fairly decent troubleshooter as I'm an A&P mechanic, but I'm relatively unfamiliar with cars....and the Haynes manual doesn't help for sheit, either[:@]. Any help in the right direction would be extremely appreciated!

 

Well I do know how to spell N I G H T M A R E
Get a schematic, Helms 'ETM' from ebay, start unplugging things from that circuit, one at a time to track down the short.
Your second problem will require you go back in and carefully recheck things.

 

hmmm... the way i see it you have done a lot things with your car by now, i can only suggest that you get a certified auto electrician so see your car, i would not advise you goanyfurther on fixing it on your own,
ELECTRICAL COMPONENTS + ELECTRICAL SHORT= FIRE![:-]

Any thing that concerns elecrical components leave it to the experts...

GOOD LUCK

 

Ha yeah tell me about it....

I'll try and track down an etm, didn't know that they existed for public purchase lol. This has been such a hassle for me, but I can live with no instrument lights for the time being. The thing that really pisses me off though is how my instruments are acting now....all I did was take the cluster out, open it up, remove the three main instruments by unscrewing them from the back, litterally took a look at everything and then reassembled it all. I didn't, to the best of my knowlege, touch anything else. Is there something that needs to be reset possibly?

I just took the cluster out again, gave everything a once-over, and put it back, and it's still showing false indications. I know I've got the three harnesses plugged in correctly, and I didn't alter anything....*pulls hair out*

 

well the common part of the situation is that the gauges need ground path to go high; the fuse is pulling too many amps as if it has found a ground path.
Now just where exactly that might be is anybodys guess. You might try the 'wiggle wire' method to see if you can make any thing change.

 

sounds like you got 2 different issues......
first off,, for the blown fuse and i am assuming it is fuse # 23 under hood fuse box . 15 amp..?? if so, If it blows right away it will be easy to locate well easier .. if it blows intermittently ( ouch ) ..but if it blows right away first thing you need to do is get a 10 , 15 amp circuit breaker so when it blows it will reset itself, then we need to separate the front 1/2 of the car from the rear 1/2 ,, there is a plug GRAY 18 wires going to it, behind the top left side of the rear seat,, unplug it , if it stop the short is on the rear 1/2 .. if it still blows ,, unplug the clear connector 14 wires at the combo switch,, if it still blows the short is from the fuse box to the combo switch,, if it stops it is in the wiring under the dash ,, SHOOOOOOT ...
try this and let us know ..

as for the gauges issue you might have a pinched ground wire ,, perhaps when you reinstalled the dash

 

Awesome, thanks for the insight guys. I'm at work right now, and won't be able to try these suggestions until tomorrow morning, but when I do I'll post here again and let you know of any updates/progress I've made. Again, thank you for your help!

 

Ok, here's the run-down...


Got the shorts fixed!!!!!

Desert, I did as you suggested, went through that procedure, and found that it wasn't in the back half. Pulled the clear connectors and found out it was between the dash and the fusebox. I then had to go and get a beer to prepare myself for dealing with the monstrosity under the dash...

The problem, when I found it, was the wiring harness going to the left plug on the steering column. At it's base I found a partially melted connector, which is what tipped me off. I unplugged it and pulled it through....upon inspection at my workbench, I found that almost the whole lengh of the harness had been melted and shorted together. The only portion that wasn't fused together was about 2 inches before the connector that plugs into that left hand side on the steering wheel. What I ended up doing was pulling every wire apart from the other ones, so that I could trace each individual wire, and one by one cutting a wire and splicing in a new one. By the time I was done I had myself a brand new wiring harness, and saved a good $1500-1600 in parts and labor, which is what I got quoted for the other day. I plugged my new harness in, and wa-la, no more problems!

I am still having my instrument cluster problem though, I traced each wire from all three connectors that go into the cluster for as far as I could trace them, and found no signs of a short or even an indication that a wire had been pinched. It's possible that I just have a bad gauge I guess. I'm having the same problem that the other guys are having in the "temp gauge pegs out instantly" thread, except as I stated in a previous post, it's my gas gauge as well that does this. I'm going to follow through with the suggestions given on that page, and I'll update accordingly.

Overall, thanks deserthonda and hondadude for all the help and insight. Your advice has helped me trach down this problem that been bothering me for almost three months now....Now, maybe I can trade the damn car in and get something out of it!!