Car thinks doors are open?, Elelctrical Gremlin Options

[DEATH]

Since I got the car I've been having some small problems with the alarm and stock courtesy door lock functions:
1. The DS door does not register as opening or closing [This causes the car to lock me out when I start it to warm up and I close the door to gather things from the house - I'll return to the car to find all doors locked with me out]. I believe it has been wired out by looping the incoming and outgoing voltage causing the door to always appear closed to the system. The easy temporary solution was to get a spare key made from a flat blank and keep it in my wallet - this I can't live with cause my OCD dictates the car must be restored to showroom quality.
2. This same problem causes the headlight auto-off to not work - a mild nuisance as you can plainly tell the lights are on, go back to the car and turn them off. Again I must fix this.
3. I have been doing some work on the glovebox area installing a DVD player and screen [wait til you guys see this I have a new location for the screen that will rock your socks]. The first thing I noticed was that the light in the GB didn't come on when I opened it. I determined the electrical connection was just loose and I fixed this problem. This was the day the real new problem came up:
4. Now neither of the car doors will register as open. The light does not light up in the gauge cluster - nothing. However, when I go to set the alarm, the remote reports back on the little screen that a door is ajar and the alarm chimes 3 times to indicate something is not right. This morning I wake up to go to work and the battery [Optima Red Top] is dead. This tells me something has gone wrong with the door pin switch on the passenger side now.
Now I still have the PS dash taken apart mostly with the majority of the screws removed and only the clips holding the whole assembly together. Since the new problem started the day I took the GB area apart it leads me to believe I may have disturbed something there causing the problem. The thing is I know I never touched the door pin switch or the plastic trim around the door sill at all so most likely that's not it. What I was wondering is if anyone knows if the ground for that switch [would it even need one? It should just open and close a circuit that includes all the door pin switches right?] is located near the glovebox or PS dash board anywhere? Maybe one of you has had this problem too?
Baring that - does anyone know where and what I should check for with my multimeter to get these door pins working again?
One further complication/symptom is that the dome light does not come on anymore [It never did with the DS door because of the known problem there but now the PS door won't turn it on as well]. That switch was also broken and ghetto rigged by some previous owner in the past. Now before you guys say I need to fix my ghetto ass car - I know - that's why I'm typing this . I can't stand all the little retarded issues like this that cause the car to lock me out, or make me late for work and need a jump start. Personally I can't stand a bolt to be missing from anywhere on the car so rest assured I am eliminating all these issues as quickly as time and parts money will allow. This car will be returned to it's former glory eventually.
Thank you for reading this and please offer me any assistance you can or problems/solutions you have had in the past with your Celica.

[Batman722]

when you open the hatch, does the light on the dash come on ?

check both door pins, remove them clean the connections, they stick pretty easy. They ground directly to the chassis on the switch.

the GB light only comes on when the lights are on I believe

[DEATH]

the GB light only comes on when the lights are on I believe

OK - good to know when diagnosing - thank you.

check both door pins, remove them clean the connections, they stick pretty easy. They ground directly to the chassis on the switch.

Will do - any info on which wire should have voltage with door open etc.? Unfortuantely both of my doors are acting up so I can't use the other one to diagnose

when you open the hatch, does the light on the dash come on ?

Good thought - BRB.

Update: OK no - the gauge light does not come on when the hatch opens and also the lights will not come on without the key in the ignition. This is getting weirder?
The only other thing I did that day was to wire the Radio to always be on [I just have to turn it on/off manually with the remote - this is so I can listen to the radio without anything else on the car being on while I'm working on it so I don't run the power down as quickly - The fans are on all the time when the key is in like the MR2 guys do - don't ask that's an issue for another day god I hate ghetto rigged cars] - do you think this could have caused this condition? Is there a monitor built into the car to watch power draw during the cars off-time which may be thinking the car is still on?

This post has been edited by DEATH: Apr 22, 2008 - 10:00 AM

[Batman722]

ok a few suggestions.

the "dome" fuse controls all of these things, like the couresy lights, hatch like, the door open light on dash, dome light, clock, ignition light, ect.
that's the first bet.

also check to make sure the "jumper pin" in the bay fusebox is there. It looks like a fuse, but isn't, it's just a jumper pin.

since you took out the GB check the kick panel on that side to make sure all plugs/wires are secure going into the chassis. Check the other side too (driver's kick panel) for the same and check to see if any wires down there are spliced, cut, or altered. Sometimes the door lock wires and trigger for the doors being open for an aftermarket alarm will be spliced in over there, make sure they are all secure.

since you re-wired the stereo check behind there again, make sure things are as they should be. My guess is that you blew the fuse

the fans being on all the time, is that new or always been like that ? You have a 3s swap right ? I think I know the answer there

This post has been edited by Batman722: Apr 22, 2008 - 11:13 PM

[goferris]

i have the same problem with my DS door not registering when it's opened. if we could get any more info on this i would really appreciate it as well. i've tried the most simple solution i could think of and replaced the switch itself but that didn't do anything
if you find out what the problem is and how to fix it (and it will also fix my problem) i will love you forever!!!

[Batman722]

check these plugs then



and a wiring schemadic

[DEATH]

You rock - I'm on it at 6:30am
I'll get back with you in a bit.
Goferris - we'll get you figured out too but... uh...Save the love for your mom or something


Edit: OK let's get this straight:
-I can swap a 4th gen GTS to GT2
-I can Build a smooth running 5S-FTE
-I can rebuild a 3S-GTE
But somehow I managed to overlook the obviously marked DOME fuse
Wouldn't it have made more sense to put that one in the DS interior fusebox tho - I did look there?
LOL - Thanks Batman


This post has been edited by DEATH: Apr 23, 2008 - 9:58 AM

[Batman722]

just so we're clear, it was the fuse right ?

[DEATH]

Yes
I did look in the interior fuse box - in fact I pulled a bunch of fuses I thought might be related because I couldn't find one labeled DOME in the inside fuse box where I thought it would logically be. I can think of nothing I did that should have popped that fuse [must have just been old or I missed something IDK].
I feel so retarded cause I will often make people pull the offending fuse before I get my electrical kit out and help them look for a short or rewire w/e. I will then usually give them a new fuse just in case that weird blown-fuse-but-looks-not-blown thing happens - then I'll help them with the tedious process of tracking down a short.
Now I've gone and done it myself when I know damn good and well I could have looked the location of that fuse up in my owners manual.
Thanks so much - if you hadn't told me there was a fuse specifically for the dome I would have been rewireing all kinds of sh*t for no reason.
Damn I feel stupid.
I'll shut up now

[goferris]

don't shut up until we fix the other problem at hand!!!

[DEATH]

Well have you checked your dome fuse?

[goferris]

Well have you checked your dome fuse?

my problem is just the DS door not registering being open. did the fuse fix that for you as well? if so i'll check it tonight. my interior lights come on when the hatch or PS door is open but not the DS.

[GriffGirl]

you techie guys always overthinking stuff... it's funny to me. It's like people in the medical field get deep vein thromboses whereas the rest of us just get a bruise.

[DEATH]

Well have you checked your dome fuse?

my problem is just the DS door not registering being open. did the fuse fix that for you as well? if so i'll check it tonight. my interior lights come on when the hatch or PS door is open but not the DS.

Oh no it didn't of course. I'm gonna be getting back into this soon so If I find out anything I will let you know.
Basically I intend to use the working PS as a model/guide to making the DS side work again. I'm gonna take my multimeter and check the power coming in on both sides for consistancy and power going out. If no power coming out but going in I know I have a problem with the switch itself. If power in/out then a problem with the next item down using Batman's diagrams from above.
I will let you know and take pics as I work.
Didn't you say you have a spare switch?

[goferris]

i think i have it still. i will check tonight.

[goferris]

any updates on this death?

[DEATH]

Yup - I just tested my switch with my multimeter and it gets power in but none back out. I don't know if that's the problem tho cause I would assume it's a normally open switch but I tried acuating the switch while looking at the meter and I get no change whatsoever. I may need to get a new switch.
I'm gonna test the passenger side tonight when I get home and see what is supposed to happen. Hopefully I'll have a fix for you posted up by tommorrow.

This post has been edited by DEATH: May 2, 2008 - 2:57 PM