GoldDiggerRoo Posted September 15, 2006 Share Posted September 15, 2006 So the previous owners of my Brat thought it was ultra cool to just splice any old accessory into the fuse box by stripping the ends and jabbing them in beside the fuses, I haven't had the time to properly fix them yet and today it came back to haunt me. I haven't drove the Brat in weeks because I've got a busted taillight lens and am waiting for the new one to arrive, not being for of tickets and all I figured I'd let it sit.Today I spent some time getting my grille and valence issues sorted out, after I had everything situated I drove the thing around town a little bit, as I headed down the road all of a sudden my lights go out and I see sparks, as luck would have it one random spliced in wire came out and hit another fuse. Whatever it hit was not a good thing because now drivers side turn signal works but really fast and dim and, oh yeah..... it also makes the side markers and tag light blink too! Then when you cut on the headlights, the turn signals on the drivers side are stuck on but wont blink and my drivers side tail light is out. It's managed to blow the very bottom fuse once thus far also, I'm thinking that when the short happened it melted two wires together, maybe in the left rear harness. Anyone have any other ideas of things to check? I'd really like to get it all working correctly again or before something else gets melted. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GoldDiggerRoo Posted September 16, 2006 Author Share Posted September 16, 2006 Ok, so I drove the truck today and the problem persisted all day except for about 10 minutes on the way home after dinner, but then it came back. I'm thinking this is a good sign, meaning the the offending wires (if that's the cause) are some place where they can either touch or get far enough away from each other to not short (ie somewhere other than being bound together in the harness). Also I noticed when you use the left turn signal, all of the parking lights blink (all side markers, turn signals and tag light). What a confusing mess..... maybe I'll get it sorted out tomorrow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caboobaroo Posted September 16, 2006 Share Posted September 16, 2006 the wiring harness is pretty basic since it has no ECM or fuel injection. Start looking under the dash or pull the dash out, which isn't hard either, and see what's going on. It might be behind the headlight switch since the main power wire to the switch has issues sometimes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RdNkBrt Posted September 16, 2006 Share Posted September 16, 2006 or you could always do what i do.... Pull the whole harness now, ask questions later!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GoldDiggerRoo Posted September 18, 2006 Author Share Posted September 18, 2006 Ok, so I started digging into the Brat yesterday, pulled nearly everything out of the dash (how do you remove the whole thing BTW?) gauges, switches and checked them all. Noticed that the bottom plug on the fusebox had melted a bit, so I whacked it off and ran individual wires to the box; fixed nothing but I'm going to a blade type fusebox. Even bypassing the headlight switch I've still got the same thing left turn signal stuck on when the headlights are on....... I also swapped each turn signal from side to side and still had the same issue on the same side, so that rules out those two.... it has to be in the harness. Oh, on a related note...... my left brake light was blown whenever the short happened... smoking gun maybe? SO..... to get the dash out I need to do what? and the panels in the bed need to come off to get to the rear part of the harness. I gotta get this thing fixed..... it's driving me crazy. Pics! Melted plug.... dash (column is dropped now, wheel is off) Gauges.... why blue? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RdNkBrt Posted September 19, 2006 Share Posted September 19, 2006 the dash is really easy to get out if you can get the steering wheel off, but in my excperience it's much easier and more enjoyable to just go slam your head in a door a few times because the hedache you'll get will be the same!!! anyways, if you have all of the bold out, as well as the couple of screws that are on the underside of the dash in the center, you can shimmy the dash out the PASSENGER side door. Just be carefull to unplug all of the wires as you go, since i thought i had all of mine out and then managed to almost tear out an entire bunch in my haste to get the dash out. It was WAY easier with 2 people.... you just gotta kinda wiggle it over the steering wheel. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beataru Posted September 19, 2006 Share Posted September 19, 2006 i prefer the sledge but then again.. i end up replacing every part i want to salvage so... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GoldDiggerRoo Posted September 19, 2006 Author Share Posted September 19, 2006 Well the wheel is off and the column is dropped, so I don't think it's gonna be that hard. The wheel came off realy easily.... kinda weird. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GoldDiggerRoo Posted September 25, 2006 Author Share Posted September 25, 2006 Well I finally got the Brat fixed! Turned out to be a 6 inch long strip of melted wires in the rear harnesss going towards the left rear light. It was exactly the problem I thought it was and exactly were I thought it would be, I couldn't get to it to begin with because some of the bed panel screws wouldn't come out, I finally drilled one out enough so I could drill it back and look.... sure enough there it was..... looked like someone had fire bombed the harness... also pulled out a rats nest... which is likely why it burnt there instead of the dash.... you are the weakest link! anyway, back together and driving. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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