Need some help with a vehicle installation troubleshooting

cbourke

Hello everyone,

Earlier today, I installed a mobile radio in my car as well as renovated my power distribution for my lights and other items (radar detector etc...). I ran a wire from the battery to a circuit breaker (under the hood) and then from the circuit breaker to a relay. From the relay, the power is distributed via a 6 position fuse block. Everything worked fine after everything was wired up. About an hour later, I was driving and everything that was receiving power from the fuse block turned off and turned back on. I figured the circuit breaker tripped due to the heat under the hood so I bypassed the breaker. That wasn't the problem. I drove the car later on and still had the same problem. I watched as I was driving and things were trying to turn on. Everything was basically \"flickering\".

Could this be a bad ground somewhere? A bad relay?

It has all the familiar signs and symptoms of a bad ground but everything is grounded properly to metal that is grounded to the chassis.

Should I run a wire for ground from the battery to somewhere under the dash where everything can be grounded to?

Thanks in advanced for the input!

cajunblitz

[quote:97c5fc16e7=\"cbourke\"] the power is distributed via a 6 position fuse block.

Posted: Sat 1-Nov-2008 05:59 Post subject: Re: Need some help with a vehicle installation troubleshooti

[quote:e35f6b86dd=\"cajunblitz\"] I'm interested in what this 6 position block looks like. This could very well be the problem if it's substandard. Where is this block installed on the car? cajunblitz

Posted: Sat 1-Nov-2008 07:39 Post subject: Re: Need some help with a vehicle installation troubleshooti

[quote:b98a7d2370=\"cbourke\"][quote:b98a7d2370=\"cajunblitz\"] I'm interested in what this 6 position block looks like. This could very well be the problem if it's substandard. Where is this block installed on the car? cajunblitz

Posted: Sat 1-Nov-2008 07:54 Post subject:

It did seem pretty flimsy when I put it in. What would you recommend for power distribution? Something like this

Posted: Sat 1-Nov-2008 10:40 Post subject:

That's a terminal block... different purpose, not power distribution. What you have is fine. I use one of those, but with 14 available connections (have a lot of little <500milliamp devices, lol) with a ground bus on it (very nice to have). It does sound like somewhere along the way, however you got power to it, was not installed right. Tighten the bolt on the fuse block (at the bottom in the picture), make sure the block is tightened down, and also make sure the main power wire at the source (hopefully your batter) is a good solid connection and it is tight. But they are cheap, so it could easily be a defect. As far as grounding, the car most likely has a common ground, so attach grounds to any BARE metal. Look for bolts you can use rings for at such places as seat bolts. However DO NOT ground on bolts used to hold any sort of processor, computer, complicated electronic in place. If something goes wrong, that is in no way a cheap and easy fix. If you need to, drill a place for a new bolt, and sand down the metal until it is completely bare for a good ground.

Posted: Sat 1-Nov-2008 10:49 Post subject:

A seat belt bolt is NOT a good grounding point!!! Find a good grounding point throughout the vehicle. Most common are found behind the front kick panel where there are groups of black wires fastened with a bolt to the body. Sean

Posted: Sat 1-Nov-2008 11:11 Post subject:

When I grounded everything, I did drill new holes. I did not sand around where I put the holes before I screwed in the rings. I will give that a shot and let you know how things work out.

Posted: Sat 1-Nov-2008 11:22 Post subject:

How tight are the connecting bolts on your circuit breaker? Something similar happened when the bolts came loose on mine.

Posted: Sat 1-Nov-2008 20:48 Post subject: Re:

[quote:32d0a93ae1=\"dynastar666\"]How tight are the connecting bolts on your circuit breaker? Something similar happened when the bolts came loose on mine.

Posted: Sun 2-Nov-2008 21:03 Post subject:

Well, I figured it out. After sanding the metal where everything was grounded, things still didn't work. I took my multimeter and check to see where the 12v was getting caught up. There was no power coming into the relay. I go under the hood and there is no power to the circuit breaker. The crimp connector I used for the cable from the battery to the circuit breaker was faulty. I made a new cable and things are working good so far. The problem I have now is my air bag light is on. Thanks for the help everyone!

Posted: Wed 5-Nov-2008 09:50 Post subject:

Well adding to my problems, I figured out why my air bag light was on. There was a blown fuse in the fuse block. I have two questions. What could have caused this? A surge from disconnecting and then reconnecting the battery cable while I was installing the circuit breaker? If I replace the fuse, will the thing blow up in my face ?

Posted: Thu 6-Nov-2008 20:38 Post subject:

Disconnect the battery before doing anything with any part of a airbag system. it is reccomended to contact a dealer regarding any air bag issues. i had my airbag light come on when i relocated the front airbag sensor when i mounted a speaker on the center radiatior post. I mounted the impact sensor and the tempature sensor on a painted bracket next to the speaker. the light turned on because the bracket i mounted the impact sensor to was painted. i figured out that the sensor needs to be grounded to complete the resistance circut. sanded the bracket to bare metal and bingo! the light went off. could this be your issue?

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