Fuse 10. everything unplugged, still blows

[mohmoh62]

About a year ago I washed my '87 turbo/stroked 325is the night before going on a 400 mile trip. When I got up the next morning to drive, none of the gauges/reverse lights/blower etc worked. I figured I'd shorted something when I lightly sprayed the engine to get the dirt off.

I'm now sitting in my car with the cluster taken out, K5 and K7 unloader relays unplugged, and reverse light cable unplugged under the shifter. Still blowing fuses as soon as I turn the key. I even replaced the si board batteries a while back thinking it might have been the issue.

Any ideas where/what the problem may be?

[AndrewBird]

Sounds like you have a short to ground somewhere. Check for continuity between ground and all the hots at the various loads. This should help you determine where the short is.

[mohmoh62]

Alright, I'll try that this week/weekend and see what leg is shorted. I know the connectors to the cluster and reverse light switch are part of it and can easily be probed, but not sure where you would check the active check panel.

[mohmoh62]

Still haven't gotten a chance to look at it. I had to get the driveshaft put back in and test it out. Got a mile down the road and it stopped idling / started dying unless I kept it alive with throttle. TPS lost a screw, but after fixing and recalibrating it still dies. I can hear the IACV when the engine is off but key is on accessory on, so I'm assuming that's OK... any ideas?

[mohmoh62]

Reverse light switch connector under shift boot shows 3 ohm to ground on both prongs. Guessing that's my short.

[ba114]

The reverse switch in the gearbox joins those 2 pins together when engaged, which completes the ground loop for the lights.

They should show continuity to ground, or so I thought. Correct me if I'm wrong...

[wilholl]

Reverse light switch connector under shift boot shows 3 ohm to ground on both prongs. Guessing that's my short.

Doesn't sound good!

[RobDog]

This guy was having the same problem and it ended up being his seat belt warning relay on the steering column.

http://www.r3vlimited.com/board/showthread.php?t=396417

[mohmoh62]

The reverse switch in the gearbox joins those 2 pins together when engaged, which completes the ground loop for the lights.

They should show continuity to ground, or so I thought. Correct me if I'm wrong...

you're correct. i'm not talking about that though. the reverse light switch and everything else i could unplug from the fuse circuit was unplugged and it still blew fuses. i probed the harness end of the connector, not the switch end. between the reverse light connector and fuse 10 there's a short.

[mohmoh62]

This guy was having the same problem and it ended up being his seat belt warning relay on the steering column.

http://www.r3vlimited.com/board/showthread.php?t=396417

Thank you! I just messaged him. Perfect timing. I was dreading having to pull the dash and carpet to trace those wires through the fire wall. Really hope it's the same issue he had.

[mohmoh62]

Everything works now. It was the seat belt timer relay just like Achelous had (http://www.r3vlimited.com/board/showthread.php?t=396417)