Electrical woes

[Dream240]

Okay, I found my vaccum problem, I forgot to hook up one of the swirl control valve solenoid hoses..... duh.

My next problem, I have a circuit crossing somewhere. Whenever I push the brake pedal while the car is running, the rear window de-fogger switch lights up and the idle slows a little. Also strangely enough, it only does this when the hatch is closed. When the hatch is open, nothing!!! Definitely wierd.

I'm in the process of checking all the grounds, but if anyone has had a similar problem some tips would be helpful.

Also this all started after I replaced my interior carpet and pulled out the dash and support beam, thus disconnecting almost all the interior plugs to get it out. And I cut out the connectors for the old motor antennae, replaced it with a S2000 antennae. Also connected the S14 seatbelt connector to my S13 harness for the light to work, only to find that since I have manual seatbelts and no auto computer.... the light still doesn't work. Oh well....gonna have to do some splicing.

Any tips guys? thanks in advance.

[drftwerks]

in the rear of a hatch where the wiring goes from the car body to the hatch, the wires are probably crossed, so its probably giving power to the rear defrost from the 3rd brake light, i have seen theese wires break before, the two most killers of wires is heat and movement.

[Dream240]

Cool, I'll check that.

Wierd how I had pulled the whole interior EXCEPT the hatch cover! huh....

[Dream240]

Well I ended up checking the hatch wiring and no problems. :(

I'm starting to think that I have placed too much load to my battery. I have glow guages, fog lights, aftermarket amp (300w), along with all the regular accessories. I'm noticing that right now, with the de-fogger switch unplugged the guages and headlights dim just slightly for a split second when I apply the brake pedal. Kinda like my alternator can't keep up with my battery load. And since it didn't start doing this until recently, I'm going to unplug the positive power to the amp coming straight off the battery + terminal. Since that's the latest power load I've added I'm gonna see what happens.

Anymore ideas guys?

[Z U L8R]

for shit's and giggles see if you have any brake lights out, there may be a dual filament bulb that's arching across the other filament and backfeeding the circuit.

[Dream240]

Yeah already checked those. They all work, both tail and brake light. I also thought maybe it could be the circuit for the rear cargo light. But it still does it when I unplug the light's connector. :(

[drftwerks]

check rear grounds

[Dream240]

I've checked all the body grounds except the one on the support frame under the dash, and the one under the driver's seat. I'm gonna pull out the seat and the glove to get those two looked today after work.

Thanks.

[drftwerks]

do you have a fsm electrical diag??

[Dream240]

Yeah I do have an FSM and I've been studying it.

Here's my deduction: Since the problem only exists when the trunk lid is closed, that tells me that it's only present when the circuit for the rear cargo light is closed, thus turning on the light. So when the hatch lid is closed the circuit is open and then the bad connection doesn't have a way for the elcetricity to travel. Since electricity always looks for the easiest route it travels to the rear defogger circuit (which is close by) and grounds out, therefore turning on the de-fogger system.

Sound right? I'm gonna trace the whole system starting from the trunk and following it to the dash ground.....we'll see

Thanks guys.

[Dream240]

Okay, well I pulled the rear interior out last Saturday and found no shorts, no wires crossed, all the connectors are plugged in and everything works.
Also last night I found I blew the brake lamp fuse again, so I changed it only for it to pop right away!!!

Well I got frustrated and decided to pull some stuff out to check connectors. I pulled the center dash out (stereo section) Checked all connectors, the relay in there, and the e-brake, lighter connectors. Nothing. I also checked all the grounds on the body....secured tightly no damage.

I'm completely at a loss at this point. The only thing really left to do is pull the dash back out and check for a loose connector that I haven't been able to get to with it in.

The only electrical thing I messed with was some altered wiring that I found when I was doing the interior work. Someone took 3 yellow w/red strip wires and spliced them together and grounded them down to the chassis near the timing control relay. I found their splice to be shorting out so I respliced a new piece of wire in place of the old one and the shorting problem went away. Then this system crossing appeared upon reassembly of the interior.

Another note: the fuses have been continuing to blow despite unplugging the defogger switch so I'm sure that the switch coming on when I push the brake pedal is just a casualty of the short.
Can anyone help me to stop blowing fuses?

Also would a fried wire cause fuses to blow? How can I find it if that's the case?

Thanks.