Electrical problem headlights won't go down ect

1987white944s · 08-14-2007, 07:18 PM

OK I have a pretty big isssue with my electrical system. First and formost my headlights suddenly decided for my dad not to go down, someone had hacked the cd player harness all up and I just tried to clean that mess up as far as wires touching ect. I keep blowing the #15 fuse cooling fan fuse, and my battery is being drained I've already drained a new one. It will be fine once I install it and after sitting for a day or two it will be completly drained? I am hoping that the wiring harness for the cd player was causing this as an open circuit on the neg and pos battery cables after taping those up and letting the battery charge. But I still do not understand the headlight/cooling fan fuse situation any imput would help thanks in advance.

idontknow · 08-14-2007, 08:40 PM

Battery Drain: Get a multimeter that can measure DC amps. It needs to be hooked up in series to it's load so attach one of the probes to the pos cable and the other to the battery. If the 10A fuse pops, you have a large drain and you'll have to pull all the fuses on the fuse panel. Replace the fuse in the multimeter and insert the fuses back on the panel one by one till the multimeter pops again. If the multimeter fuse didn't pop, pull fuses one by one till the load drops to .03 amps max. Note, kick off the interior light, the only load should be the clock.

Headlights: Hmm, I'll digress on that one as I haven't had any problems like that.

Cooling fan: First try unplugging the fans, if one of them are shorted, it'd def blow a fuse.

Hope it helps.

S-G-Covin · 08-14-2007, 11:07 PM

The CD harness makes me suspicious that you've got a short to ground somewhere that you didn't before. Get back int here and start looking for bare copper. Other than that, idontknow gives good advice. Any short wll need to be tracked down, but start where you were tugging wires first. It might all be related, but I don't see how atm.

legion · 08-15-2007, 06:48 AM

Has this persisted for longer than four hours?

If so, I suggest you consult a physician.

1988_944 · 08-17-2007, 05:50 AM

The headlights use a N/O contact on the headlight switch to open, and a N/C contact to close. When you turn the lights off, the contacts close and send power to the light motor to close. The last time i helped with this same problem, it was a bad wire from the headlight switch to the motor. The close circuit. You need to look at the rotary switch on the motor. Check for 12v there first , and then at the headlight switch.
The battery drain can only be traced by using a meter like IDontknow said. That is the way to locate current drain. I would leave the 10 amp fuse out ,until i located the other drain. Then troubleshoot the 10 amp fan circuit problem.
This is only general info. I hope it helps...

Slam · 08-17-2007, 08:05 PM

Green and red wire from headlight switch should carry power to retract headlight. Try testing at the switch connector and see if you can get power there. If so, the problem's your headlight switch. If not, the blue connector at the fuse block carries the wiring for this. Check the terminals - often one will be burned, as headlight motor problems are rampant in these cars. There's also a relay under the dash to the upper right of the steering wheel. It's hard to get to unless you take out the instrument cluster. And there's also the realy at the motor itself, as was mentioned here. There are wiring diagrams on this site, so have a good look at them. You can force the headlights to retract by jumpering to the green and red wire from the ignition hot but be very careful doing this or you'll have a meltdown.

HTH - and I hope my memory serves me correctly! You can also do a search here for this issue and type in 'SoCal Driver' - he helped me with the same issue and others have had it as well. Good luck!