Help with possible electrical short (1 Viewer)

[mikeymike4]

Hey everybody. Bought a '94 cruiser a couple years ago. I've cleaned it up and got it running beautifully. I fully understand all the love for it, it is amazing.

Anyways, down to my issue. One day my girl and I decide to take a drive up to the mountains. Right after starting it, I catch a burning smell that disappears quickly. I don't notice any issues at first, everything seems normal. But the next day, the power doors, power windows, and power seats no longer function. I notice the 30A fuse is blown, so I replace all fuses in the truck. At first, everything is going well. Windows, doors, locks all work. But after about an hour, the fuse blows again. s***. I pull the panel under the steering wheel to quickly check the wiring, and notice no obvious damage/degradation to the wiring.

So, now what? I'll admit, I know nothing about electrical. But I am a eager learner. Any guidance y'all can provide would be greatly appreciated. Funds are short right now so I am trying to avoid taking it in (I've heard electrical issues can be quite expensive).

Thank you in advance for taking to time to help.

 

[Malleus]

You say "30A fuse". You mean the one in the lower right corner?

 

[Tools R Us]

What fuse was blown?

 

[Malleus]

If so, this is the schematic you're looking for:

 

[Malleus]

F13 (in the lower right corner) is the fuse panel in my first post. The black wire feeding the 30A fuse originates at the fusible link in, next to the positive battery terminal, specifically 50A AM1, downstream of splice I7 (the one in the hexagon):

 

[mikeymike4]

You say "30A fuse". You mean the one in the lower right corner?
View attachment 1624930

Yes, the 'FL Power' fuse

 

[Malleus]

Physically, this splice is under the steering column cover, near the ignition switch, IIRC. I'd look here first:

You DO NOT need to remove the steering wheel, although you may need to remove the lower (knee) panel.

 

[mikeymike4]

Y'all are quick, thank you. Ok, I am able to follow the path on the diagram. Definitely helpful. So what would the next step(s) be in diagnosing the problem and location?

 

[baldilocks]

If you smelled it, it’s probably in the cab. Inspect the area behind the kick panel and under the carpet from the firewall back to tail light on the driver side. There are wires and connectors all along there. It would be good to remove the driver seat and possibly the driver side second row seat so you can get a very good look.

 

[Malleus]

I'd recommend you put all the screws back in the holes they came out of, whenever possible. There are a lot of them, some are similar to others, and it's a pain to get everything back together if you do not use the correct screws.

 

[Malleus]

If you cannot see any obvious damage on the large black wire leading into the ignition switch, my guess is that your fusible link has a short/open in it. Once you've started the engine, try wiggling these wires and see if you can replicate the fault.

A multimeter would be the better way, but I'm guessing you don't have one.

Courtesy of our friends in the sand.

HTH

 

[mikeymike4]

I do have a multi-meter. Picked one up figuring I'd need it. I have some basic usage knowledge from my years in chemistry and physics labs. But that was quite some time ago, haha.

 

[Malleus]

OK then, you're on your way. Shout if you you get into deep water.

 

[Tools R Us]

If it's the 30a Power fuse, the fault would be downstream from there, something on, powered by the blue wire.

 

[mikeymike4]

Thank you all. The other great part of owning a cruiser is the community. I'm gonna get in there tomorrow morning. I'll post an update as I will likely need more assistance.