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Seeking help wth an electrical issue with marker lights + horn

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    Seeking help wth an electrical issue with marker lights + horn

    Electrical issue with marker lights + horn
    A little background on the situation:

    This situation started roughly a year ago and I have yet to fix the problem--I have a few cars so I rarely drive the MX-3 so I havn't been motivated to fix this issue until now. The car has had projectors and HIDs for a while and I had not issues until this event started. One night I was driving home from an establishment, I heard a pop and my horn began to run... wide open. Needless to say, I had to drive home through town with my horn sounding constantly. Upon making it home, I disconnected the battery and went to bed for the night.

    The first thing I did was disconnect the horn. After reconnecting the negative on the battery, the horn ceased but the marker and brake lights stayed on constantly. Upon examining the HIDs, one of the ballasts got coolant on it and the casing melted. I have since replaced the ballast and all four of the bulbs--I have projector head lights--and ballasts function properly.

    So this is the situation I have been in, if I want to drive the car, it runs fine but I have to either disconnect the battery or pull a fuse because the battery will drain as the lights remain on.


    I have noted the following:

    the marker lights stay on regardless of the position of the switch--the headlights do function as they should
    the marker lights stay on regardless of which fuse is pulled except:
    A) The "tail fuse" under dash and B) The "BTN" fuse under the hood
    the marker lights stay on regardless of pulling each relayed located under the dash
    the marker lights stay on regardless of disconnecting the plug to the switches behind the steering wheel
    the steering wheel is from a later model Mazda and the horn is not connected
    -the horn will still sound if connected
    the marker lights stay on regardless of disconnecting any or all of the HIDs

    I am not the most electrically inclined person but I have figured out some issues in the past so I'm asking for any ideas where to look for the short that I suspect.

    Some notes about the car if this helps anyone help me:
    -the car is a 93 RS
    -the car has the battery relocated to the trunk but has no issues charing
    -I have replaced the alternator in the past three years
    -the car has a BP swap
    -the car has a switch to run the cooling fan but on a fused circuit from the battery
    -in the past, I had an issue with the cooling fan not coming on on it's own and installing a switch was the only solution I could find
    -with the same issue, the high beams wouldn't function--this was prior to installing projector headlights
    -the car has a 95dash swapped in
    -all of the accessories work

    Thank you for any ideas on where to look next!
    AARC Member

    #2
    wow nice boat you are in .. alot of stuff swapped so alot of stuff to check . i would look at the column wiring 1st as thats the only really common spot for both the horn and lights . 2nd would be the main fuse block


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      #3
      Yeah, the whole situation is really inconvenient. So I'm looking for a frayed or burned wires? I figure this is going to be difficult to find if they're bundled up.
      AARC Member

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        #4
        yeah you have a short that is feeding power to the system past the fuses . either a ground nearby is getting power fed through it or the fuse block is shorted .. could be anything in those circuits feeding power . i wish you luck


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          #5
          Well after a year, I took the time and followed your advice and found this ghost. Click image for larger version

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          According to my electrical manual, this is plug JB-04.


          This is the second time you've helped me out with an annoying electrical issue, MazdaNoob--I appreciate it.
          AARC Member

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            #6
            FTW now if i only had the patience to apply that to my own wring issues LOL ...

            FYI .. burnt insulation = overloaded circuit or loose connector /corroded . be sure to give everything a good wiggle and repair any other loose connections


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