Technical Now I have a short.

I had zero problems before I removed my dash to screw around with my clutch issues but now I have a short somewhere that is draining the battery and I cannot figure out where to look. I have used a light between the battery cable and the negative terminal on the battery and it lights up. I have pulled every fuse in the truck, still lit up. I have disconnected the alternator same result. I have pulled the dash again and cannot see anything that looks out of the ordinary. Battery is new and as mentioned before I pulled my dash a week ago zero problems. Battery was disconnected before the dash was pulled. Any suggestions where else to look? Ignition switch?

 

Pinched wire somewhere. Hate to say it, but I'll bet you find it when you take that dash back out

 

Dash is out I cannot see anything that looks like it is pinched. I also can't think of anything on the dash that wouldn't run through the fuse box.

 

The short has to be upstream of the fuses. That eliminates a lot of inches of wire that you need to check.
But it still leaves enough to keep you busy for a while. Keep your bulb "indicator" at the battery and disconnect the feeds to the fuses one at a time.

A fresh edit to add: It's strange that a wire hasn't gotten hot or burned up. Something is getting power. Check the switches, including the "Run" and "Accessory" settings in the ignition switch.
I note that others have posted most of this before my edit, so I'm not laying claims to being faster or smarter.

 

Look at your unfused power feed(s) coming inside the car. Something may have gotten skinned or pinched. Without knowing just how and with what parts your car is wired, it's tough to point a direction. Generally you need a complete circuit to initiate troubleshooting, with the dash out it can be harder.

 

Dash is still wired. It unhooks from a top rail so I have it hung so I can see what is going on behind it.

 

Well then my initial advice holds. Start by disconnecting one wire at a time to see if the problem goes away. If the issue isn't in the power feed or feeds, then start testing going 'upstream' from where they connect, one piece/circuit at a time, reconnecting each wire after testing. When you find a wire that doesn't clear the problem when disconnected, that should be the problem.

If pulling all the fuses doesn't clear it, it's fairly safe to assume that the problem is before or possibly in the fuse panel.

 

It's really not a short. If it was, you would be blowing fuses. You're looking for a draw on your battery. Not a short circuit.

 

Don't situations like this generally melt big fat wires, instead of slowly draining a battery?

 

Don't they make a guage that you can hold next to a wire and it detects current flow ? (Remember I admit I'm electrically challenged)

 

Look at any wires from the battery to junctions, and the fuse box. Maybe even the fuse box itself. Did you drop a screw behind there??? Some kinda stupid shit within the limited wires before the fuses

 

Usually, but I have seen them do a slow drain. I learned a long time ago that when troubleshooting anything electrical, you start at the beginning and work through to the problem.

 

You say the dash is still wired and just hanging? Do you have a light in the glove box that may be on?

 

25 years ago i bought a Jeep Cherokee with electrical problems in the dash. Turns out someone had put the entire steel dash frame under power . If i remember correctly it had something to do with the radio or the electric antenna .

 

Actually Steve, if it's in a circuit, the bulb is acting as the Amprobe. It is illuminating because of the amperage draw in a particular circuit. The circuit that extinguishes the bulb is the culprit.

 

That's correct as far as you go. But the reason the lamp lights up is because it has a 'unauthorized' ground path, which is what you're trying to find. I'll clarify the test procedure; disconnect the 'power' end of the wire you're testing and connect the light between those two points. Then disconnect the other end of that wire. If the light goes out, it's not that wire. Reconnect the two points where the light is connected, move the light up to the still-open connection and connect it, disconnect the other end of that wire. Repeat until you find a wire where the light doesn't go out when you disconnect the end away from the light.

One disadvantage with a test light is if you don't use a 'test lamp' with a very low wattage, a partial short may not furnish enough current to light the lamp.

 

Yes, they do, although it is clamped around the wire to measure the magnetic field caused by the current. In a case like this you need one that can measure DC current, many cheap and/or older clamp meters can only detect AC.

 

Head light,wiper switch might not run through fuse box

 

Yours is a little newer I had this picture in my mind so I went out to the shop and looked in a drawer and found not only the first one but a little kit that I must have gotten somewhere and never used. Anyway, here is what I was referring to.

And here is the little kit.......







There, I wasn't imagining things afterall.........

 

Interesting one.

 

You might take a look at the horn relay.

 

Have you disconnected/re-connected any multi-pin connectors? I have seen pins bent out of alignment that have contacted others inside the plug, or junk (dead bugs, dirt, etc) inside the the connector which has conducted enough to cause problems.

 

Dome light circuit?

 

You didn't say what is in the dash, for instance an amp gauge, that doesn't go thru the fuse box, it may have a slight short inside of it, you could have twisted a post on the back of it.

 

My problem is in the ignition circuit and may be a result of how I wired it as I wasn't sure how to do it. I have a one pole foot operated starter. I get the light on until I pull the wire for the ignition switch (the opposite end as the switch) then the light goes out but when I turn the ignition switch to the on position it lights up again without the wire hooked up. I clearly have something wrong somewhere. I couldn't find a good wiring diagram for my starter so maybe if someone could spell out how it needs to be wired and what components need to be where I would really appreciate it and maybe I can figure it out. Thank you all for your suggestions and help!

 

So how did it work fine before then ?
You said Zero problems but it’s wired incorrectly now, then and still?

 

Not sure. I have had the battery connected and unconnected a lot while I have been working on things and have been starting the truck for short periods to work the clutch out so maybe I just never left it hooked up long enough to fully drain the battery before so I never noticed?

 

If it's in the ignition, maybe you have a constant 12 volts going to your coil?

 

Whatever is sucking up Amps will be warm, at least warmer than anything else.