The_Ginger_Stig Posted July 15, 2023 Report Share Posted July 15, 2023 (edited) It wouldn't be a 40 year old car if I didn't have to fix something every weekend 😕 Most of the electrical problems detailed in my previous "electrical gremlins from hell" post are still present which I'm going to detail in block form as to not crowd this already begrudgingly long wall of text. These issues seem to all be related whether it's a common connector or circuit but I can't trace down what's actually going wrong and maybe asking some of you wizards here will at least get me in the right direction. As a preface: These issues have been going on for quite a while and seem to be possibly related to heat. I didn't used to get these problems when the weather was cooler but as the Arizona days get into the 110+ range they happen more frequently. These issues also seem to only happen after the car has been driving for a while and usually not immediately when it starts cold. As for if any of these problems being related to the battery moving under braking or weight transfer, the battery is currently held down by a ( non-stock ) battery bracket I made as I never had one in the first place. The bracket makes absolutely no contact with the positive terminal, it is bolted into the battery tray and the top lies across a non-conductive plastic section of the middle of the battery. The battery is newer, and has also been tested many times with a multimeter I know this is a giant tarball of info in a weird format but I'm hoping that providing the most info I can will help the situation along. Current Problems Clock doesn't show time, but still has illumination light Power windows have no function Automatic seat belts have no function, currently stuck backwards HVAC panel illumination is completely gone, as well as the display Radio will have illumination for a brief second when ACC power is switched on, then cut off. I can hear a relay close then open after the lights cycle. Drivers side door light doesn't illuminate when the door is opened "seat belt" light in gauge cluster used to intermittently flash and trigger the buzzer, now is completely off Power antenna seems to have no power as it won't go up or down when switching on and off the radio The dimmer switch has a few spots where it cuts out lighting in the interior but I keep it at a known good spot that has decent enough padding around it that a bump wouldn't cause the gauge cluster lights to go out. I do have a NOS dimmer that I will be swapping in soon There is no automatic door locking. Current Problems expanded 4. When buttons are pressed on the face of the HVAC unit, the unit beeps. The unit also still is able to operate the "blend" stuff going on in the dash as you can hear the "valves" and "flaps" doing their thing. When the issues were more "intermittent" the HVAC illumination would go out, and the blower motor would also stop. 5. The radio will turn on with ACC power and illuminate the panel that shows the station as well as the green lights in the EQ faders. A near sine wave sound is heard when the radio is on and a loud pop can be heard when changing from AM to FM and vice versa 6. When these issues were "intermittent", the door light would come on when the rest of the "problem circuits" detailed in this post were also working What works Every circuit detailed on page 8 - 185-186 in the FSM works except the "heater control panel illumination light". Rear ash tray light, front ash tray light, Cigarette light,glove box light, power mirror light. Power adjustable mirrors Cigarette lighter functions normally Hazards and regular turn signals are completely fine as well as everything exterior lighting wise except the pop ups not going down but I figure that's an unrelated problem. All lights in the gauge cluster work except for both of the lights in the switches on the sides of the meter hood. The IR steering wheel controls light up and were working fine when the radio worked.  Things that have already been done I have cleaned, tested for continuity, and replaced unfit fusible links. Fusible links were either replaced with a MB fusible link bought from dad here, or made using the appropriate wire gauge specifically with fusible link wire I have properly rebuilt my ignition switch following instructions from this board and tested every contact for continuity using the FSM. The switch had minimal pitting and didn't require much attention ( I found a place where the PO used vampire connectors on a wire that seemed to have damaged it, it has been cut and crimped with a spade connector that is securely held in place ) P.S I've never seen a vampire connector in a car and not had to deal with some B.S resulting from them. 👎 I have checked every single fuse in the cabin fuse box with a multimeter and all of them are completely fine. There is a weird 30 amp fuse in a place where it shouldn't be. I have cleaned the contacts behind the steering wheel and they are functioning well Unrelated info that might be worth mentioning Both my rad fans have a primary temp sensor to have them come on both at the same time and for redundancy pop ups are stuck up. Won't come down but pop up with the switches. Edits as a go along Getting a proper 12v and 230ma at fuse 11 in the clock circuit, still lights up but no clock  Thank you to anyone who helps me get this going along.  Edited July 15, 2023 by The_Ginger_Stig Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tux Posted July 16, 2023 Report Share Posted July 16, 2023 For the clock, I'd pull the clock and test it on a 12v bench power supply if you have one.  That will tell you straightaway if it's the clock or something else.  This supply should be good enough https://a.co/d/coQSW3t Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Turbo Cary Posted July 17, 2023 Report Share Posted July 17, 2023 You need to go over and check all of your grounds. Every single one on the car. Get yourself a 9004 headlamp bulb, a socket for it and some test leads. Solder it up to make a heavy duty test light. I also highly recommend buying a power probe tool. Then go over and test every 12V power into the trouble components and see if they can light the bulb. Test it between the components power and ground and also the battery negative itself. If the bulb is dim or not lit between the components power and ground then it could be high resistance causing the lack of full function. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
obsolete Posted July 17, 2023 Report Share Posted July 17, 2023 Turbo Cary's advice above is great. Also, given all the problems you mentioned, I can't help but wonder if you have a problem with your ETACS module. I'd start troubleshooting there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
psu_Crash Posted July 20, 2023 Report Share Posted July 20, 2023 On 7/17/2023 at 1:37 PM, obsolete said: Turbo Cary's advice above is great. Also, given all the problems you mentioned, I can't help but wonder if you have a problem with your ETACS module. I'd start troubleshooting there. That's the first thing I thought of too. Seems most of the issues are something controlled by the ETAC unit. Or possibly a bad connection to it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tux Posted July 20, 2023 Report Share Posted July 20, 2023 I personally like to test everything outside of it's ecosystem to ensure the part is working correctly, then move from there. But that's me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The_Ginger_Stig Posted July 21, 2023 Author Report Share Posted July 21, 2023 I have found a burnt connector coming off of the fusible links and I'm going to order parts from StarQuestParts to get EVERYTHING back to how it's supposed to be to clear up any doubt about the links. @tux I wouldn't be against having a bench power supply but at the moment would there be any reason I couldn't test the clock with leads hooked up the car battery? and thank you @Turbo Cary for the headlight idea I'll put one together and see if there's any high resistance in any of the circuits. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tux Posted July 22, 2023 Report Share Posted July 22, 2023 No reason why to not test with a battery.  I just like to have a known good power supply set to a known maximum current and a known voltage. Also that it's pulled completely from the system it was part of eliminating things like bad grounds, broken wires, etc Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
obsolete Posted July 23, 2023 Report Share Posted July 23, 2023 You can get enough current to weld out of a 12V lead acid battery, which is more dangerous than a current-limited power supply if there might be a short in the wiring you're testing. That being said...I still just use a battery. Good luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The_Ginger_Stig Posted July 30, 2023 Author Report Share Posted July 30, 2023 Update: It's definitely just a weak connector in the fusible links area because after repining each connector to move the car it hasn't cut out yet. Just waiting on new fusible link boxes to get here and if anything else comes up I'll update, but until then, the problem was likely just the links. Thanks @tux for the link for that cheap little power supply, it's pretty handy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Contsi Posted July 31, 2023 Report Share Posted July 31, 2023 Not sure if it has been mentioned but be sure all your fuses (under dash left) are making good contact. I've had some similar issues in the past and found several fuses making bad contact, after confirming fuse issue, I replaced all of them. The directional fuse (second from bottom, right row, looking at fuse box) caused me several issues, including badly bouncing volt meter needle, RPM guage not working, seat belt dash light coming on etc. Just my experience. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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