Weird Electrical Problem...

[Joeypete]

I'm hoping someone here will have even an idea of what's going on with my Custom Cruiser as I know very little about the electronics of the car.

Since I bought it the radio has not worked. I haven't really looked into the problem much as I haven't been driving the car much either while I'm fixing it up. I also noticed what looked like the "Tailgate Door Ajar" was illuminated faintly.

I had to remove the climate control unit to replace it and during the process somehow the radio all of a sudden started to work. I also found out that the tailgate ajar light socket had popped out of the hole and the light bulb is faintly lit at all times when the car is running.

Ok here is where the weird stuff comes in. The radio, warning chime, lighter, and tailgate ajar light are somehow linked together. Here's what happens:

Car is running or in "on" position....radio is on, tailgate light is dimmly lit. If you push in the lighter (lighter does not work at all) the radio turns off (it has power as the "FM" light is still on but the display and sound go away) and the "Tailgate Door Ajar" light becomes fully illuminated. The chime also starts to ding. Pull the lighter out and it all works again but the radio seems to have reset itself as the channels change. STRANGE

Ok so if you go to the back of the car and open the tailgate everything turns off...the radio and also the tailgate open light. Seems to be reverse of what should happen I think....

Anyhow I don't know what is going on if there is a short somewhere or if there is something else it might be? I would just like to get it all working properly.

Any help would be greatly appreicated! Thank you very much.

[Joeypete]

I don't know what it is...maybe it just motivates me to work harder, but everytime I post a question on here, I figure it out! LOL I guess that's a good thing.

After looking in my CSM I found out that the lighter, tailgate light, and rear dome light are all on the same circuit. The fuse was blown so I replaced it and presto everything is fine! Not sure why the radio was acting weird...but that works fine now too

[kartmaster]

Boy don't ya wish every problem was that easy!?

[jensenracing77]

you may find out that the fuse blows again when you hit a bump. you may have a loose wire that is shorting out when you wiggle wires under the dash.

[Joeypete]

Yeah that's what I was thinking too....I mean fuses blow for a reason so we'll see what happens.

[delmontcrusier]

ha that reminds me of my car sort of.I got my olds about four years ago and I noticed problems with lights and what not in the dash gages were flickering as well as a few other problems.I was lucky that I opened up the dash when I did or who knows what could have happened.Some nerd put house wire say lamp wire and wire nuts in there.I was surprised and not happy I had to rewire a good portion of the dash.I got everything working great and fixed a few other things in the process.

[rocketraider]

Originally Posted by Joeypete

I don't know what it is...maybe it just motivates me to work harder, but everytime I post a question on here, I figure it out! LOL I guess that's a good thing.

After looking in my CSM I found out that the lighter, tailgate light, and rear dome light are all on the same circuit. The fuse was blown so I replaced it and presto everything is fine! Not sure why the radio was acting weird...but that works fine now too

See why I keep banging the drum for factory service literature? It will almost always show you what is causing your grief.

The radio acted weird because its memory is also wired into the dome/lighter circuit. With the fuse blown, no memory, no workee.

[Olds64]

If the fuse keeps blowing you could always put a screw in there.

[Joeypete]

Originally Posted by rocketraider

See why I keep banging the drum for factory service literature? It will almost always show you what is causing your grief.

The radio acted weird because its memory is also wired into the dome/lighter circuit. With the fuse blown, no memory, no workee.

I agree completely...the factory manuals have so much info in them. Honestly some of the electrical diagrams I don't understand but even after just reading through some of the troubleshooting steps, I generally figure out what's going on.

Thanks for the info on the radio...I had no idea they were linked like that. I'm so happy it works. The digital display is shot but at least I can listen to some tunes until I get a new one

Originally Posted by Olds64

If the fuse keeps blowing you could always put a screw in there.

haha...does that really work?

[Olds64]

haha...does that really work?

Yeah, if you are a redneck. All it does is complete the circuit from one side of the fuse box to the other. It is a quick way to start a fire though.

[Bluevista]

Originally Posted by Olds64

Yeah, if you are a redneck. All it does is complete the circuit from one side of the fuse box to the other. It is a quick way to start a fire though.

Screws. I can see how rednecks would use those.

Everybody know you use tin foil chewing gum wrappers wrapped around the old fuse, Juicy Fruit works best.

[kartmaster]

Anybody remember the Mythbusters one where they tested whether a .22 round in the fuse socket could have shot the driver? Ha ha!

[joe_padavano]

Originally Posted by Bluevista

Everybody know you use tin foil chewing gum wrappers wrapped around the old fuse, Juicy Fruit works best.

Yeah, but that only works on real cars with glass fuses. These new-fangled cars with the plastic spade fuses need screws...

[Lady72nRob71]

Like my grandpa used to say, "If a penny in the fuse box keeps blowing, upgrade to a nickel..."