I am getting a .86 amp draw (1.5 ohm from positive to ground with the ground cable removed) on fuse 8 with the car off, all lights off, car just sitting there. I get next to nothing with the fuse pulled, and no measurable resistance. What is the most likely culprit for this? The car was fine Sunday, battery was dead today when I went to drive it.
I know it is basically clock/tripminder, power locks, power mirrors, and illuminated entry. I will add that my alarm is tied to the power lock harness to control them but I sure hope it isn't something weird with the alarm. Should I just start by pulling the door panels and disconnecting the locks/mirrors first? I'm assuming it is a bad door lock solenoid but I need ideas on order of testing. Edit - the solenoids shouldn't have power without the relays on...soooo, pull the relays. I have no clue where they are so I'll search later.
The other thing is that nothing changed besides driving 10 miles on Sunday. No crazy back road driving or anything. I figure a solenoid, relay, or whatever just had enough and is damaged internally.
The door lock solenoid(s) aren't your problem, they receive power from the relays which are controlled by the switches... Could have a stuck relay though, but if they are operating normally, I'd be looking elsewhere... Same deal with the mirrors, they are powered through the switch contacts, no voltage directly applied... I'd think the Illuminated entry would keep the lights activated if it had a problem, again does it function normally???
Leaves the clock/trip minder(doubtful) and your alarm... Ummm
I should be able to pull the center console and disconnect the switches to rule out mirrors/locks. The illuminated entry is/was working fine. Tripminder is easy to pull so I'll try it first as it takes me 60+ minutes to get to my alarm. I will add that the alarm door pin sensing wire also apparently also works off of the same wire as the illumination so as you can imagine, once the door handle is pulled up, the alarm trips until the lights turn off and some time passes.
Fuse 8 is also the key in ignition warning chime. I'll have to test that also, see if it works properly. The alarm isn't acting up and powers the door locks/senses the door pins properly so it makes a whole lot of no sense. All I know is that that fuse isn't too important so it isn't as big a problem as initially antited. I wish there was an easy way to separate the circuits from the fuse block without hacking up the harness.
Good luck, problems like this can make you want to pull out your hair...
I'd just about as soon take a beating as pull door panels, but both of my door lock solenoids have puked... One is jammed and I can't even lock the door manually... Oh well, guess I'll have to take my medicine...
BTW the courtesy lamps are powered by fuse 8 also... Also radio memory and the premium sound amp have feeds from fuse 8... It's fairly common for the radio(fact and aftermarket) to have issues...
So basically pull my right dash apart, center console apart, and pull the alarm out. Most of these should be doable in under an hour. I figure I can check the mirrors and door locks in 5 minutes, tripminder in 5-10 once I find the right bits, and stereo in 15 (it's a huge pain with what's hooked up).
I may need to check something that would allow serious current draw. I hooked the fuse back up once last night, tested for amperage but it blew my ammeter instantly, and I had 1.2ohms of resistance. I'm thinking that whatever it is, it gets bad very quickly. The 15A fuse is fine though.
I forgot that I pulled the stereo memory wire out years ago due to it melting down on the entire wire for no apparent reason (memory wire is smaller than the factory fuse!). The wire was removed down to the fuse block and snipped right where it comes out. If fuse 8 does indeed supply radio memory, that wire isn't it. The premium amp is disconnected and the harness ziptied down with other wires behind the rear seat. I doubt and hope that one's it in any way. I can test this by make sure both ends are disconnecting and checking resistance to ground though.
hey seek,,,
you have an updated thread submitted by me,,,,,,,,,,,,
thank me later.
go buy a voltage regulator for your alternator.
your thread runs parallel with mine,
http://www.foxtbirdcougarforums.com/showthread.php?t=19254
I'd be looking at glove box, center console, and trunk lights, too. One of them may not be turning off when it should...
I unplugged the trunk light first last night. Now I have to plug it back in - it's a huge pain. I have CCFL's to light up the trunk with no stock switch/bulb. I thought about the center console but it was late and I hadn't eaten my now 1 hour old dinner or even been close to ready to get to sleep at 11:30! Anyways, I didn't think about the glove box last night but I did today - I will be checking these once I jump the car and get it charged this evening. My guess would have been one of the light switches being bad too, especially the center console.
My 3G alternator is out of the vehicle now. It apparently didn't like the load or something as I was at 14.5v for about 1 mile before it began to drop to 13.3v at 1500rpm's (and no higher above) and 12.3v at idle. I drove in 1st and 2nd the rest of the drive. Being disconnected, I can't blame the alternator for this current draw. I have a digital voltmeter in my dash which reads about .05v lower than at the battery and matches my multimeter's readings - it has been helpful with these troublesome "lifetime warranty" NAPA alternators.
ohh,, so now you tell us about your mods,,:D
I had no idea what all you had done,, including the alt being out.
Yeah, I apparently left a few things out of the original post that I thought were in there. I wasn't thinking that clearly last night after all the frustration. Anyways, I removed the alternator as it did start acting up yesterday so I thought it was shorting out - apparently not the case. My headlights are disconnected right now as they feed from a custom fuse block in the engine bay - only a relay is fed by the light switch.
Getting a 1.2ohm resistance between the + and -, with the - disconnected from the car and the meter on the chassis, I have a hard time believing a bulb is stuck on. A light bulb is up closer to the 1k ohm mark. To me this sounds more severe like a solenoid that has collapsed internally or a single strand of wire connecting the two sides. You would think with 1.2 ohms though that the draw would be 15+ amps...I know it messed up my multimeter's 10A UNFUSED ammeter the second it touched. I soldered the pcb back together though. It must not be drawing that much if the 15A fuse isn't blowing though.
I won't have a replacement alternator until Saturday either :/
Not so, cold filament resistance in any bulb is FAR LESS than when it's lit... Most bulbs are only a few ohms cold...
Hmmm, well I'll be pulling parts here in a few once the battery charges back up. I do thank you guys for the tips!
I can't wait for my wiring to start going to . One day I will rebuild the whole thing. Hopefully by then I will have a garage.
Try reversing the meter leads and see if you still have 1.2 ohms.
Ohm meters apply a voltage to the circuit. There are diodes in the car between + and ground. If the meter voltage is high enough it can forward bias the diodes and measure a low resistance.
So, apparently this is 99% my own stupidity. I have a dead map light/not turning on but the switch was on. After flipping the switch up to the off position, the current draw is now 15 milliamps. I understand why I didn't notice it due to the lack of a glow but , I didn't think of checking those switches. I guess this is good but a HUGE waste of my time. I still don't know how it got hit as I didn't do anything on that side of the car or rear seat - just get in, drive 2 miles up the interstate, get out, get in, drive back, get out.
Still seems like a weird coincidence that my alternator isn't charging at the same time.
CHECK THE SIMPLE THINGS!
well,, hey,, think about it though tom
he may have some strange new fangle headlamp bulbs other than stock.
A filiment bulb is pretty much a continuity check as in no way near 1k unless the bulb is some fancy blind you at night deal. Ive never read what the halogen bulbs read,, figured if they arent lit and dont work in a known good socket, toss em in the garbage.
I think what might be a decent idea for you is to modify an evtm page with the wriing diagram you desire to focus on and then white out the circuits you have removed and insert what you have added. this will give the ole memory a chance to forget about it cause you have it documented.
I had to do this with the bronco trailer wiring,,, i confussed myself one day trying to figure out what i did 8 years ago by using the hitch as the only light ground.
I thought about this but it seemed too complicated :p I'll likely be adding a 4 gauge wire to the stock fuse block location and adding a second fuse block in the vicinity just to have a more stock-ish setup. I cannot find a large fuse block though - I want each part to have its own fuse. I see where Haystack is coming from.
I may have not been thinking 12v clearly with my "1000 ohm" bulb when cold statement but the fact still stands that it is much more than 1.2 ohms when cold, unless it is a 120w bulb on the 12v system. I assume this is lit though? I don't claim to be an electrical genius.
Voltage^2 / Resistance = Watts
Voltage^2 / Watts = Resistance
Measure the resistance of a few bulbs, you'll get the idea... Resistance increases probably 6-8x when they are hot, only then does Ohm's Law apply... So assuming your .86A current draw was a lamp, if it were lighting, current may have actually been 150ma(.15A)...
Even the resistance of a electric motor will decrease dramatically running vs locked... Current draw of coils & solenoids can usually be determined by their resistance readings... And solid state electronics??? Forget measuring resistance, same applies to anything that's powered by a transformer(AC circuits), secondary load is the determining factor here...
OK I have here on my desk a GE 1157 bulb. Standard tail/brake light.
One filament is 2.2 ohms and the other is 0.5 ohms.
Wait - same bulb? Anyways, they should be a whopping 6 ohms when lit? Rated at 27w/12.8v.
The 2.2 ohms will be the general illumination filament, while the 1/2 ohm will be the stop/signal filament...