So after my car didnt start today and I had to push it down the ramp from the 2nd floor of the parking garage to start it I did a test for ground shorts. Rado, ampl, and both headlights short to ground. Radio and such make sense because they do stuff like the trunk light and the clock. But the headlights dont make sense. Since I came to this but pulling fuses and checking resistance between an unplugged hot lead and ground I can assume that my headlight short is somewhere on the headlight power between the fuse and the relay. Any idea where to look for this? It will likely be where the two powers are close together because both a shorting. Note that this is like a 6 ohm short which does not create enough current to blow the fuse.


1994 Saturn SL2 Home Coming Edition: backup car
2002 Chevy Cavalier LS Sport Coupe: In a Junk Yard
1995 Mazda Miata R-package Class=STR
Sponsored by: Kronos Performance

WPI Class of '12 Mechanical Engineering
WPI SAE Risk and Sustainability Management Officer

do you have an aftermarket radio?

No.


1994 Saturn SL2 Home Coming Edition: backup car
2002 Chevy Cavalier LS Sport Coupe: In a Junk Yard
1995 Mazda Miata R-package Class=STR
Sponsored by: Kronos Performance

WPI Class of '12 Mechanical Engineering
WPI SAE Risk and Sustainability Management Officer

Have you checked the ground under the battery tray for the headlight?

I recently had a issue with my car where the wipers and the headlights would not work (daytime running lights would work).

My ground under the battery tray seemed fine, but I unplugged the headlight harness and plugged it back in and everything has been good. For me I think it was just that connection because it does not have the safety clip to keep it connected.


In my research I found a post about the ground under the battery tray being a known issue. Worth checking.



FU Tuning

Well I mean the headlights work perfectly fine. There is just a short on the power wire to ground somewhere between the fuse and the relay. Because I'm getting a 3 amp draw from those 2 fuses that I shouldnt be getting when the car is off.


1994 Saturn SL2 Home Coming Edition: backup car
2002 Chevy Cavalier LS Sport Coupe: In a Junk Yard
1995 Mazda Miata R-package Class=STR
Sponsored by: Kronos Performance

WPI Class of '12 Mechanical Engineering
WPI SAE Risk and Sustainability Management Officer

Fixed, I had a short somewhere between the fuse panel and the connector to the front harness. Rather than pull the whole dash out I just pulled the fuse and put an inline fuse in from the main power, all done up correctly. headlights have never been this bright.

On another note, I think my fogs were hacked in, even though they should have been factory on the LSS. The wires were connected with the ghetto crimps and the crimps were insulated with duct tape. then the whole thing was wrapped up like factory stuff. One of the crimps was corroded like mad (purple), I had to cut out a ton of wire and solder in a patch piece (lime green into a purple wire because its all I had).


1994 Saturn SL2 Home Coming Edition: backup car
2002 Chevy Cavalier LS Sport Coupe: In a Junk Yard
1995 Mazda Miata R-package Class=STR
Sponsored by: Kronos Performance

WPI Class of '12 Mechanical Engineering
WPI SAE Risk and Sustainability Management Officer