interior wiring issue (Page 1/2)
cartercarbaficionado MAY 12, 07:05 AM
this just happened on a 60 mile drive to find more issues
plugged a USB charging adapter into my cigarette lighter while I was driving and suddenly my radio shut off and my horn stopped working with all my interior lights partially on and my buzzer making very quiet buzzing with the doors closed only
I disconnected my battery just to be safe since I don't want it to either drain it or decide to short out and cause a fire
olejoedad MAY 12, 08:31 AM
Sounds like you blew another fuse.

Horn, radio memory, some interior lights are all on a battery fuse.

Some of the modern things that plug into cigar lighters will do that, I've had it happen before.
cartercarbaficionado MAY 12, 05:00 PM

quote
Originally posted by olejoedad:

Sounds like you blew another fuse.

Horn, radio memory, some interior lights are all on a battery fuse.

Some of the modern things that plug into cigar lighters will do that, I've had it happen before.


but my interior lights are stuck on partially and pressing my horn makes them go to full brightness
that sounds more like a melted wire to me
RWDPLZ MAY 12, 06:05 PM
No those are classic BAT fuse symptoms, the cigar lighter socket probably needs to be replaced.
olejoedad MAY 12, 07:58 PM

quote
Originally posted by RWDPLZ:

No those are classic BAT fuse symptoms, the cigar lighter socket probably needs to be replaced.



I've seen some of the USB chargers that have a ground lug that will short the cigar lighter if it's inserted too far, or if it's not oriented properly in the socket. ( Take a look at the cigar lighter and the USB charger and you will see what I mean.
It wouldn't hurt to replace the cigar lighter if it needs it.

To the O/P......

If you have the proper value fuses in the fuse box, you won't melt a wire.

The wires are protected by the fuse, IF SOME GOODBALL DIDNT PUT A HIGHER RATED FUSE IN IT'S PLACE.
cartercarbaficionado MAY 12, 08:29 PM

quote
Originally posted by olejoedad:


I've seen some of the USB chargers that have a ground lug that will short the cigar lighter if it's inserted too far, or if it's not oriented properly in the socket. ( Take a look at the cigar lighter and the USB charger and you will see what I mean.
It wouldn't hurt to replace the cigar lighter if it needs it.

To the O/P......

If you have the proper value fuses in the fuse box, you won't melt a wire.

The wires are protected by the fuse, IF SOME GOODBALL DIDNT PUT A HIGHER RATED FUSE IN IT'S PLACE.


I'm gonna remove the cigarette lighter and see what happens. only reason I was suspecting a burnt or melted wire is because this car was missing its firewall grommets for a unknown amount of time before I made new ones and I had to replace my "glovebox" because it had pulled the screws straight through it from the exhaust manifold heat
cartercarbaficionado MAY 13, 11:38 PM

quote
Originally posted by olejoedad:


I've seen some of the USB chargers that have a ground lug that will short the cigar lighter if it's inserted too far, or if it's not oriented properly in the socket. ( Take a look at the cigar lighter and the USB charger and you will see what I mean.
It wouldn't hurt to replace the cigar lighter if it needs it.

To the O/P......

If you have the proper value fuses in the fuse box, you won't melt a wire.

The wires are protected by the fuse, IF SOME GOODBALL DIDNT PUT A HIGHER RATED FUSE IN IT'S PLACE.


gonna embed a few videos of the issues I'm facing once I figure out how to do that here. safe to say my cigarette lighter is not the issue though, I also have a fuse In the acc slot right beside the radio fuse (the big slot that's next to the ign check points) that I did not put there, also assuming it's not supposed to be there
cartercarbaficionado MAY 14, 02:54 AM

quote
Originally posted by olejoedad:


I've seen some of the USB chargers that have a ground lug that will short the cigar lighter if it's inserted too far, or if it's not oriented properly in the socket. ( Take a look at the cigar lighter and the USB charger and you will see what I mean.
It wouldn't hurt to replace the cigar lighter if it needs it.

To the O/P......

If you have the proper value fuses in the fuse box, you won't melt a wire.

The wires are protected by the fuse, IF SOME GOODBALL DIDNT PUT A HIGHER RATED FUSE IN IT'S PLACE.


ok I finally found the real issue. there were legit 14 splices over 3 inches of wire for no reason and it had melted through a few of the butt connectors and that was causing enough resistance to pop my fuse just enough that it was only continuous when it had no power going through it.
I've never had a fuse look fine and kinda work but then not actually work
what was throwing me off was that everything kinda worked until I undid the battery and left it unhooked for a few days and then only the radio showed life, and yes it was the USB charger that caused it all to fail because it was plugged into a known good car and it blew every fuse in the poor grand prix
ArthurPeale MAY 15, 02:07 PM

quote
Originally posted by cartercarbaficionado:

ok I finally found the real issue. there were legit 14 splices over 3 inches of wire for no reason and it had melted through a few of the butt connectors and that was causing enough resistance to pop my fuse just enough that it was only continuous when it had no power going through it.
I've never had a fuse look fine and kinda work but then not actually work
what was throwing me off was that everything kinda worked until I undid the battery and left it unhooked for a few days and then only the radio showed life, and yes it was the USB charger that caused it all to fail because it was plugged into a known good car and it blew every fuse in the poor grand prix



I wonder why they spliced it so many times.

Obvious fix is to just replace the wire entirely, and while you're at it, make sure the socket is wired correctly.

Back in the day, it didn't matter if the ground was inside or outside the socket, since its purpose was just to get really hot.

Now that we rely on these for DC current, it's worth the 60 seconds to verify.
cartercarbaficionado MAY 15, 04:47 PM

quote
Originally posted by ArthurPeale:


I wonder why they spliced it so many times.

Obvious fix is to just replace the wire entirely, and while you're at it, make sure the socket is wired correctly.

Back in the day, it didn't matter if the ground was inside or outside the socket, since its purpose was just to get really hot.

Now that we rely on these for DC current, it's worth the 60 seconds to verify.


honestly I'm not sure what the point was either. I did verify black is where it's supposed to be