Can I get a wiring diagram for the fuses

Tiny
KING.JNK
  • MEMBER
  • 1982 PLYMOUTH HORIZON
  • 50,000 MILES
I NEED A ELECTRICAL WIRING SCHEMATIC TO TROUBLESHOOT "SHORT" FROM FUSE PANEL. KEEPS BLOWING FUSE TO BRAKE LIGHTS. Brake light and parking lights are linked together at the fuse panel. Prior to this, we had trouble with the radiator. We replaced the radiator. Also, the radiator fan will not operate. We had to wire the fan directly to the ignition to work. We replaced the radiator fan switch and the stop lamp switch(located next to the brake pedal). Also we "tried " to install a radio. When we bought the car (a year ago) someone "cut' the wiring harness to the radio. We installed another coil and an oxygen sensor. The car seems to be losing power also. We were going to check the catalytic converter next for that problem. We aren't driving the car at this time. Needless to say.
Tuesday, September 6th, 2011 AT 8:48 AM

1 Reply

Tiny
CARADIODOC
  • MECHANIC
  • 33,916 POSTS
You mentioned a lot of fixes but no symptoms other than the blown fuse. First of all, be aware that if you installed an aftermarket radio, there is no ground wire in the wiring harness if it had the black and gray twin 7-pin connectors. (Not sure if they had them already in '82). If you use an ohm meter to find what you think is a ground wire, you're going to find the wire for the running lights, (tells the radio's display to dim), or you'll find the wire to the dash lights, (tells the display how much to dim). They will both measure very low resistance because of all the bulbs in those circuits. Unplug the radio to see if the fuse still blows. If it doesn't, remove the wire you're using for the ground and look for the original braided strap, or run a new ground wire. The radio will also get a ground through the antenna cable but that's a very poor ground.

A simple trick to finding a short is to replace the blown fuse with a pair of spade terminals, then use small jumper wires to connect them to a 12 volt light bulb. A brake light bulb works well. When the circuit is live and the short is present, the bulb will be full brightness and hot so be sure it's not laying on the carpet or against a plastic door panel. Now you can unplug electrical connectors and move things around to see what makes the short go away. When it does, the bulb will get dim or go out.
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Tuesday, September 6th, 2011 AT 9:05 AM

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