crazy problem!, ELECTRICAL! PLEASE HELP! Options

[pittfirefighter]

ok so i was at work when a co worker was nice enough to tell me that my lights were left on... i figured interior lights since its impossible to leave your headlight on by accident in our cars... well i was wrong.. my headlights were on... i turned them off and figured the switch to turn them off (ground point at driver door) must have stuck whenever i opened the door and the lights didn't turn off... no big deal... well now here comes the problem

i parked my car at home and three hours later went out to find my headlights on and my windshield wipers going... the car was not on.... i turned the car on and turned off the lights but the windshield wipers keep going... and going and going... turning the switch does nothing... i even disconnected the switch at the column and pulled the fuse and they still keep on going... obviously there is a short somewhere... anyone have any ideas... i tried to trace it the best i could but its so hard with all the snow here.... please help with any ideas!! i don't see any pinched wires in the steering column near the switch...

[OnAllFours]

Keep pulling fuses one at a time out of the interior fuse box until the wipers stop. That should narrow it down to the specific circuit.

[bmj67]

check at the motor itself could be it got wet somehow and shorted out

[pittfirefighter]

yes but my lights stay on as well.... oh and now my gauges - the oil light, seat belt light and handbrake light all stay on with the car off

[GriffGirl]

Is there a relay that these all have in common? I wonder if with the extreme weather you've been having over there, condensation formed and shorted out a relay.

[zfjohnson07]

dang i hope that never happens to my car!!!

[pittfirefighter]

Is there a relay that these all have in common? I wonder if with the extreme weather you've been having over there, condensation formed and shorted out a relay.

thats what i'm thinking... or junction box has froze over or become badly contaminated that all the contacts are touching each other but i have no idea where to start looking... and the weather is so bad thats its not very easy to look

[johnnehh]

Just keep hitting it with a hammer until it stops...

Kidding

Make sure you check the fuses under the dash. That's where all my problems have come from.

[OnAllFours]

Is there a relay that these all have in common? I wonder if with the extreme weather you've been having over there, condensation formed and shorted out a relay.

thats what i'm thinking... or junction box has froze over or become badly contaminated that all the contacts are touching each other but i have no idea where to start looking... and the weather is so bad thats its not very easy to look

I looked at the wiring diagrams on our computer database at work and none of these have a common relay.

As I said before, the first thing to do is to one by one start pulling fuses from the junction blocks. If you pull one and the issue is still there then put it back in and go to the next one. If you pull one and the problem stops, then you know the circuit that is providing the power to whatever stopped working is connected to that fuse. Then if you can get a wiring diagram you can unplug connectors at whatever loads are in that circuit one at a time. Same idea, once the issue stops, you trace the power wires from that harness back to the fuse and somewhere in between there will be your short.

If however you go through all your fuses and the issue still does not stop, then I think what may be happening is that you are somehow getting power fed through your chassis which is then connecting backwards through your ground wires and making a closed circuit. We just had a 4Runner at work that had this happening to the rear wiper motor. Unfortunately I wasn't the one who worked on it, but I could ask the guy who did for more ideas.

If you need me to look up wiring schematics for you just let me know.

[GriffGirl]

Is there a relay that these all have in common? I wonder if with the extreme weather you've been having over there, condensation formed and shorted out a relay.

thats what i'm thinking... or junction box has froze over or become badly contaminated that all the contacts are touching each other but i have no idea where to start looking... and the weather is so bad thats its not very easy to look

I looked at the wiring diagrams on our computer database at work and none of these have a common relay.

As I said before, the first thing to do is to one by one start pulling fuses from the junction blocks. If you pull one and the issue is still there then put it back in and go to the next one. If you pull one and the problem stops, then you know the circuit that is providing the power to whatever stopped working is connected to that fuse. Then if you can get a wiring diagram you can unplug connectors at whatever loads are in that circuit one at a time. Same idea, once the issue stops, you trace the power wires from that harness back to the fuse and somewhere in between there will be your short.

If however you go through all your fuses and the issue still does not stop, then I think what may be happening is that you are somehow getting power fed through your chassis which is then connecting backwards through your ground wires and making a closed circuit. We just had a 4Runner at work that had this happening to the rear wiper motor. Unfortunately I wasn't the one who worked on it, but I could ask the guy who did for more ideas.

If you need me to look up wiring schematics for you just let me know.

^THIS is the guy to help! Yay and welcome new member, and yay again for GREAT value based feedback!

[pittfirefighter]

small update: i've cornered it to the connection at the passenger (US) footwell right above where the door harness plugs in.... the harness runs through the pass wheel well and connects at the panel at the footwell... unplug that and everything works just fine... any help is appreciated

[D-Man]

small update: i've cornered it to the connection at the passenger (US) footwell right above where the door harness plugs in.... the harness runs through the pass wheel well and connects at the panel at the footwell... unplug that and everything works just fine... any help is appreciated

do you have a splashguard on that pass wheel? from interior it runs out behind the fender and back into the engine bay inline behind the headlight and makes it's way back. drop that splashguard if you got it and cleck for abriasions. you've got commons crossing.

[pittfirefighter]

small update: i've cornered it to the connection at the passenger (US) footwell right above where the door harness plugs in.... the harness runs through the pass wheel well and connects at the panel at the footwell... unplug that and everything works just fine... any help is appreciated

do you have a splashguard on that pass wheel? from interior it runs out behind the fender and back into the engine bay inline behind the headlight and makes it's way back. drop that splashguard if you got it and cleck for abriasions. you've got commons crossing.

i actually got a better look at that plug and its all burned... looks like its part of my main problem right there...

[GriffGirl]

Looks like that's entirely your problem right there, not just part of it

Need any parts? I *might* have something laying around if you need, PM me in case I miss the post

[D-Man]

Looks like that's entirely your problem right there, not just part of it

x2

unless it's burned at the other side too...

PITTFIREFIGHTER: pm NgoFcukway; i know he's sitting on all kinds of stuff right now!! recently parted out his ole celica, r you can call me and i'll find out. you still got my number dont you?

[pittfirefighter]

its not a problem of the parts.... i am parting two GT's so i have the parts... i'm curious as to why it burned to begin with... usually high current/ voltage issues... thats what i'm looking into first

i'm thinking it might be a secondary burn due to another problem.... lights were the first issue than wipers were "added" and then gauges came last... i'm thinking there may be another short somewhere...

This post has been edited by pittfirefighter: Mar 11, 2010 - 9:56 PM

[Batman722]

water got in there.
Check for leaks from that area...I would guess the windshield not being properly sealed. Push up on it and see if it moves.

[GriffGirl]

My guess is with the extreme weather you've had, if it's not that water got in (that's kind of a difficult area for water to get in through the windshield, although anything's possible), it's some kind of thing with condensation from it being so cold there and then you starting up the car, it just created condensation that ran into the JB and shorted it out.

[Batman722]

if it's not sealed properly, it's easy for water to get through.
this is what happen to me





the driver's side (a-piller) side of the windshield was not sealed. I could push up on the inside and see it move outside
water leaked in, dripped on the flasher relay and some of my chassis harnesses and BAM, bad things happened.
since I've replaced the burned harness, sealed the windscreen and things have been ok.

side note, when I unplugged the burned harness my wipers came on and wouldn't go off (along with a few other random things too)

[ajmorris1977]

nothing more annoying that an electrical problem, i spent two 12 hour days trying to find why when i put my clutch down to start the car the fuse under the hood blew, had the dash out and fixed just about every problem i could ever imagine and never found the porblem so i took it to my electrician and the next day (and $400) he found a pinched injector wire from when i changed the valve cover gasket was the problem! Sorry to vent but i just thought i would share in the knowledge that i feel your pain! lol.