Autolamp came on, speedo flying, no keys in, middle of the night! HELP

Topic: Autolamp came on, speedo flying, no keys in, middle of the night! HELP (Read 2423 times) previous topic - next topic

Autolamp came on, speedo flying, no keys in, middle of the night! HELP

November 27, 2007, 10:00:45 AM

Got up this morning and my lights were on (barely an orange speck of light at this point)... Briefly hooked the charger and not only did the lights stay on but the speedo shot up to 55 (may have been there before the charger, too) and stayed there. It also made a bit of a hum but maybe that's normal.., just don't hear it over the engine..?

Strange part is, my keys are sitting on my seat! What's the deal? Ignition switch shot? Tumbler?

Autolamp came on, speedo flying, no keys in, middle of the night! HELP

Reply #1 – November 27, 2007, 10:13:41 AM

Also, putting the key in and turning it forward or back has no effect on anything except the warning chime...

Autolamp came on, speedo flying, no keys in, middle of the night! HELP

Reply #2 – November 27, 2007, 11:02:35 AM

My guess: Ignition switch. You just came very close to finding nothing of your car but ashes. Disconnect the battery and leave it disconnected until you inspect (and very likely replace) the switch.

Autolamp came on, speedo flying, no keys in, middle of the night! HELP

Reply #3 – November 27, 2007, 11:46:20 AM

Quote from: Thunder Chicken;189876

You just came very close to finding nothing of your car but ashes.

Ign. switch X2...

Yeah really, sounds like you and your car have a guardian angel somewhere..

Autolamp came on, speedo flying, no keys in, middle of the night! HELP

Reply #4 – November 27, 2007, 11:56:04 AM

Hahaha, I know. I feel very lucky. Problem is, I swapped it... same problem! Doesn't make sense. What else?!? , I'm so gonna miss work!

Autolamp came on, speedo flying, no keys in, middle of the night! HELP

Reply #5 – November 27, 2007, 11:58:39 AM

Also, just out of curiosity? Wasn't this fixed with the whole recall deal? Or do I have to wonder all my life if my 'bird is gonna light up at some time (newer switch or not)?

Autolamp came on, speedo flying, no keys in, middle of the night! HELP

Reply #6 – November 27, 2007, 01:13:07 PM

Update:

I was in the garage pondering as my battery charged. I momentarily put the negative cable back on and the warning chime came on (key OUT, door closed). Messed with the tumbler, key in.... now it's back to normal (no chime with key out).

Also, the accessories (clock, radio, etc...) work according to the key position... but the ignition is always energized? Any other ideas?!? I don't even know where to start!

Autolamp came on, speedo flying, no keys in, middle of the night! HELP

Reply #7 – November 27, 2007, 01:16:00 PM

Does the car have a remote starter or alarm system installed?

Also, when you swapped the switch, was the wiring harness OK? Was it a new switch you swapped in, or a used one that may have the same problem?

The recall didn't really fix anything. I've seen new part # switches (start with F instead of E) that have failed the same way the old ones did. In fact the switch that failed in my car about four years ago was the "updated" switch.

Autolamp came on, speedo flying, no keys in, middle of the night! HELP

Reply #8 – November 27, 2007, 01:40:19 PM

New switch. But it happens even with the ign sw UNPLUGGED! Ahh! what the?!? BTW, I'm am testing this based on hearing the fuel pump and seeing the check engine light (because the engine isn't running), I don't actually know what's all being powered up...

I have an alarm but the brain has been out and on a shelf for a few months (redoing interior) so it's not connected. But just to be safe, I checked.... still powers whether the ign cut relay is plugged in or not.

Autolamp came on, speedo flying, no keys in, middle of the night! HELP

Reply #9 – November 27, 2007, 02:36:29 PM

Oh, and the speedo is back to normal... must have had to do with the dead battery...?

Autolamp came on, speedo flying, no keys in, middle of the night! HELP

Reply #10 – November 27, 2007, 03:56:03 PM

Best I can recommend is looking at the wiring in the column and around the brake light switch and fuse panel (I mention brake light switch because the green wire to mine melted in my '87 and had to be replaced from the brake switch to the turn signal switch - it actually melted into several other wires but I got it before copper contacted copper).

You're probably right about the speedo - when I had an alt fail in my old '85 (carbureted V6) the battery got so dead that the speedo and clock started screwing up. The car still ran though :hick: at least until the cop pulled me over for driving with no headlights on...

Autolamp came on, speedo flying, no keys in, middle of the night! HELP

Reply #11 – November 27, 2007, 03:59:39 PM

...Speaking of which, try pulling your regulator plug off the alternator. If it's internally shorted it might be backfeeding into the IGN circuit. You might also try pulling fuses one by one to see exactly which circuit is causing the problem.

Autolamp came on, speedo flying, no keys in, middle of the night! HELP

Reply #12 – November 27, 2007, 05:58:09 PM

yeah, actually that's gonna be my first test when I get home, the alternator plug. Not because I think it's an internal short (brand new) but because I recently moved 80% of my wiring into the fenderwells (which required extensions) and I'm guessing I have a short between two circuits that is basically bypassing the ign sw.

Autolamp came on, speedo flying, no keys in, middle of the night! HELP

Reply #13 – November 28, 2007, 03:05:24 AM

part A-
lets see if that alt plug unhooked removes the problem. If so, something is still not right with your 3g upgrade. That sounds like a realistic suggestion. Nothing like battery power looping back into your harness via a couple shorted diodes.

part B-
give a man an evtm and watch em run wires in the fenders,,,:flame:
The best way is to do what was suggested and remove fuses one at a time till you get a desire result. I wouldnt really understand why any of your splices would be shorting to another or to ground unless they are not really to your liking or there is not grommet where they enter the fender well. ITs a good idea to stagger your splices in a wire harness anyway so that you dont have splices all grouped in one area. Makes for easier cable managment and reduces chances of the neighboring splice arching.

Look at it this way,, less than a day later and you've narrowed it down to two possibilities. Where im from, they call that progress.

Autolamp came on, speedo flying, no keys in, middle of the night! HELP

Reply #14 – November 28, 2007, 01:16:30 PM

Ok, finally up after a long night... time to work on this problem!

Gonna go check all this... But are you saying that running the wires in the fenders was bad? I'm confused... Am I the smiley getting burnt to a crisp or am I the one wearing the SWEET flame thrower?! :D

Anyway, I did stagger my splices, and everything was properly soldered (as you know Scott :D ) and wrapped in heat shrink. Anyway, time for the fun....