cobra II wiring problems

[LedZ 5.0]

The short could be anywhere in your wiring system. I would say it's worth a try to check the ignition switch rod and the switch itself to see if there's any damage.

 

[Wart]

Well, I unhooked everything electrical, I mean EVERYTHING, I also unhooked the solenoid and the starter and it still arcs, so it has to be grounded out somewhere, I think it is the little mechanism on my steering column (small mechanical rod) that the ignition switch is connected to that is grounding out a wire, cuz when i connected the wiring harness to the neg. side of the bat. it didnt arc (like when you connect the pos. and neg. terminals)

?

 

[zwhitr]

Wart is right, overvoltage will kill a bulb but undervoltage (a short) won't.

d

now now never say never

the term short is the most over and improperly used statement in the car trouble shooting

a short means a wire touching another or to ground (chassis) causing a change in the path in current flow possibly blowing fuses or melting wires

an Open is a break in the path of the conductors

According to OHMS Law
I= Current flow of electrons
E=VOLTAGE Force that move electrons
R=RESISTANCE opposition to the flow of electrons

I = E/R

If voltage remains constant and the resistance changes so does current and current causes heat

heat causes a increase in resistance in conductors
increased resistance = less current


Bla Bla Bla



Think about this when do lights in your house blow normally when you first turn them on "Right"


Basically the instant power is applied to a bulb it has maximum current and the filimant wire gets hot and glows but then resistance also instantaneously increases due to the heat and decreases the current to a managable level


if your bulbs are blowing it may be and open in the circuit breaking and contacting over and over due to movement similar to turning the switch on and off.


schools out

 

[Wart]

Works for me.

 

[dmoody]

now now never say never

if your bulbs are blowing it may be and open in the circuit breaking and contacting over and over due to movement similar to turning the switch on and off.

schools out

It is possible, but not likely. A bulb is a resistor in a vacuum and is made to be turned on and off thousands of times. I still don't think you could blow a new bulb in a few days given the situation you describe. Besides if the bulb were constantly going on and off it wouldn't undergo the temperature/resistance changes that you describe... the bulb would stay warm and the resistance would be more. Anyway enough about Ohm's law, I'm doubtful that it will help solve the mystery of why the bulb blew..

If this is the problem it should be easy to see... the bulb should be turning itself on and off as you describe. Furthermore to debug it you would simply wiggle the wiring going to the bulb watching it closely as it turned on and off to find the location where the wire is broken.

d

 

[69stang351]

well I found the problem that was making my harness arc, the wire going to the alt. has been rubbing against the metal hose to the powersteering pump and was grounding out there. I fixed that and hooked everything back up, but it still seems to be wanting to short itself. Not sure what it could be this time, (it is already hooked back up without sparking and it is running ok, but my tach and alt. gauge seem to be jumping a little. and the wire is trying to burn through the insulation again. I am going to use my electrical tester on it and find out what the problem is today.

 

[69stang351]

Ok the problem has been fixed, The wire wasnt arcing after I fixed it saturday and the alt. wire was hanging off cuz it wasnt able to be tight enough on there so that is why i was getting problems after i fixed it. put it back on and my car runs fine... now to the reverse light which was the problem at hand in the first place... I will check it out on my next day off so I have time to fiddle with the wiring if i have to... until then i will just have one...