No Power To Lots Of Things

Nacho · Post by **Nacho** » Fri Aug 21, 2009 8:23 am

The last knob who worked on the car didn't put the battery bracket in properly so when I last popped the bonnet I noticed the battery was shorting on the bracket. This would have only been for about 5-10 mins from when I came to a stop in my driveway.

Since I've reconnected the battery I have noticed that I have no power to my heater/aircon blower, power windows, central locking, and interior car lamp. The voltmeter is also showing me a figure well below 12V. I still do have power to crucial things like indicators, brakes and headlights.

I haven't had a chance to look at the fuses yet but could it be that simple?

Post by **dstocks** » Fri Aug 21, 2009 9:14 am

yep, it certainly could. Check both the one under the bonnet and the one under the dash.

Nacho · Post by **Nacho** » Fri Aug 21, 2009 10:21 am

Thanks Dwayne. I'll have a hack at it tomorrow. Consequently when a fuse burns out does it give an electrical burning smell?

I hope so...otherwise I'm hoping it didn't fry some crucial wiring.

Post by **I8A4RE** » Fri Aug 21, 2009 12:04 pm

Nacho wrote:Thanks Dwayne. I'll have a hack at it tomorrow. Consequently when a fuse burns out does it give an electrical burning smell?

I hope so...otherwise I'm hoping it didn't fry some crucial wiring.

Sorry bro but no.

Nacho · Post by **Nacho** » Fri Aug 21, 2009 12:57 pm

Didn't think so either.

Oh well might be another trip to the auto elecs.

Nacho · Post by **Nacho** » Sat Aug 22, 2009 4:14 pm

Checked all interior fuse box fuses and all are intact. Still no power to collapsible mirrors, heater or central locking.

Any thoughts? Anyone here a wiring genius?

Checking engine room fuse box now.

Nacho · Post by **Nacho** » Mon Aug 24, 2009 3:48 pm

Parts geniuses.....are fusible links and relays universal throughout most mitsubishis? Or are they all different shapes and sizes like a pair of knockers?

Dras · Post by **Dras** » Mon Aug 24, 2009 4:11 pm

I am a little confused here. If you had a proper short across your battery terminals, nothing electrical would have worked and the car most certainly would not have started.

My mate (think oldschool mini with battery in the boot) had a loose tire iron fall across his battery terminal while he was driving. The car stopped. He removed the tire iron, replaced the car battery and all was well.

If your positive battery terminal was being shorted to the battery bracket, there would be no blown fuses or fusible links.

My wild and unsubstantiated guess based on what you have said would be:
A short develops across the battery terminals while you are driving.
Your alternator tries to compensate for the drop in voltage by increasing its voltage output.
The short is removed from your battery.
Alternator voltage is now too high and electronic components start to 'blue smoke'.

Because fuses protect against high current and not high voltage this condition could kill a lot of electronic gear in your car.

Post by **Supplanter** » Mon Aug 24, 2009 4:27 pm

Shouldn't the guy who put your battery in wrongly be the one that has to sort this out?

Post by **I8A4RE** » Tue Aug 25, 2009 8:36 am

Supplanter wrote:Shouldn't the guy who put your battery in wrongly be the one that has to sort this out?

I think it was him.

Sorry man electrical aint my strong point, However, do you have a multimeter? Because you aint going to sort this out with out one.

Nacho · Post by **Nacho** » Tue Aug 25, 2009 9:13 am

Dras wrote:I am a little confused here. If you had a proper short across your battery terminals, nothing electrical would have worked and the car most certainly would not have started.

My mate (think oldschool mini with battery in the boot) had a loose tire iron fall across his battery terminal while he was driving. The car stopped. He removed the tire iron, replaced the car battery and all was well.

If your positive battery terminal was being shorted to the battery bracket, there would be no blown fuses or fusible links.

My wild and unsubstantiated guess based on what you have said would be:
A short develops across the battery terminals while you are driving.
Your alternator tries to compensate for the drop in voltage by increasing its voltage output.
The short is removed from your battery.
Alternator voltage is now too high and electronic components start to 'blue smoke'.

Because fuses protect against high current and not high voltage this condition could kill a lot of electronic gear in your car.

Hmmm...very interesting and I see your point. That's why I'm also confused. Like I said the car starts fine and still has headlights, indicators, brake lights and horn. Haven't really tested everything but definintely no windows, c/locking, radio or heater. The oddest part is the majority of this short occured while the car was off and stationary. Everything was still working prior to me parking in the driveway to discover the battery had just shifted as I had parked the car.

I hope I haven't physically fried all of those components otherwise Dwayne would be putting a huge order of things in the post.

It's the burnt electrical smell that worries me the most. I'm gonna have the auto elec have another look. I hope it's just fried wiring coz I do have a spare wiring harness for Mivec but it'll be a c*nt of a job getting it through the firewall behind the aircon.

Post by **Bennoz** » Tue Aug 25, 2009 11:59 am

Nacho wrote: but it'll be a c*nt of a job getting it through the firewall behind the aircon.

Its not that hard

3 bolts & 2 lines & half of that air con gear just drops out. Just a bit of a pain having to regas it.

Nacho · Post by **Nacho** » Tue Aug 25, 2009 1:52 pm

Bonus! It ran out of gas about 6 years ago.

That's why I need my windows so I can power my aircon.

Nacho · Post by **Nacho** » Sat Oct 03, 2009 4:47 pm

Just for future reference.....

After poring through multiple circuit diagrams for the FTO i finally fixed the problem. There appear to be 2 main fuses that control the power distribution. One 80 amp fuse was blown which just happen to power all of the interior circuitry. Easy fix....$13 for replacement fuse from Mitsy!

khunjeng · Post by **khunjeng** » Sat Oct 03, 2009 6:04 pm

Nacho wrote:Just for future reference.....

After poring through multiple circuit diagrams for the FTO i finally fixed the problem. There appear to be 2 main fuses that control the power distribution. One 80 amp fuse was blown which just happen to power all of the interior circuitry. Easy fix....$13 for replacement fuse from Mitsy!

nice one Joel. Thats what fuses are for!

Post by **I8A4RE** » Mon Oct 05, 2009 9:44 am

Woohooo, good work man