Electrical Problem with Ignition (Problem Solved)

Schultz · Post by **Schultz** » Tue May 20, 2014 7:38 pm

I had the car sitting for a month and the battery went a bit dead so me being a bright spark I thought I just chuck a new battery in it. Well after I connected the 800 amp battery (instead of 680 a that I normally got in it) the fusible link gets very hot with the ignition on.
That happens only when I turn the ignition to "ON", with the key turned to "ACC" or in the "OFF" position it is alright. The other thing is that my fuel pump is not going pttt pttt pttt. rofl My guess is the fuel pump is not working.
I disconnected the battery and turned the ignition on then touched the earth lead to the battery and something is shorting out going by the amount of sparks then.

Last time I drove it every time I put my foot on the brake some warning light came on the dash that looks like a crossed out light bulb but its alright I did the usual thing and ignored it. Brake fluid level is alright.

Now I am looking for a buggered relay (in the manual it says it is above the computer) or a fuse but am not sure where to look. I can always drop the tank and pull the fuel pump out to test it on the bench but I thought I would ask on here before doing that because maybe someone has an idea of what my problem is.

Thank you

RiceThief · Post by **RiceThief** » Tue May 20, 2014 11:19 pm

I wouldn't think using a bigger battery would cause shorting problems. I would hazard a guess that you have a crossed wire somewhere.

popup · Post by **popup** » Wed May 21, 2014 6:17 am

Perhaps your fuel pump has seized and it is drawing a large amount of current? I seem to remember there is a connector in the boot by the access cover, disconnect the fuel and see if the fusible links are OK then?
My opinion is the fusible links should be replaced with something else as they always seem to cause issues.

Schultz · Post by **Schultz** » Wed May 21, 2014 9:47 am

Thank you RiceThief
I might just jack the car up and have a look at the wiring to see if it has rubbed through somewhere.

Thank you popup
I will have a look in the boot and I think I can just pull the wire off the pump and if that don't work I can just cut it under the bonnet and then join it again if that is not the problem.
The pump is about 2 years old.

RiceThief · Post by **RiceThief** » Wed May 21, 2014 11:18 am

I was thinking the source of the problem is obviously in the fuseable link or not fused at all. So you could isolate where the short is coming from by taking out all the fuseable links and replaced them one at a time to find out where the short is. It's most likely to be there as the fuseable links are slow blowing as opposed to the fuses near the drivers seat, as a short would have blown them already. The source could also be something you installed without a fuse.

Schultz · Post by **Schultz** » Wed May 21, 2014 1:25 pm

Thank you RiceThief

That is a good idea.
I did cut the wire going to the pump and the pump still doesn't work, obviously. But something is still shorting out so I will give your idea with the fusible links a go next and then get back let you know.

I think the only thing I fitted into the car is the stereo and I fitted a fuse to that.

Popup
My pump has been rewired with new cable eliminating the plug on top of the tank. I know that because I just checked that.

Schultz · Post by **Schultz** » Wed May 21, 2014 4:14 pm

OK. So far I pulled all the fusible links out, same problem.
I cut the wire going to the fuel pump, same problem.
I changed the ignition switch wiring harness, same problem.
Disconnected the coil, distributor and pulled the dash out ~ so I think I can eliminate them as causing the problem.

Next I suppose I could pull the unit out where the fusible links are and pull all the relays out of it.

There is a small square plug underneath this unit that when disconnected then the problem is gone. It has about a metre of thick wire attached to it that has its own holder under it to hold the length of wire before it goes into the wiring harness with the other end being connected to the battery.
The problem is that when disconnected nothing else works either.

Bitza · Post by **Bitza** » Wed May 21, 2014 7:45 pm

I'd be checking your starter motor........after sitting for a while the armature and the field plates can become rusty causing a bad earth, this will draw large amounts of voltage and current making wiring very hot.

Schultz · Post by **Schultz** » Wed May 21, 2014 8:56 pm

Thank you Bitza

I will disconnect it tomorrow and see what happens. It is the starter out of the spare car I have here because I had a new starter in the car but the solenoid stuffed up so I bolted the other one in.

Also I removed the relay box next to the battery to see if changing that will do anything.

ProZac · Post by **ProZac** » Thu May 22, 2014 4:03 pm

I'm sure you;ve checked it, but you've got the battery in the right way, right?

Schultz · Post by **Schultz** » Thu May 22, 2014 4:32 pm

Prozac

I did check the battery terminals to ensure they were the correct way around. Lights, stereo and other useless things are working alright.
:D

Bitza · Post by **Bitza** » Thu May 22, 2014 5:25 pm

What's the go with the large pic and the text all the way to the right of screen?

niss720 · Post by **niss720** » Thu May 22, 2014 5:34 pm

Woaaa Popup when and how did you put up a massive profile pic?

popup · Post by **popup** » Thu May 22, 2014 10:16 pm

Shit is it still doing that? The links for imageshack photos that were resized defaulted back to original sizes so I had to go through all them all and delete them/change to dropbox.

I couldn't change the link on the profile pic so just deleted the source from imageshack. Is it still showing up?!

Schultz · Post by **Schultz** » Thu May 22, 2014 11:26 pm

Yep, its still showing up.

Austarion

Electrical Problem with Ignition (Problem Solved)

Electrical Problem with Ignition (Problem Solved)

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