Wiring Problems

:banghead: If anyone has any suggestions for my problem please post them, I've tried everything and searched everywhere with no luck!
91 Jimmy (VIN Z) 4.3L w/ AC
-No horn (fuses good, relay good)
-Tail lights STAY on with lights turned off, car turned off
-Turn signals only work on one side (fuses good, switch good) this problem only happens in unison with the tail lights staying on.
-Heater blower quit (relays and all replaced, blows fuses immediately, it is now directly wired to the battery and used with a toggle switch, seems to work well but overheats and melts wires.)
-Dash lights dim without touching the switch
-Dome lights quit (again fuses good)

All these problems seem to be related as when one happens the others do as well except in the case of the heater blower. Basically all I've been told so far is that my truck is possesed. lol Unfortunately that doesn't help much. As far as I've been able to figure is somewhere there must be a wiring problem, could it be in the fuse box? Is there anywhere I should begin my search? Taken the dash off and wires there seem to be in tact and normal. Oh and the stereo is direct wired to the battery too. Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks!

Sounds like some nerd has been fiddling with the wiring.

The blower motor is likely to be shorting or the wiring is. Either way disconnect it. Your alternator is probably being put under a great strain trying to keep the battery charged. Be ready to replace/repair it.

Brake lights

Wired to permanent live usually, hence can stay on even with ignition off and you in the pub.

Make sure the switch mounted above the brake pedal is adjusted correctly. It's likely to be held in position by a spring clip bracket. Wiggling and pushing it towards the brake pedal arm should push the nose in, breaking electrical contact - lights go off. Pushing the pedal down (braking) then allows contact to happen - lights come on. Check for that after adjustment.

Dim dash lights

Likely to be the shorting blower motor dragging power away from everything.

Check the electrical connections to the lights if they dim with the motor disconnected. You'll have to remove the console. Clean connectors, bulbs and finely coat the metal with petroleum jelly.

The bulb holders for the dash illumination have two tag connector that make contact with the printed circuit. Over time they bend away and can break contact when warm. With a little bit of dirt/verdigree, they become variable resistors. So bend them back and clean them and coat them. Replace blown/blackened bulbs.

Horn

Probably dead, assuming power reaches the horn connection and it's chassis ground is good. Scrapyard visit for another.

Turn signal

Make sure all chassis ground points are good. There's probably a cross-over connector somewhere at the back of the vehicle, under, I bet, the left/driver side mouldings. Clean all the connectors as above. Make sure the bulb casings are cleaned (bright metal) too and the sockets have no verdigree in them. Coat with petroleum jelly.

Dome lights

They use a badly designed bulb where the end caps break away from the glass envelope. The heat generated by the bulb will cause metal expansion which can result in electrical disconnection.

So new bulb, making sure the bulb holder tangs are bent in suffciently to hold the bulb snugly. Clean and coated.


Enjoy ! :o)

You might want to check the wiring behind the headlight switches. I had problems similar to yours and found that the wiring attached to my headlight switch had all melted together for some reason. Caused panel lights to dim on their own. Just a thought.

Check the original post date, this thread is over 2 years old!