Fuse box and other electrical issues!

[Chryco Psycho]

I agre the red & orange T plug would be the radio plug , there may be nothing plugged into the tri plug , it was there for options to plug into . Does the tri plug have power ? if not you need to trace back further , look for any wires cut into or modified wiring to start

[4Cruizn]

Well now here is another issue . . .  there is no power at the red plug.  I will try to trace back and see if I can find something cut?  I have no idea how long this has been out . . . I think as long as I have owned this car . . . 30 years.   

Also the radio plug that I mentioned has power in the horizontal port . . can I use that to power the aftermarket oil pressure guage light that is installed? It will probably be on all the time but will shut off with the key . .  but if the plug supplied power and light to the radio, would the bottom one run the light and activate when the lights turned on? 

[Chryco Psycho]

Well now here is another issue . . .  there is no power at the red plug.  I will try to trace back and see if I can find something cut?  I have no idea how long this has been out . . . I think as long as I have owned this car . . . 30 years.   

Also the radio plug that I mentioned has power in the horizontal port . . can I use that to power the aftermarket oil pressure guage light that is installed? It will probably be on all the time but will shut off with the key . .  but if the plug supplied power and light to the radio, would the bottom one run the light and activate when the lights turned on?

I would use the orange wire on the radio plug for the oil pressure light seeing as it was for the light on the radio .
Did you switch on the ign when you tested the red plug ?
if so you need to trace it back to the fuse block or in between to see why that plug has no power

[dodj]

you need to trace it back to the fuse block or in between to see why that plug has no power

It is one wire with no (originally) breaks or connections from fuse four to the red plug. Not easy to trace down. You will need to disassemble the fuse block to get at the other end of the wire. Look carefully for pinched/cut wires. Would suspect likely fault area would be in the vicinity of the red plug. If not there, fuse block.

[4Cruizn]

OK so it appears that the plug feeds off the fuse box at one of the battery posts.  I found a red wire that was not plugged into anything.  Unplugged the radio at the fuse box and plugged in this wire and  . . . . power appeared at the red plug and the cig lighter and map light now work.  I didn't see this unplugged wire before and am suprised that it plugs in there?  I will splice the radio wire and this one together to share the outlet and everything should work.  Thanks for everyones help getting to the bottom of this issue . . . 

[Chryco Psycho]

yeah some of the power wires piggyback in the rear of the fuse block , not the first place I would have looked , I wonder why it got unplugged ??

[dodj]

Just to be clear, did you re-attach that red wire to the load side of fuse 4 or did you plug the red wire onto the spde lug at the bottom of the fuse box marked 'bat'? If you just plugged it onto that spade lug, you have no fuse protection.(potential for a dash fire).  At least put an inline fuse if you can't source the power from fuse four. 

[4Cruizn]

  Well I haven't done anything yet but I see your point.  I always want to do it the proper way but how do I find where it connects to fuse 4.  I don't assume that this came from the factory with that red wire plugged into the fuse box like that and I have to assume that the person I paid to install the custom sterio many years ago is the one that unplugged this so he could have the port to power the sterio.   

As to why it is like this??  Don't know . . . but I must say that most of the wiring looks in very good shape so the solution can't be that difficult . . .

[Chryco Psycho]

there is a buss on one side of the fuse block supplying power to all the BAT powered fuses , if the red wires connect to the other end & the power is cut with the fuse removed you are fine , I believe this is the way the factory had it connected

[4Cruizn]

So here I spot this knubb of a wire protruding from the middle of the fusebox . . is this where the cig lighter and maplight got power?  There is power at this wire with the key on . . . 

[Chryco Psycho]

Cig lighter was usually not key switched but on all the time , if you pop off the fuse block & look in behind it probably connects to a spade terminal in the rear of the fuse block

[DMZ73]

Dave,

I am having a similar problem on my car, so this is really timely.
My issue is I have no key, no power whatsoever inside the vehicle.
No lights, not key, no circuit at all.
It's not my fusible link.
 It's not the bulkhead connector, or any of the electrical grounds in the engine bay.
I have foundthat I have a problem within the tail light circuit thus far. I can only assume the dimmer may be causing some of this.
Last time I drove my car, I flipped on the lights and the car died.
Managed to get it jumped only to limp it home, turn it off and then no key.

I'll watch and learn. I am electrically challenged.
CudaMan is coming over tomorrow night to have a look and see what we can do to fix it.
I see from reading the posts that you replaced the dimmer switch?
Was there a dramatic change in the circuit once you replaced the switch?
Where did you get the dimmer?

Best,

Dan Zimmermann

[Jamiez]

If you need a dimmer switch, PM Slotts.  He restores them to better than original condition.  It's a pretty painless install as well.

[brads70]

So here I spot this knubb of a wire protruding from the middle of the fusebox . . is this where the cig lighter and maplight got power?  There is power at this wire with the key on . . . 

Wow Dave, they must have folded you in half to get that shot! Either that or ya hired a Leprichaun....it is kinda close to St Pady's day and all?

[johannes]

I've had my problems with my own wiper, here is what I found out ;
 
VARIABLE SPEED WIPER

1'st. My original problem was related to where the wires exits on the wiper motor itself.
The cable insulation was damaged...causing an intermittent short circuit.
This was the last thing I found out,.....but is maybe where one should start ?!

2'nd. The GROUND connection for the wiper, is infact one of the tiny bolt/screws clamping the switch panel to the car's dash.
WHO WOULD HAVE GUESSED ? Loose screw = wipers not reversing to conseal themselves....
REMEMBER THIS IF YOU PLAN ON TESTING WIPERS WITH THE PANEL OUT !!
...and I speculate if the ground connection also influences the dimmer lights..??



3'rd. As for wiper fuse, this is a bi-metal thing inside the switch itself.
Due to the motor chort circuit, (ref earlier)...my switch was overloaded several times...
After repairing the motor, my wipers would shut down from time to time,...then start woring after a cool down period.
My fix was to add a 5A fuse in parallell to the integrated thermal bi-metal fuse....
This might be risky considering the risk of cable meltdown,...but the cost of new switch is outragous....
One alternative is of cource to remove the bi-metal thing inside the switch and run a 15A fuse..??

Ohh well, thought maybe someone can find this useful....JB