1992 Dodge Shadow electrical current flow

SUNSHINE03

MEMBER
1992 DODGE SHADOW

Electrical problem
1992 Dodge Shadow 196633 miles

Hi Guys
I have a generalized question that could pertain to any car. Is it true that hot and cold temperatures can
control how electricity flows through a car's circuits?
I was told that all of the plastic and metal parts of
connectors, relays and other things can expand when
hot, contract when cold and actually work themselves
apart (or hang up as with relays) breaking the circuit,
and any old grease and gunk can make things worse
(grease getting cold and hard-stuff like that) Also if
the electricity pops back on thru one of these
connections could it cause a fire?
Thanks alot for your time and years of experience

3 Replies

MHPAUTOS

MECHANIC
31,937 POSTS

Hi there,

In theory yes, that can be an issue, but in practical applications this is very unlikely as we are laking 12 Volts not mains voltage at your house. Your main concern is old and brittle insulation on wires, this can break away and expose the active wire to an earth which can cause a spark, The fuses are designed to blow if there is a problem, only a major electrical failure will cause any real problem and they are not common.

Mark (mhpautos)

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Saturday, December 29th, 2007 AT 5:30 PM

SUNSHINE03

MEMBER
13 POSTS

Hi Guys
I HOPE THIS ISINT TOO LONG

Thanks for the feedback. Sorry for not including the examples in my previous note. The first is my
old Nissan car-when the weather is cold and I need the headlights, the headlights and dashlights
take up to a min or more to illuminate after the switch is turned on. The second example is when
its cold outside our home phone completely stops working. These problems always occur when
the outside temperatures drop into the 40's and below. But when the temperatures warm up into
the 50's and above-the problems disappear as if nothing was wrong. These things have been going
on for so long-we have just about accepted them as normal. When I started asking around about
this problem I found many people have experienced these things-but nobody can explain it. Its
hard to recreate the conditions that cause the problems, so techs and repairmen can't find
anything wrong when you call on them for help. The guys at Advance Auto said problems like
these have baffled techs for years. These "GREMLINS" create poor performance, can burn up
contacts, deteriorate components, and other bad things. They also said if a person understood
what was going on-electrical maintenance and troubleshooting would be much easier on
techs and the customers-so here I am. Aside from myself, I hope this discussion helps everyone who
has had, or is having to deal with with this situation.
THANKS EVERYONE !

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Sunday, January 6th, 2008 AT 9:01 PM

MHPAUTOS