very wierd electrical problem

[The Pinkfingers]

I hope this helps... smiles.

Falco.

#17 - heated seat?? I must have missed that in all my deli research.


...and lol to torchard!

[coaxial]

yeah my fuse slot there is empty.. no heated seats

maybe if I just ran in a low gear, super high RPMs, the motor would get hot enough to heat the seats

[FalcoColumbarius]

So THAT'S how I do it....

[joedelica]

All brake lights not working as of today.
Checked all fuses, nothing blown.
Attempted various combinations of things on and off, but nothing.
Driving lights, etc. all functioning. Anyone have any ideas???

Cheers,

Joe

[coaxial]

checked all the fuses visually or with a tester?

could hook a volt meter to the brake light fuse socket and see if the pedal sends a signal maybe? try to find the switch that activates it?

[lenny]

Wow I wish i had read this post before I left for the Westport on Friday night!!!! Left Langley around nine PM and just before crossing the border I had to lay on the horn to keep a guy from coming across the yellow line at me. When I did that the dash lights went out, I was annoyed but it wasn't enough to end ( or even really delay) the first surf trip of the year and first road tip ever in My Deli(yet unnamed).So we carried on and about an hour across the border right when it was getting real annoying trying to keep an eye on the speedo and Tach with a flashlight, The Po-po turns on the lights and I pulled over. He was pretty cool about, asked me if I "knew why he pulled me over" and this time I could honestly say no as I was doing Max 60 mph and speed limit was 70. He asked me if my dash lights where working and then told me they were often connected with the running lights as a warning system so you would know if the fuse was blown. He told us about a Wallmart a couple Exits back and told me to drive with the hazards on. Instead We pulled off at the next exit, found the fuse box and one extra fuse tucked in the holder at the top. Quickly found the blown fuse and were on our way, Now that I think about it the turbo timer ran for a real long time, with the lights off, after we stopped to fix the fuse I wonder if the wiring is weird in mine too. It turned out OK but was a little stressful for a while.
Do turbo timers ever run automatically according to how hot the Turbo/engine is, as far as I can tell mine is set up for one minute run time but I really know very little about them.
I was also parked beside a White Super Exceed in the Jetty parking lot in Westport on Saturday. Where you there to watch the Surf Comp?

[joedelica]

Problem solved! I had a look at the brake light relay and
noticed that I must have kicked off the two leads from the relay.
Getting into the Deli with one arm in a sling these days and being 6' 7"
having me squirming in odd ways!

Cheers,

Joe

[nishby]

So, my van just developed the exact same problem that coaxial had originally. No taillights or dash due to the horn fuse being blown. My taillight fuse was also blown, and everything comes back when both fuses are replaced. The problem is, the taillight fuse goes again in about 10 seconds.

It appears to be a short of some kind. Does anyone have any hints about where to start?

Shane.

[coaxial]

Sadly I can't suggest the one specific thing that fixed my electrical issues, as Jay and I got together and overhauled the whole fuse box and cheap faulty DRL module. I had current somehow back-feeding and I suspect messing with the turbo-timer. Thankfully everything works perfect now.

The one specific problem that I found and fixed was the fusible links that sit right on top of the positive battery terminal, they were corroded and melted. We replaced those and I ran fresh new wire from them to the fuse box. Disconnect the battery and take a look at all the parts housed on the positive terminal for sings of wear.

Josh

[nishby]

Thanks coaxial. I've checked the fusible links on the battery and they're all good.

Here's more stuff I've discovered:

When the headlights are turned off, the taillight fuse slot registers about 10a fairly consistently and the horn slot registers nothing.
When the headlights are turned on, the taillight slot registers inconsistently between 6 and 20a, and the horn slot registers inconsistently between 10 and 20a.

Would a faulty DRL cause issues with the horn like this? And would the DLR suddenly start acting up after 3 years?

Two other factors:

1. My rear lighter fuse was also gone so I replaced it and then when I was measuring amperage to the horn and taillights it caused a spike in the lighter that fried my inverter, but the fuse didn't blow!? Would this be an indication of back-feeding amperage?
2. Just before the trouble started I had my van rustproofed. They put the fluid to it like crazy, so I'm wondering if that could case a short somewhere?

I'm assuming that wherever the short might be I'd find some burnt or melted wiring?

Any other hints would be greatly appreciated as the mystery deepens.

Shane.

[nishby]

Hmmm... just found this.

Altwire.jpg (76.01 KiB) Viewed 5443 times

It appears to be a disconnected ground wire coming from a cluster that hooks to the alternator. It's actually black or dark grey.
Can anyone confirm where this is supposed to be connected?

Thanks,
Shane.

[RichD]

The alternator is grounded (-) to the chassis, there is a 4 gauge hot terminal (+) and a connector terminal (2 pins IIRC) that goes to the regulator. You can see these are both connected in your photo.

[nishby]

Thanks. I'll re-attach that ground and see if any of my mystery is resolved.

[nishby]

Problem solved! The trailer wiring converter shorted out and sent a chain reaction through the system. DRL is fine. Everything is functional again except my fried inverter.

Does anyone know of a good brand of trailer wiring converter? It seems all of the standard ones are the same poor quality crap. I've been through two now, the latest one being a Reese.

Shane.

[danielle]

I drove My van from Victoria to Vermont, no problemo. Now my van is blowing fuse after fuse. It's the one that is connected to my dash lights and tail lights. I cant drive it home in a dodgy state. I've checked it out with a mechanic however no one here on the East coast has ever seen a Delica!!!! ANY SUGGESTIONS??????????? Does any one have a map of the Van's electrical wiring system? I'm not mechanically inclined however I will do what ever it takes to make this van work.