A very sad day for my Evo. Yesterday after the meet from hayward, my Evo went all haywire. I blew two fuses simutaneosly fuse no 5 (relay) and 20 (right parking lights). The interior lights, dash console lights went dead, my right side parking lights went dead and also my anti lock brakes light went on.

I replaced the fuses and fuse no 20 immediately blew again. Factory specs have it at 7.5 amps but the only way i can keep it stable and not blow is running a 10amp fuse. However after 20 mins of driving, the fuse blew again.

Not only that but now the interior lights for the heating/cold air controls the third knob (the one you can choose which vent the air comes out) and also the recirculation air button does not light up.

I've had this problem before (my rant about stevens creek mitsui jacking $60 for 2 fuses replacement) however this time it seems a little worse because it blew up more than twice and also the interior light is still gone. I am attempting to drop my car off at the dealer today and let them deal with it. However, is there any electrical engineers here that can tell me what could be possibly wrong. I have an aftermarket stereo installed in there but I dont think that it should cause this much trouble?

Any suggestions would help.
Thanks,
Nebolic

 

u should really drop it off. never continuously put in fuses if they keep blowing out. and you shouldnt use a higher rated fuse either..ebst bet is to drop it off at the dealer..

 

i just dropped it off at the dealer, however i'm just scared that my car will be there longer than necessary, i think it might help if i can get some input from you guys and then relay the info for them so that they dont take as long to fix my car.

I just dropped my car off the dealer today however there are a few things i'm wary off.

1. i have an aftermarket stereo
2. i have an aftermarket amp/subs in the back.
3. i washed my car in the morning of the incident of blown fuses.

now the first two items, will they void my warranty to fix the issue?

the third item i just threw it in there cuz i wanted to give everyone an idea of what happened that day.

Has anyone encountered this problem, i searched through the site and it seems someone had the problem but they werent able to post a fix to it. Is it something to do with fuse connectors that keeps blowing it up??? i have no idea on this electrical stuff so any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

bmp

 

Hi,

Electrical shorts are always difficult to find and you stated this is a continuation of a previous problem? You also describe a condition that is drawing excessive current as the fuse slowly heats and the link melt. As opposed to a major fault and instant blown fuse which is usally easier to find. (follow your nose)Could be a partial ground or relay partially fried. (water)? Unless another owner has had a problem very similiar to yours, it is impossible to diagnose without a multimeter and schematic.

I would demand the dealer fix it this time. Sorry.

Speedlimit..

 

okie cool, but as far as the dealer goes, do you think they can actually isolate the problem and have it fixed or is it going to be a tough job, cuz i know they can replace the fuses and bulbs but i needed it to be fixed so that it doesnt happen again?

 

It just depends on the problem and the skill of the technician. I wish I could be more helpful.

Speedlimit...

 

I had a very similar problem with my old car. After multiple attempts at finding the problem I eventually figured out (after removing my entire dash and multiple panels) that one of the power wires in my radio harness had worn through and was occasionally grounding itself out on my frame, blowing random fuses. Replaced the wire, all was goo.

Good luck finding your issue

 

thanks dude i will let the dealer know that info and see if they can figure it out.

 

ED,

It has to be a bad gound bro. They will have to prove that it was your install of the aftermarket radio before they can refuse warranty. Don't let them tell you that the stereo is the prob and tell you they can't fix it. THEY HAVE TO PROVE THE WHAT THE PROBLEM IS, whether they want to or not.

If it is the stereo install, and I hate to sound like a dick, but I think it prob is, they are going to have to prove it. Any tech half way worth a **** should be able to at least find the grounding prob. Every shop I ever worked at, had a tech that was the "electrical guy". At the very least, they should find the problem. By the way, don't feel obligated to take it to the dealer that you bought it from. If they suck, and from your past exp I think they do, go to a dealer that has a better service record.

Last, but not least, if your not getting the answers to your probs from the dealer service center, be a ****ing bull dog. Don't let them try to wiggle out of having to fix your car because it is a difficult repair to diagnose.

Good luck bro, PM me if you need some more advise. I was a service writer for years........ I hope that this gets resolved.

Ron

 

thanks dude, thats what i figured it might be in any case if my warranty is denied by mitsui, i totally understand becauase when i had the radio installed i went back 3 times to get the ground for the stereo reinstalled since best buy was incompentent. I dont know how this much info will help but first they grounded it to antenna but then it cut out cuz they were saying it was not enough power(?) then the rerounted to the frame of of the dash, the wire was loose so i took it back a third time to have it redone. In any case if i am charged for the warranty work, i will have best buy reimburse me.

The only thing i need out of this is a secure fix so it doesnt happen again. Thanks Ron I will keep everyone updated as I do not want anyone to go through this crap.

I will let u peeps posted througout the day and hopefully i can get this resolved.

Ed

 

My brother in-law is a mechanic and the "electrical guy" showed him the basic trick for troubleshooting..... he would replace the affected fuse with solid metal. Then he'd watch real closely and wherever the smoke started, that was where the trouble was.

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Dale_K
My brother in-law is a mechanic and the "electrical guy" showed him the basic trick for troubleshooting..... he would replace the affected fuse with solid metal. Then he'd watch real closely and wherever the smoke started, that was where the trouble was. [/QUOTE Dude, that is way stupid. Don't listen to your brother in law! That's the fastest way to burn down electrical wires. Nebolic is blowing fuses that run interior lights and accs. If he did this he could burn down all of the wires under his dash,headliner ect......

Fuses blow to protect from this. That is why others are suggesting to him not to replace blown fuses with higher amp replacements. Even thought the fuse may not blow, you are eventually (and quickly) going to burn up an IC board and or wires.

 

Thats pretty funny

Anyways I doubt its a grounding problem unless one of the power wires is shorted to ground. To find the problem you need an lectrical diagram of the car and the follow the electircal path to find out what blowing. With a little bit of luck on a few components are on that circuit, but in my expereince with out the cars the interior lights circuit usually have the most componenets (lights/diimers/switch) and go all over the car.

 

update for anyone thats interested:

I just called the dealer and they will start looking into the problem, however it doesnt sound too promising as his first questions were:
" do you have an aftermarket alarm, turbo timer or radio?"

Of course i replied I have aftermarket radio ...
his response was "hmmm ooooo"

I will post updates throughout the day.

Nebolic