Strange electrical Problems
#1
06-27-2011, 11:55 PM
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Strange electrical Problems
My son is bringing over his 1995 "neon highline sohc"tomorrow (Tuesday) for me to fix. I have three 1987 Mercedes I keep running (one 560SEL & two 560SEC's) but know nothing about Neon's. Help!!
Problem 1 - A while ago the 15A AC fuse blew, therefore no air conditioning, which in Las Vegas in the summer (106F today) is a *significant* negative!! It just blows replacement fuses.
Problem 2 - Earlier today it blew a 15A fuse for the ignition system and the car then obviously just stopped. A second 15A fuse blew but a 30A in that fuse socket got the car home. Is a 15A the right one or is a 20A or 25A going to work long term.
Are these problems related in any way? I downloaded the Russian schematics for a '97 Neon and if they're close, I could maybe troubleshoot this but I'm hoping y'all can tell me that there is a commonality here and "it's easy to fix". Help!!
Thanks,
Mike
Problem 1 - A while ago the 15A AC fuse blew, therefore no air conditioning, which in Las Vegas in the summer (106F today) is a *significant* negative!! It just blows replacement fuses.
Problem 2 - Earlier today it blew a 15A fuse for the ignition system and the car then obviously just stopped. A second 15A fuse blew but a 30A in that fuse socket got the car home. Is a 15A the right one or is a 20A or 25A going to work long term.
Are these problems related in any way? I downloaded the Russian schematics for a '97 Neon and if they're close, I could maybe troubleshoot this but I'm hoping y'all can tell me that there is a commonality here and "it's easy to fix". Help!!
Thanks,
Mike
#2
06-28-2011, 03:32 PM
Fuses blowing is an indication of a short somewhere. Trace the engine harness for any breaks in wires or exposed wires. Pull the PDC (power distribution center) off of the battery tray and inspect the wires underneath. These often corrode, short out and can cause electrical/wiring nightmares.
#3
06-29-2011, 12:11 PM
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Well, it looks like the Neon is back up and running reliably. As noted by Das2123, there were lots of wires missing insulation, with exposed conductors shorting together. The Neutral Safety Switch wiring had over 4" of copper exposed, an inch or so exposed on other sensors/switches on the front of the tranny.
The wiring to the AC compressor was satisfactory but the AC Clutch relay in the fuse box had burnt (black) contacts. A strip of 220 grit wet/dry sandpaper fixed that. It was amusing that my son told me this morning that when driving home yesterday afternoon in 100F Las Vegas temperatures, he had to turn off the AC to keep from getting frozen in the car!! Now I need to find out if he took it off Max but it really works.
The reverse lights don't work and I'll have to find the reverse light switch on the tranny, but at least, with wiring fixed, that fuse doesn't violently blow any more when the ignition is turned on.
So far so good!!
Thanks for the help,
Mike
The wiring to the AC compressor was satisfactory but the AC Clutch relay in the fuse box had burnt (black) contacts. A strip of 220 grit wet/dry sandpaper fixed that. It was amusing that my son told me this morning that when driving home yesterday afternoon in 100F Las Vegas temperatures, he had to turn off the AC to keep from getting frozen in the car!! Now I need to find out if he took it off Max but it really works.
The reverse lights don't work and I'll have to find the reverse light switch on the tranny, but at least, with wiring fixed, that fuse doesn't violently blow any more when the ignition is turned on.
So far so good!!
Thanks for the help,
Mike