Electrical guys, I need some help...

[95BlueStallion]

I adjusted my clutch cable today and took the car out for some test runs to get it set up nice. All was good on those test runs. I go to pick up the fiance from a friends house and I have no speedo, radio, clock or dome light. First thought is a fuse. I check it and its busted. When I put a new one in, it immediately blows. I pull the radio, new fuse blows again. I pull the bulb out of the dome light, and disconnect the clock, new fuse blows again. I take out the gauge cluster and unplug both connectors, new fuse blows again... The only faulty wiring Ive found is that one of the radio connectors is broken, but wouldnt it quit blowing a fuse once I disconnected it? Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated. Im not a smart electrical guy, but maybe there is something I am overlooking? I have the Mach 460, but I pray I dont need to trace all its wiring. Wouldnt disconnecting the head unit not allow a signal to turn on the amps anyway? Someone please throw some ideas at me.

 

[SQUEEZE&STROKE]

Check to make sure there are no wires grounding out on your clutch cable. This happened to a friend of mine, had the same symptoms and it fubared his clutch cable.

 

[SmokyJoe]

I have the same exact problem. I pulled my car up on ramps one day heard a loud pop and the no speedo or radio. Have a blown fuse inside and when i replace it it blows. If you figure it out let us know??????

 

[tstang21]

what number is this fuse and location ?

 

[95BlueStallion]

I will have to look to see the number of the fuse, but its located under the dash. I traced it down to my Mach 460 amps. Once I unplugged them, I can replace the 10 amp fuse and everything works without popping it. Basically, I was going to do an aftermarket stereo anyway, so this just gives me a good reason to do so. I didnt bother to trace it down to which amp, or test for voltage or anything, Im just yanking it out and slowly replacing it all as funds allow. I hope that is all it is. What is weird is that I havent had a jam session lately where the amps would get hot and short out or anything, so Im not sure what caused one or both of them to be the culprit. I guess you will hear from me again if the fuse keeps blowing in the future, but so far so good. Squeeze&stroke, I did check around the clutch pedal for loose wiring just to be safe, thanks for the suggestion.

Squeeze&stroke, I just re-read your post. You were talking about wires in the engine bay grounding on the cable? I assumed you meant under the dash, but Ill have to go home and look under the hood too just to be safe.

 

[95BlueStallion]

Well, I thought I got lucky pulling the Mach 460 since the fuse has been good for two days. Nope. It blew again today. It was fine on my lunch break, but when I came out of work today, I had no speedo, radio, etc... It blows while the car is off. Thats twice now that the car has been sitting and the damn thing blows. I also noticed that my power door locks dont work, along with the power mirrors. I havent checked to see if its more than one fuse, and honestly, I dont think Im gonna take the time tonight. Im pretty aggravated since I just spent a day tearing out the Mach 460. I have a test light, but no voltmeter. If anyone has suggestions, I am open to them. I did look for loose wires under the dash on the drivers side and found none. I also dont see any loose or burnt wires under the hood. My only guess is that it may have something to do with my grounds, since this started happening only after I have put my battery in the trunk. I have not upgraded the ground strap from the engine to the frame, it is still stock. If anyone has run into these issues since battery relocation, please speak up. I would like to hear similar cases before I go buying a bunch more cable to replace that ground, and run it all the way back to the battery... Currently the battery is grounded to the frame under the trunk. Any helpful words are appreciated as always.

 

[Chythar]

I seem to remember someone here posted about grounding issues when relocating the battery to the trunk. They couldn't get a consistent ground, and ended up moving their ground point somewhere specific, though I don't remember where. The only reason I'm posting this is in case it jogs someone else's memory.

 

[95BlueStallion]

Update:

I have my fingers crossed. I cleaned up my ground under the trunk, and then ran another 1/0 cable from that ground up to the engine mount ground. I also replaced the factory ground cable with a section of 2/0 cable I had leftover from my battery relocation. My factory ground strap was very brittle and broke as I loosened the nut that held it to the engine mount. So far, so good. I thought the info may be useful to anyone else that has similar problems...