Major Electrical Problems, PLEASE ADVISE....

[NC_VX]

Its late, so I am going to spit this out as I know the next 48 hours are going to be extremely busy at work. I just picked up my Vehicross from the body shop and the it looks unbelieveable. The money I paid for the paint job is worth it, however, I am afraid it looks too good for wheelin' now, but wheelin' is all I want... I'll get over it. I pressed the guy to get it done, he's had it for 10 days, and I have to take it back in a few weeks to get it buffed again and to get the window trim's replaced... However, there are some major glitches in the VX and was hoping to get advice here so I can give him a hand in figuring out the problem. Its electrical, along with a few others.

1st Big One: Hard Shifting.... the shifting between 1st and second, reverse, netrual, 4th, everthing feels like a brick is dropping. How could htis have happened when all that was mechanically installed was the stinkfab links... The body was painted thats it, but he must of messed somehting up to make it shift so bad....

2. Electrical Problem: THis is a doozy.
a. the Instrument Panel Gear Reader (sounds so corny, but I don't know what it is called) isn't lighting up, it shows what gear it is on in the middle console, but not in the instrument Panel...
b. Reverse Lights Not Working
c. Cruise Control can be turned on, but I can't get it to engage when clicking on the button on the steering column.
d. Windows Don't work
e.Blinkers wont work
Dang it, thats a lot of important stuff not working. The people kept taking the fuse out and it was burning out, they were checking to see if something was miswireed, and couldn't find anythign.... Based off of everything that is wrong, can anyone offer any advice? COACH? You seem to know a lot about mechanical stuff, any advice?

Your help is greatly appreciated, I am posting pictures tomorrow when I get a chance!

[VX922]

Hi NC_VX
Remember that any paint job looks unbelivable when is fresh, once it is cured it might turn ugly.
VX922

[Tone]

Selector light out on dash and hard shifting is the classic symptom of the tranny mode selector being blown or shorted - search here for several causes. Sounds also like a ground has come loose or unconnected to cause the other issues. Or the vehicle has been welded on without disconnecting the computer and fried a few things.

[lastmandrummer]

i'll second the welding theory!!!..(if any welding took place)..i have experienced it first hand with other personal custom vehicals in past.....you would be quite amazed at the strange things it can cause to happen by subjecting the vehical to welding without proper grounding and shorting of chassis.....

i mean just take it back to him and let it be his problem to fix....it was fine when it came in! should be fine coming out, but looking twice a nice with new paint.

[NC_VX]

its not the welding, cause that didn't happen, but I appreciate the direction you guys are taking this. I've got a few more details for you.

The fuse that blows is the signal/rear light fuse and it blows only when in reverse, and it blows immediatly. The body shop only took off the cladding to paint and so they think there might be a wire not grounded or broke somewhere since it happens so fast. Once that fuse burns out, the blinkers, windows, cruise don;t work....

I am going to take a look at the electrical wiring to see if anything jumps out at me, but I took the car to a local Isuzu dealership, and although they were all GaGa over it, they had no advice. Actually, one dude (Master Electrical Mechanic) said that the reason the tranny was shifting so hard was probably because of the fuse. I can somewhat agree that all the problems are related, but I plug in a fresh fuse (and don't use reverse) and the thing still shifts bad.... However, if I have high RPMs then it shifts like normal, so I am mannually shifting and keeping the RPMS up there for the next few days until I can come up with something.

MORE ADVISE ANYONE????

Thanks.

[Anita]

Dont know if this is your problem but I would check CLOSELY the wiring harnesses running through the engine department including the harness that runs below and behind the driver side headlight. Frayed wires grounding out can blow fuses and cause the weirdest power outs including the ones you describe. Some of us have experienced it firsthand.

[NC_VX]

thats what I'm thinking too, thanks for the words Anita!!! Can't wait to meet you someday, you seem to always have nice things to say about people and seem to be the "mom" of all these guys on the site!!!

Thanks

[NC_VX]

I noticed that the lights were crooked or not shining right on my VX, so today I went in and straightened them... Basically the driver side was not fully clipped in and the passenger side was not all the way in the socket, where the triangles meeet... I had to take the battery out, along with the air intake to get to the lights, I dind't see any exposed or damaged electircal in that area, but I knoew they took that crap appart to get my lights out.... Hard SHIFTING? Not anymore, and I haven't tried reverse to see if the fuse will burn since I don't have a spair right now... I hope the lighting could h ave been the cause of all the problem.... Probably not, but the shifting is gone... However, I seem to be getting "shocked" more when I get out of the truck today....

Any thoughts?

[NC_VX]

After searching this thread: http://www.vehicross.info/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1394&highlight=Electrical would make sense for my issue since they took the front bumper off. I also fixed the front headlights being crooked so hopefully that will do the trick. Will let you all know how things go this weekend when I take a look!

[coachreed]

How are things now? Any better? From reading your description of your problems and blowing fuses... and the fact that they had removed the cladding and all... sounds to me like they had pinched a wire somewhere causing a short... basically taking 12V to ground... will instantly pop fuses. I would look for any harnesses that could be pinched between the cladding and body panels... did they remove anything else other than cladding? And let us know if there is any definite change since you messed with the lights.

Coach... I mean Randy (I often forget who I really am) ;)
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Undergoing LS1 Conversion as we speak!
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[NC_VX]

No luck yet. The headlight problem solved the headlight problem (poor quality view) and nothing else. I think I am going to take the intake apart and dig around in there to see if I can see any pinched or exposed wires. If I do? CAN I JUST PUT ELECTRICAL TAPE AROUND THE WIRE AND CALL IT A DAY?

The Fuse Keeps Blowing in reverse, but it I put the fuse in after I moved the truck in the position to drive and the truck was turned off, then no clonking in shifting and everything works fine. INteresting note, if the fuse blows while engine is running and I just pull it out and stick another in, the windows, blinkers, cruise all work, but it still shifts like a B.... So, why is that?

I am taking it back to the shop this Saturday to figure some things out!!!

[USS Enterprise]

If you don't mind, please keep me in the loop on your adventures. My Vehicross has developed a similar problem where turning on the headlights is immediately blowing out fuses that control the parking lights and Dashboard illumination. I'm going to try to get it to a dealer but this sounds like finding a needle in the haystack!

[SGT.BATGUANO]

Pull the taillights and check for pinched or shorted wiring. Are all your parking and license plate lights working? Pull the door sill plates too.

Since it sounds like all this developed after having the cladding and lights removed, it's possible they pinched a wire when reassembling .

[nater]

NC_VX, your problem is not as bad as it seems. You have the one advantage when it comes to diagnosing electrical: Consistent behavior. You may need an EWD (Electrical Wiring Diagram). What you need to do is buy a bunch of fuses, and "split half" the circuit that has the problem. You'll have to reproduce the ground at each connector (to simulate the switch), but keep disconnecting each connector in the harness closer and closer to the problem until you isolate the segment of harness or component that is causing the short. If it's in the harness, you'll likely find some "trauma" in the area. I wish you lived near Denver; I could help you find the problem in a hurry.

Good luck.

Nate

[NC_VX]

SGT., the body shop boys pulled the rear lights and the door sill plates while I was there, so I hope that the problem is in the front and will be quick to find.

Nater, I don't understand your process, but i will figure it out today!!!

[nater]

NC_VX, sorry, I'll try another description:

The circuit between the power supply (the battery) and the load (like a light bulb) contains quite a few connectors. If you are blowing fuses (instantly) then you have a short. Shorts are caused by trauma to the harness or a faulty load (like a wiper motor that has shorted internally).

You need to find the location of the short. To do this, disconnect the circuit halfway to the load. Find a connector (using an Electrical Wiring Diagram) that is halfway to the load. Unplug that connector. Now, supply temporary power (WITH A FUSE OF SAME AMPERAGE!) and ground to that load using the appropriate pins. If the fuse blows, the short is between the connector and the load. Therefore, move to a connector CLOSER to the load in the circuit and repeat.

If the load turns on (light bulb lights up, wiper motor turns on, or whatever it is you are trying to diagnose performs its normal function) then move to a connector FURTHER from the load in the circuit and repeat.

LEAVE ALL CONNECTORS DISCONNECTED until you find the short.

I promise you, the short WILL manifest itself as either something bad looking (like a pinched wire, evidence of a drill bit through the harness, etc) OR it will show up as a bad component. You can verify the component is shorted by applying power and ground "on the bench" and see if it operates or if the fuse in your test wire blows.

This is the most efficient way to find a short other than guessing. Also, try to consider the difficulty of getting to a connector when pulling one out.

This task is almost impossible without the official EWD (Electrical Wiring Diagram) from Isuzu.

This process is called "split-half." Basically, split the harness in half, test one half, if it's bad, move forward, good, move back. Split the bad half in half again, test one half, and repeat.

I have years of experience doing this; I have never failed to find a short or open using this method. As long as the problem isn't intermittent! To trace an open, use an ohmmeter to check for continuity. You can also use an ohmmeter to check for continuity to ground on a power wire. However, this will not find all shorts all the time. If you are a professional, you can buy a special box that is a self-resetting circuit breaker (so you don't have to use up fuses) or you can buy a short circuit locator like one of these:

http://buy1.snapon.com/catalog/pro_det.asp?P65=&tool=diagnostics&item_ID=62327&group_ID=1399&store=snapon-store&dir=catalog

For at home work, your minimum is the EWD, some wire, a fuse holder, and a handful of fuses.

Nate

[nater]

Oh, I almost forgot,

NEVER, NEVER put power into a harness that has a yellow connector or is wrapped in yellow wiring loom or tape.

THIS IS THE AIRBAG!

IT WILL BLOW AND COULD KILL YOU if you power and ground the wrong two pins.

Nate

[NC_VX]

Wow, this is like goign to automotive school! I had to put aside the project until Tuesday due to going out of town this weekend. The guys are going to help me figure it out, but this direction also helps me appreicate the work they will put into fixing the problem! If I find a wire that has been damaged or exposed, can't I just wrap electrical tape around it and call it a day?

[nater]

Maybe. There are two goals in repairing a damaged wire:

1. Maintain the connection. The wire is stranded, so if half of the strands are broken, then only half of the electrical load (amps) can be supported. Fix this by replacing with a solder, crimp, or a piece of new wire of same gauge.

2. Insulate the conductor. Pick your poison. My favorite is shrink tube (get it anywhere, home depot, radio shack, etc). It goes over the wire and repaired area, and shrinks to seal when heated with a heat gun (or hairdryer maybe...). For a very small nick in the insulation, silicone sealant works well. You may have to put on more than one application. Electrical tape has a temporary characteristic. It gets brittle when weathered, and the adhesive gets messy over time.

Nate

[NC_VX]

Exposed wire in the rear that was rubbing against metal. 10 minutes to fix... WHy didn't they find it the last time they took the back bumper off? Beats the hell out of me!

They shined her up all pretty again and I get another car detail in a month, so I am not complaining. I printed a few of the links I found to fixing the probolem and they were greatly appreciated by the crew at Body Works Plus!

Thanks everyone, this thread can be officialy closed, my problem is fixed!!!

[Anita]

Whew!! Good to hear that!:yesb:
:clap:

[NJVX]

Hey NC_VX

Glad to hear that you fixed the problem. Electical can be the biggest pain in the A _ _ . But you fixed it. Remember that most fuses handle more than one job. But if a fuse is constantly blowing out when you do one thing. Like putting it in reverse. Most likely the problem is in the reverse circuit. So hopefully you don't have any electrical problems in the future, but if you do just think back to this situation and try and isolate the problem. It was the wire that goes back to the reverse lights that was frayed. Causing it to blow the fuse only when you put it in reverse..........Ok thats my 2 cents....lol

Dean