First time electrical with pics.

[OG 91 LC]

Ok. A bit of history on the truck.

'96 that I bought less than a year.
It came equipped with double din gps touch screen stereo that fed to a DVD system and back up camera. And it has a bunch of cig connectors.




















When I first bought the truck it had the interior cleaned; carpets shampooed. It caused lights to stay on.
So I disconnected the viper alarm that came with the truck and the factory alarm that was still on the truck. Lots and lots of wires.

I noticed that 10 amp fuse in the engine bay had popped. Replaced it. Everything seemed fine.

I had sony Xplod stereo installed last week. Everything seemed fine at the installer. When I turned on my overhead dome light the stereo failed. Also when I opened up rear dis door the stereo would fail.

Installer looked at the fuse box and links inside the cabin. We noticed 10 amp wire leading to the fuse link (gauge) had lost its protective coating. Not sure how much of it and how much along the wire. For obvious reasons he let the wire disconnected.

Forward to today.

I noticed this.









I have 20 amp CDS-Fan fuse missing. And my 10 amp fuse EFI has popped again.

This is my first time tackling this.

Dos??? Don'ts????? Suggestion??? Don't want to burn my truck up.
Gonna tackle today.

Thanks fellas.

 

[Timpanogos Slim]

Wow, it must be terrifying to carry loose change in that rig.

Don't sweat the CDS-FAN fuse position - you're also missing the relay, the wiring, and the aux electric fan on the front of the a/c condenser that was not an option in north america.

 

[OG 91 LC]

Yup. Just noticed. Ooops.

Btw. Should I disconnect battery first so that I don't cause some sort of electrical fire??? Am I tripping????

Ok wanting to take off this panel under steering wheel. I want to get a pic of bare wire to show you all.



I have done this. Removed screws. Do I just pull down to take it off????

Also I want to remove part of instrument panel to show you what it looks like back there. Is it a matter of removing these 4 screws???? Are there more????








Just to be honest. I'm nervous.

 

[Timpanogos Slim]

I dont' know a lot about the 95-97 dash bezel but you may be right. just be gentle when prying it out.

the panel over by the fuse box looks the same on my truck. take out the screws and pull it down. The cables for the hood and fuel door will still be attached so it is a bit awkward.

if you are nervous about frying something, yes, disconnect the battery.

 

[blkprj80]

4 screws is all. There is a tab on the left side that usually releases easily.

I'd be cutting out all that non oem junk.

 

[OG 91 LC]

Do I disconnect both terminals of the battery???? Or will one suffice????

 

[OG 91 LC]

I've disconnected negative terminal.





Now to show you some pics of the inside.

 

[OG 91 LC]

Here is the back of the fuse box.

As you can see. The wire lost some if it's protective coating. From the beginning of wire there is about 2.5 inches of exposed wire. As stated earlier the wire was disconnected for obvious reasons. There is still a connector from the fuse box. Installer had connected it at the shop and then we disconnected again. Would a shop be able to snip that wire and connect and add another piece to connect to fusible link????
Is that something super gnarly????

I'm trying to get instrument panel off at stereo. I took off the four screws. Upper left part is hanging on. Is there another screw????

 

[landcrshr]

Ooh, man those pics make me cringe!

It may be time to take the car to an automotive electrical specialist. Some stereo installers can be good, but the real good ones quickly grow out of that profession.

Btw, the wire's "protective coating" is called the "insulation".

Good luck.

Also: the left side of the center panel/bezel should just pull out now the 4 screws are out.

 

[OG 91 LC]

Ya. Insulation. Thanks.

So for those of you with this kind of experience is this one of those "oh s$@t" issues where the electrical job and labor is measured in the hundreds? Thousands?

Nobody wants to touch this stuff???
I know I won't be able to touch this. I was just trying to give you guys an idea of what the problem was.

That being said I have scheduled to take it to my mechanic who has worked on my truck before and is knowledgable about our 80s. I've been driving the truck like this for almost a year. Ok to drive for 30+ miles???? Or should I have it towed in??

Once again. The wire is not connected.

Thanks for your input. If you guys are cringing, then it's time for me to drink a beer or two.

 

[landcrshr]

Well, if the EFI fuse keeps popping, sounds like you'll be towing it in.

 

[OG 91 LC]

Because..............??????? If the fuse pops does it mean my truck shouldn't start?? Or other concerns???

And yes I need to learn a lot about these trucks.

 

[OG 91 LC]

This issue has me all messed up. The fuse that keeps popping is the 10 amp dome fuse in the engine bay. Not the 15 amp EFI. I'm trippin'.

That being said. Any ideas why this may be happing.

Again I installed an Xplod stereo last week. I've read that disconnecting the sub woofer and amp "fixes" some of the issues that I'm having.

Fellas????

 

[scrowley]

You should look at the FSM at the electical wire diagram for that circuit. See what is on there. Trace the wire. Prob someone tapped into it somewhere, connection came loose and is grounded out. Just a guess but check the FSM

 

[OG 91 LC]

Thanks. Ya. I checked out the FSM and EWD.

Just a bit freaked out when fellas on here are cringing and talking about frying components. Makes a newbie like me wanna not touch anything. But as you can see I'm willing to try.

 

[steffan]

Personally. I don't think there's anything scary about your situation - it just sounds like someone added a bunch of extra wires either from the previous stereo, alarm or power outlets. It's not rocket science, there's probably a crossed ground in there somewhere. You just have to start pulling the panels and following the wires our to make sure they are where they are supposed to be. Start what you think is most suspect

 

[OG 91 LC]

Personally. I don't think there's anything scary about your situation - it just sounds like someone added a bunch of extra wires either from the previous stereo, alarm or power outlets. It's not rocket science, there's probably a crossed ground in there somewhere. You just have to start pulling the panels and following the wires our to make sure they are where they are supposed to be. Start what you think is most suspect

No multimeter. I was gonna buy one this afternoon. Maybe I should.

Cool.

That's exactly it. Wires were running every which way. And I'm sure there is more that I can't see. Stereo installer claimed he took out all the stuff behind the stereo to get everything back to factory. Ill be opening up the front center bezel to check it out and post pics for you all to see.

Now as far as driving the truck. Remember. I have been driving this thing for about 7-8 months. Though there are several accessories not working: AC, vents are open so outside air comes in, no dome lights, stereo is trippin', and no speedometer. Is it safe to be driving with this wire not connected to the fuse box????

Thanks again. And I'm feeling a lil' bit more at ease.

 

[bmw635]

Al,

Call Akram electric Sunday and ask if he could help you Monday with priority so you wait and drive home same day as most of his customers have to leave cars overnight. They should be able to fix that mess since seem like we both have the dome light problem but yours were worse than mine.

Peter

 

[OG 91 LC]

Safe to drive????

 

[sandcruiser]

take a deep breath. your wiring isn't nearly as messed up as many other vehicles that are driving around out there.

the odds of you causing serious damage to anything important are pretty low.

if you are going to do any work on the truck's electrical, invest in a multimeter. if you're patient, check harbor freight, they often sell a functional meter for about $5. I've got four or five of them floating around, they all work well enough.

if you're popping a dome fuse, it's likely that there is a short somewhere related to the stereo(s) and/or the extra 12v sockets that were installed. tracing wires and figuring out what is old vs. what is new takes a lot of time. If you pay a pro, it could end up being expensive.

with a little patience, you can do it yourself.

I'm sure that there are many online writeups of how to install a stereo. check those out. it'll give you an idea of what's what behind the dash.

good luck