Need some help! Speedo quit working...

[Wills Black 98]

I have 4.10 gears installed and i have had a dallas mustang speedcal and today i was playing with some things and i ripped the power wire off the cigarette lighter, where it was attached with a eletrical clip thing (no clue what its called). Well i figured i might as well solder it back on that way it would have an even better connection. well i did this then when i went to drive the speedo didt work. Also the car would die when idleing. this is weird it had never done this before. then the check engine light came on. i checked the connection and everything looked right it was connected to the red wire and plugged into the cigarette lighter, but the ciagarette lighter wouldnt work also. Im guessing a fuse or something? but why would this cause the car to die? or is this maybe some bad gas or something and unrelated? i have no clue. anyone have any ideas?

 

[mrvax]

It's all a result of the speedo not working. Get the power back to the speedCal, reset the battery and you will be fine!

 

[XTONKAX]

I'm willing to bet you blew a fuse. I did this too. As for why it dies on you, well, I have a theory on that. The computer is receiving no information from the speedometer, therefor it thinks you're stopped and cuts back on the fuel. I am having intermittent problems with my SpeedCal doing that. I just haven't had the time to take things apart and check all the connections. (As per TriBlkCobra's recommendation). It's warming up here finally, so perhaps this week.

Good luck!

 

[Wills Black 98]

i looked at the fuse and its not blown... i am not getting any power to the cigarette lighters either. yet the fuse isnt blown? anyone have any ideas?

 

[mrvax]

I would think a short would have blown the fuse. Maybe there's an open then. You should be able to trace that lighter back to where it is fused. Do you have a volt/ohm meter?

There is no doubt that this is causing all the problems you stated. Look in the area where you were first "playing with some things". Worse case, bring the car to a place that specializes in electrical problems. I find they don't charge as much as you might think to find the cause of the trouble.

 

[Wills Black 98]

i checked all the fuses and still no power? why would i not have power to my cigarette lighter? maybe i misses the fuse? which one is it? thanks guys!

 

[Halcyon_Dolour]

If you're just visually checking the fuses I would say use a volt/ohm meter to be sure. I've had fuses that were blown that looked fine but when you use the voltometer you can see that there is a problem.

 

[Wills Black 98]

ok, well i have power at the fuse but not at the cigarette lighter, i am losing power between there... anyone have a any ideas?

 

[XTONKAX]

ok, well i have power at the fuse but not at the cigarette lighter, i am losing power between there... anyone have a any ideas?

In my own situation, I looked at the wrong fuse. I was going by what the Haynes manual said. After getting under the fusebox with a flashlight, I realized they were all labeled. Assuming that's all correct, next thing would be to trace the wiring.

-Kory

 

[Wills Black 98]

for starters which fuse box? the one underneath the dash or the one under the hood?

 

[Blev]

for starters which fuse box? the one underneath the dash or the one under the hood?

The one under your dash.

I just read the post all the way so I'm doing an edit....

Remember that the connection to the lighter is ALWAYS on. So you definately shorted something out. Did you disconnect the battery before you did the soldering? If not, you fried some stuff buddy. Did you see any smoke or smell anything when it heppend? If so, then you have to trace the wire that came undone. If not, check, double check and tripple check the fuses.

 

[Wills Black 98]

if i fried something what would i have fried? the wiring? its both cigarette lighters that dont work so... i dont really have a clue... haha what could i get power off of besides the cigarette lighter?

 

[Blev]

if i fried something what would i have fried? the wiring? its both cigarette lighters that dont work so... i dont really have a clue... haha what could i get power off of besides the cigarette lighter?

I hate to say this bro, but break out the Chilton/Haynes and start tracing wires!! Check the wire from the ligher as far back as you can. Trace the loom and see if the plastic shielding melted. In my old Jetta (I know it's not Ford) I did something very close to what you did. The wire was fried under the dash. It melted the wire shield 4 feet....yes 4 feet!! Needless to say, I had to replace the entire wire. So if no fuses are popped, get to tracing!!

 

[XTONKAX]

if i fried something what would i have fried? the wiring? its both cigarette lighters that dont work so... i dont really have a clue... haha what could i get power off of besides the cigarette lighter?

Hmmm... both lighters, eh? The socket in my arm rest still worked, but the one in the dash didn't. It was a little yellow 20 that blew. Easy fix. (Yes, below the dash). This was on my 2000. I don't think it's that different on a 98. I can't imagine you fried something else besides a fuse though. I mean, that's the whole point of them right?

 

[Wills Black 98]

could i have heated the wire up too hot and it fried it? where can i draw power off of for my speedcal now?

 

[XTONKAX]

Shoot a PM to 'TriBlkCobra'. He designed the SpeedCal and would know if there is another place to wire it in. My money is still on the fuse though. I'd replace them anyway. They're like $5 for a pack of them.

 

[TriBlkCobra]

Will, more than likely its a fuse. The fuse for the aux power outlet is mislabeled on the 98's. I believe its labeled as the power seat fuse and is under the hood, not under the dash. The 99+ cars moved the fuse to under the dash. If you solder on a power line with power still on the line you will probably blow the fuse most times.

Kory, what ever happened to the cold problem you were having? Havent heard back from you in a while...

 

[XTONKAX]

Kory, what ever happened to the cold problem you were having? Havent heard back from you in a while...

I've been a lazy potlicker. It's still happening, but just haven't had the chance to clean the contacts yet. It's finally warming up in Utah, so I will get to it this week, hopefully.

Interesting about the mislabeled fuses on the 98. Let us know, Will.

-Kory