Complete Short Circuit

[Toxinate]

Okay... Me being the idiot I am decided to cut a power wire while the connections were still on the battery. Needless to say, the bolt cutters I was using touched the chassis of the car... Spark, Spark... etc. etc. The power in my car goes out... Of course, all the accesories were on.

Few questions: 1. I checked the relays and 4 of them appear to be out. They click everytime I put each in with current running. (Does this mean that it is blown?) The fuses are still intact.
2. What other maladies will I have to address? I pulled the relays and absolutely nothing really works, except for a few lights on the instrument cluster that glow dim.

As of now, my battery is disconnected. Any help's appreciated as I'll be installing subwoofers tomorrow and need my car up and running ASAP.

[E38_Charger]

Originally Posted by Toxinate

They click everytime I put each in with current running

They Should click, if the others are not then they are the blown ones. Sounds like youve got a problem. I cant think of anything alse that might help but, what i would do is get one that clicks and put it some where else and see what happens, maby take out all other ones and see if that one works, maby that will narrow it down. Hope this helps.

[public]

Check your fusable links near where the positive wires connect to your starter.(They look like a fat section in the wire.)If one of these goes you can loose multiple circuits, on some cars you only have one, if it goes everything is off.

[Toxinate]

There is only one that doesn't click, so I guess that is the issue. I'll pull all the fuses check them again and plug them back in, pull the other relay and see what happens... How much are relays?

[public]

Relays are usually cheap, under $20. The fusable link is not in the fuse box. It works like a fuse but it is in the 10 gague wire that connectes to the starter solenoid. For an accurate price on your relay check www.autozone.com

[Toxinate]

Are you sure the relays are supposed to click? Everytime I reconnect the positive terminal, 5 do which never happened before...

[Toxinate]

New Information: I began resetting the relays and electrical systems are coming back on. Does anyone know the locations of all the relays in a 94 Toyota Corolla?

[TheSilentChamber]

From a tecnical standpoint nothing should be been harmed in the system because the short happend inline before all the electrical components, but strang things do happen. Yes relays should click, however I have seen some that were bad that still clicked. Most of your relays are going to be underhood or on the interior fuse panels.

[Toxinate]

Next Problem: Everytime I turn my car on, there are buzzing sounds coming from the relays? Any clues as to what's going on?

[Toxinate]

Update: Any component that draws a substantial amount of electricity will reset indefinately. ie. turn off, turn back on. Any ideas?

[Toxinate]

Problem Solved.

Solution: Went around and reset every relay in the car. 4 in the main fuse box, 2? in the secondary fuse box, and 3 in the fuse collection under the driver's kick panel. I also went around, disconnected a few connections, reconnected them, and finally disconnected the alternator and reconnected it. This was for a 1994 Toyota Corolla Automatic. Direct short circuit from the positive terminal to the chassis while the car was on accesory mode.

Thanks for the help guys. Greatly appreciated. Nice forum you guys have here. Pretty damn comprehensive and you guys are pretty knowledgable.

[sierrap615]

good job, i hope thats it. yesterday at school i was helping a kid trackdown an open in the fan circuit, he sparked a connection to ground. sorry to say, at the end of the day the fan would run but the PCM died(i told him to disconnect the battery, but nobody listens to me)

[Toxinate]

Well... I woke up to a dead battery, so there's a short somewhere still. A few issues arose like yesterday but not as comprehensive. Still cannot crank the engine, so I'll be back at it and keep you guys posted with information.

Any help would be appreciated again.

[Toxinate]

Alright: Checked all the relays, two weren't working like they were supposed to. Fixed them, plugged them back in. (That may solve my electrical discharge problem, however now everytime I connect the terminals, the engine wants to start. I removed the power to the starter, and now there's a loud click everytime I connect the positive terminal somewhere around the back of the engine. It appears that everytime I remove a relay/unplug wires, current is trapped in a loop somewhere else. Some things are operational while others go out and "random" lights display on my gauge cluster. IE. oil indicator lamp for one loop, defroster lamp for another...

I just about unplugged every relay in the car, and every wire connector in the interior.

Does anybody have any clues as to what may be the issue now?

[public]

If it wants to start when you connect the battery check your starter solenoid and ignition switch. This would certainly kill a battery fast.