my turn light is my arm

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jdsduster

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73 duster,blows fuses on that circiut,checked wiring,cant find any bare wires,looked everywhere,unhooked rearlighting pigtail,blows fuses.unhooked steering column turn signal harness,same.all lights work,including brakes,dash,flasher,guages, ect.it blows as soon as ignition key is turned.im stumped.said **** it and use my arm.kind of frustrating as i dont what else to check.what the book says is on that circiut is radio,unhooked,turn lights,unhooked,i know i i got a direct short somewhere but hell if i can find it.ill stick my %$#@ out.unless yall got any ideas?
 
My dad who was a common sense mechanic would take a cotter pin hold it with needle nose pliars stick it where the fuse goes and watch for smoke. Ive done it already and it works, cotter key will turn whit hot so be careful, best have help watching for smoke while you do this. Good luck.
 
tekslk said:
My dad who was a common sense mechanic would take a cotter pin hold it with needle nose pliars stick it where the fuse goes and watch for smoke. Ive done it already and it works, cotter key will turn whit hot so be careful, best have help watching for smoke while you do this. Good luck.
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thanks,but dont need a melt down
 
I'm betting that you already had one. I bet it's in the main harness, where one or more wires have bonded for life.

Look at the bulkhead connector. Take it apart, and see what sockets have been overheated, and start there.
 
tekslk said:
My dad who was a common sense mechanic would take a cotter pin hold it with needle nose pliars stick it where the fuse goes and watch for smoke. Ive done it already and it works, cotter key will turn whit hot so be careful, best have help watching for smoke while you do this. Good luck.
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No offense, but that doesn't sound like a common sense approach to me. Sounds like a good way to cause more problems than you already have.

It's not like the electrical system in an A body is all that complex to begin with...if you're not comfortable troubleshooting electrical problems ask someone who is.
 
jos51700 said:
I'm betting that you already had one. I bet it's in the main harness, where one or more wires have bonded for life.

Look at the bulkhead connector. Take it apart, and see what sockets have been overheated, and start there.
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checked it, all looked good,unless its in the harness somewhere.but i would think it would pop the other circiuts,direct short is all that it could be.granted i havent opened the harness,might as well buy new,but wow,lot of work.,also back up lights are also on the same circiut,but unhooked them,still blows.what a clusterfuck
 
You picked a fun cicuit to trace down. The wiring between the fuse and the directional flasher daisy-chains via 2 other stops along the way and goes like this:
1) 12V power starts at fuse and runs via a red wire to a connection in the harness that connects to the radio; so examine that connection and also disconnect the radio and see if that stops the shorts
2) Then 12V power runs from that radio connection in the harness via a white wire to terminal W on the bulkhead connectors; the engine compartment side of that W connection goes to the reverse light switch on the trannie on a black wire. So check that out for a short in that wire or in the reverse light switch
3) From terminal W on the bulkhead connector, the 12V runs via a black wire to the signal flasher. Remove the signal flasher to see if the fuse does not blow; it coudl short inside to the case.
4) The signal flasher output goes to the directional switch via a red wire. You could pull this wire out of the column connector to see if the short goes away; if so, the problem is in the directional switch.
 
nm9stheham said:
You picked a fun cicuit to trace down. The wiring between the fuse and the directional flasher daisy-chains via 2 other stops along the way and goes like this:
1) 12V power starts at fuse and runs via a red wire to a connection in the harness that connects to the radio; so examine that connection and also disconnect the radio and see if that stops the shorts
2) Then 12V power runs from that radio connection in the harness via a white wire to terminal W on the bulkhead connectors; the engine compartment side of that W connection goes to the reverse light switch on the trannie on a black wire. So check that out for a short in that wire or in the reverse light switch
3) From terminal W on the bulkhead connector, the 12V runs via a black wire to the signal flasher. Remove the signal flasher to see if the fuse does not blow; it coudl short inside to the case.
4) The signal flasher output goes to the directional switch via a red wire. You could pull this wire out of the column connector to see if the short goes away; if so, the problem is in the directional switch.
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this is great info
1 radio is unhooked,mine is black to the fuse and black w/tracer going out
2 i did notcheck nsw/back up because it starts as should
3 removed flasher
4 unplugged harness to column
 
It blows the fuse as soon as you turn the key on ?? You stated that it blows the fuse with the turn sig switch unplugged ??
now I'm confused >>
 
tekslk said:
My dad who was a common sense mechanic would take a cotter pin hold it with needle nose pliars stick it where the fuse goes and watch for smoke. Ive done it already and it works, cotter key will turn whit hot so be careful, best have help watching for smoke while you do this. Good luck.
Click to expand...

All due respect to your dad, that's far from common sense.
 
If the brake lights do indeed work with the turn signal switch unplugged....

That might be something there.
 
jdsduster said:
now im confused?
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The starter circuit is completely separate. Just keep digging along the wiring in that circuit as described. And the wire color from the fues to the first connection drop to the radio coudl well be black; often the wire colros on the mymopar schematics seem to be suggestions... or the factory was out of red wire that day!

You took the column wiring and turn signal switch out of the circuit when you pulled the flasher. (Turn signal power to the TS switch has to go through the flasher.)

As far as checking the line out to the neutral-safety/backup switch, the wiring to the NSS section of that switch is competely separate from the wiring to the backup section of the switch. So you can have a good functioning NSS, and at the same time have a short to ground in the backup switch section or the wiring to/from the back up switch. So that HAS to be troubleshot as part of your investigation.
 
I was thinking the turn sig's are in with the brake lights...could the short be in the brake switch at the brake peddle.. just thinking
 
^^ The brake light circuit feeds off of a different fuse, memike. It is the emergency flasher that feeds on the same circuit as the brake lights, not the signal flasher. I think the point about the brake lighrts made by redfastback is how the brakes can work at all with the turn signal switch connector disconnected. But I don't see where the OP says that is the case; he says the brake lights work in general but not specifically when the TS connector is disconnected.

BTW, how do you get 36,000+ posts on this site?!? Wow!
 
tekslk said:
My dad who was a common sense mechanic would take a cotter pin hold it with needle nose pliars stick it where the fuse goes and watch for smoke. Ive done it already and it works, cotter key will turn whit hot so be careful, best have help watching for smoke while you do this. Good luck.
Click to expand...

You guys never heard of a "Smoke Test" before? :violent2:
 
I would not do this cotter pin test in a car, as you don't know what peripheral damage you would do in a wiring harness, and there ways in which a fire can get started, mainly with the plastic insulation which is flammable, non-high temp insulation. And IMO tekslk, you ought to be a bit more careful openly posting advice that might induce someone to damage or destroy their car and garage and result in injuries; you never know what rookie might take this to heart and do it wrong with very bad results. You mght end up with some liabilty.

There are plenty of non-destructive ways to run these problems down!
 
Time to dig into the service manual. The 73 and later manuals WERE A BIG change because the diagrams are drawn completely differently but they are much better documented as to actual wire paths and interconnects and splices.

Start on page 8-162 and find the fuse at top left Wire C1-14BK goes off and feeds the HEATER BLOWER and branches off from there with wire X12-14R
 

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Follow X12-14R down to the next page (8-163) and it comes down INTO the RADIO connector. From there it CHANGES to wire B1-18W (White) down and off that page
 

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Continue following the white wire, B1-18W goes up through page 8-162 and off the left of the page..........and through page 8-161 from right to left........and then comes INTO page 8-160 at bottom right...........

Note that it goes up to a junction, through the bulkhead connector and to the BACKUP lamp switch, and branches off to the right and up (D1-18BK) and off the top left of the page
 

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So from top left of page 8-160 we follow D1-18BK goes right through the top of page 8-159, right to left........ and ends up coming in at top right of page 8-158, where it feeds the flasher
 

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Now as I eluded to earlier, one thing I'd be SURE and to do is to isolate the backup lamp switch.

Have you checked the heater blower "stuff"

Does the harness appear to be heat damaged, IE melted plastic, or chopped up from someone's creative wirring?
 
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