please HELP electric/harness issue?
Thread Starter
Teching In
Joined: Jul 2010
Posts: 13
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please HELP electric/harness issue? So im scared to death about this...any advice would be so much appreciated its been a 4 month head ache
A while back my cars voltage would drop into the red...so got under the car and saw 12v wire coming from alternator was ripped..repaired and fixed that...zero issues for 4 months than about 2 months ago im driving home normal and my voltage and lights go nearly dim with zero warning..voltage dropped significantly, i headed straight home..turned car off...and started to see if it somehow was just a quintessence..it started..voltage still low so i go out the next day and the car will NOT start..no horn..no lights no crankage. So i went out and jump started it...it started but wouldn't stay running when the car was off...than 4 weeks have gone by and i went out with my father we jump started it but it sparked very bad from the positive terminal..THIS is where things start to scare me...i walk over to my car to crank and the horn and nothing works..but dad told me to stop and disconnect it because the battery terminals are smoking..and we had it hooked up properly..we shut it off..tested battery immediately after...no juice..Do you think this is a harness PCM computer issue? or just a battery/alternator issue..i put a new alternator in it..battery tomorrow..just scared this is something really serious..car is bone stock
A while back my cars voltage would drop into the red...so got under the car and saw 12v wire coming from alternator was ripped..repaired and fixed that...zero issues for 4 months than about 2 months ago im driving home normal and my voltage and lights go nearly dim with zero warning..voltage dropped significantly, i headed straight home..turned car off...and started to see if it somehow was just a quintessence..it started..voltage still low so i go out the next day and the car will NOT start..no horn..no lights no crankage. So i went out and jump started it...it started but wouldn't stay running when the car was off...than 4 weeks have gone by and i went out with my father we jump started it but it sparked very bad from the positive terminal..THIS is where things start to scare me...i walk over to my car to crank and the horn and nothing works..but dad told me to stop and disconnect it because the battery terminals are smoking..and we had it hooked up properly..we shut it off..tested battery immediately after...no juice..Do you think this is a harness PCM computer issue? or just a battery/alternator issue..i put a new alternator in it..battery tomorrow..just scared this is something really serious..car is bone stock
you have a short. i had one once, car caught on fire. luckily all the wires are easy to check. take starter out, check wire that goes from battery ground to the block, then check the positive wire that goes from battery to starter. check the wire that goes from positive to the terminal right beside the fuse block. then check the positive wire that goes to the alternator.
my issue was a spark plug socket fell down and caught between the block and starter, shorted between the positve starter wire and the block. fire department put it out and i luckly only had to replace the starter and wiring harness. coulda been alot worse. i learned my lesson after that and never let a socket get lost.
my issue was a spark plug socket fell down and caught between the block and starter, shorted between the positve starter wire and the block. fire department put it out and i luckly only had to replace the starter and wiring harness. coulda been alot worse. i learned my lesson after that and never let a socket get lost.
Thread Starter
Teching In
Joined: Jul 2010
Posts: 13
Likes: 0
you have a short. i had one once, car caught on fire. luckily all the wires are easy to check. take starter out, check wire that goes from battery ground to the block, then check the positive wire that goes from battery to starter. check the wire that goes from positive to the terminal right beside the fuse block. then check the positive wire that goes to the alternator.
my issue was a spark plug socket fell down and caught between the block and starter, shorted between the positve starter wire and the block. fire department put it out and i luckly only had to replace the starter and wiring harness. coulda been alot worse. i learned my lesson after that and never let a socket get lost.
my issue was a spark plug socket fell down and caught between the block and starter, shorted between the positve starter wire and the block. fire department put it out and i luckly only had to replace the starter and wiring harness. coulda been alot worse. i learned my lesson after that and never let a socket get lost.
You sure its a short? And how expensive could this be? such as harness? pcm? im just confused could it just be because a wire was off my alternator? i think when i messed with alternator i then tryed to jump start its a good possibility the little red positive from alternator was slipt out or not seated properly..could that little wire cause it to spark? and not get power to the vehicle?
Do you get alot of sparks when reconnecting the battery? Has any maintenance been recently done to the car minus the new alternator/battery?
Before replacing the alt & batt did you have them tested?
Before replacing the alt & batt did you have them tested?
You've got to physically find which circuit is at fault - paying someone else will be very expensive, and given the level of overall ignorance as it relates to things electrical, the tech may not ever find it.
First have your alternator tested (Autozone); if it has an internal fault, that may be your issue.
If that is not the issue, then you must one-by-one disconnect each fuse while your DVOM (set to read "Amps") is placed in series between your pos battery terminal and the pos cable. When you find the fuse that makes a change in your Ammeter's reading, then you've found the circuit at fault. Finally, you've got to physically trace that circult and find the offending component or wire or splice that is causing the drain on your system.
If you can smell a burnt electrical smell in a particular location, that might quickly lead to your problem area too.
Good luck!
First have your alternator tested (Autozone); if it has an internal fault, that may be your issue.
If that is not the issue, then you must one-by-one disconnect each fuse while your DVOM (set to read "Amps") is placed in series between your pos battery terminal and the pos cable. When you find the fuse that makes a change in your Ammeter's reading, then you've found the circuit at fault. Finally, you've got to physically trace that circult and find the offending component or wire or splice that is causing the drain on your system.
If you can smell a burnt electrical smell in a particular location, that might quickly lead to your problem area too.
Good luck!
