electrical help needed (possible alarm issue)

[Shorty]

try to make this short. been cleaning up the wiring under the dash and in stereo den so during this process i direct wired a 4way 12 volt adapter in. wiring is done as follows:
factory harness to aftermarket harness adapter
**aftermarket harness adapter feeds power for both radio (which isnt installed cause it dont work) and alarm system. 12 volt 4way is wired into factory harness side.

now everythimg was done and functioning properly thus i started wiring in a toggle to have the option of killing the 4way. during this the cat jumped in the car and caused one of the still bare wires to ground. changed out a couple of blown fuses but still have a major issue. the parking lights wont go off. i even removed the headlight switch, they still stayed on. the dome light doesnt work and the door chime doesnt either. from there i removed the brain for the alarm, checked voltage (still 12v at harness), started using a jumper wire to connect various points. in doing so the siren kicked on, touched another the dome and chime kicked on, another kicked relays for doors and so on. here is the question which the local shop that installed (idiots) couldnt answer satisfactory.

is it possible that since the lights are integrated with the alarm system that it may be causing a circuit to stay closed and keep the lights on. keeping in mind that the dome light nor chime are coming on with door open.

i know this is long but i dont know how to make it short and still include the info i felt needed. thanks for any help and i am open to all suggestions cause this one is strange.

[86GTPONY]

Kill the cat? :shrug:

[QWKSNKE]

Chris,
Have you tried unhooking the alarm to see if that is the problem? i would be willing to bet the alarm box got cooked during the kitty's romp through the car

[Wall96cobra]

I thought he said he removed the alarm brain but if not Lee is right definitely start there. If the parking lights don't go off with the alarm disconnected then there maybe a relay in-line with the parking light wire that is shorted or has a wire shorted keeping it energized. Some alarms require an external relay to flash lights due to current draw. As far as the other lights go there is more than likely another fuse blown somewhere that you missed or something still shorted that is causing a fuse you replaced to keep blowing.

[grabbinandstabbin]

i would start with the wire that the ground touched. it could have melted in the harness and feeding back through the light switch. also check that ground it could have lost connection at the connector or fried the wire into. really more sounds like a ground problem to me. if something looses it ground, then the ground becomes a hot and will bleed over to something else. good luck with it. probably gonnna be hard to find but at least you have a place to start. hope this helps you.

[Shorty]

I thought he said he removed the alarm brain but if not Lee is right definitely start there. If the parking lights don't go off with the alarm disconnected then there maybe a relay in-line with the parking light wire that is shorted or has a wire shorted keeping it energized. Some alarms require an external relay to flash lights due to current draw. As far as the other lights go there is more than likely another fuse blown somewhere that you missed or something still shorted that is causing a fuse you replaced to keep blowing.

alarm is disconnected. not only is the brain out of the car but the factory harness is disconnected from the harness adapter (where the alarm was spliced in) so there is no current to anything alarm related.

fuses. upon initial checking there were two blown fuses which were replaced and have not blown again since. that still leaves the relay/circuit breakers located in the fuse panel which i am currently trying to find enough detail on to see if they even affect lighting. as stated originally if i jumper power to the alarm harness i can get the dome light and chime to come which otherwise will not now. i am not sure if by jumping i am putting power to opposite side of a blown breaker or what. i have not yet located and external relay for the lights but that doesnt mean the guy didnt tuck it away somewhere. i usually do this kind of stuff myself but wasnt able to when this alarm and stereo went in and this guy did a terrible job.

[Shorty]

i would start with the wire that the ground touched. it could have melted in the harness and feeding back through the light switch. also check that ground it could have lost connection at the connector or fried the wire into. really more sounds like a ground problem to me. if something looses it ground, then the ground becomes a hot and will bleed over to something else. good luck with it. probably gonnna be hard to find but at least you have a place to start. hope this helps you.

hard to be exactly sure which one was the culprit cause where it occured is where the wiring for the alarm and sterro joined into the harness adapter. here is the thing that confuses me, after this the alarm was non-functional but the park lights were on and there was power at alarm harness. this would lead to believe alarm is fried but removing the system did not change constant park light illumination or absence of dome light and chime. this continues to add to the confustion cause i have tested voltage at each harness/connection point using both the ground and positive side at that point. my thinking was that if i had lost ground somewhere then i would have not have had the negative to got a reading on the volt meter.

[QWKSNKE]

It may have fried the headlight switch too

[lehua768]

If the parking lights don't go off with the alarm disconnected then there maybe a relay in-line with the parking light wire that is shorted or has a wire shorted keeping it energized. Some alarms require an external relay to flash lights due to current draw. As far as the other lights go there is more than likely another fuse blown somewhere that you missed or something still shorted that is causing a fuse you replaced to keep blowing.

[Shorty]

It may have fried the headlight switch too

i have taken the headlight switch completely out of the car and disconnected the harness from it in order to check voltage at that point. even without the switch they stayed on. i hate electrical cause it could be a thousand things. i have found additional relays for the door locks but nothing for the lights yet and i have looked everywhere as far as i know. arent there some fuses at the starter?

it almost has to be a wire somewhere that has gotten energized cause i feel i have been thru the fuses pretty good. again with electrical its just so easy to overlook.

[Shorty]

UPDATE: dome light and chime issue fixed.

please dont bother asking how cause it is far too embarrassing to post.

park lights still a legitimate issue tho. i think :shrug:


UPDATE 2: trying to explore all options i went back in and started checking voltage at the harnesses in the stereo/alarm area. everything seemed fairly normal with the exception that the main acc hot shows hot with the switch on but with the switch off it shows to have a negative. test light shows both. this doesnt seem normal cause all other points positive wires arent doing this. maybe this means nothing. opinions are appreciated.

[Wall96cobra]

Hey Chris if you don't have it fixed in the next day or 2 I may try to get up there and help troubleshoot. I have some multimeters that will be better than a test light. Also I'm much better at actually running down wiring problems when I'm there rather than trying to tell you what to look for over the computer.

[Shorty]

Hey Chris if you don't have it fixed in the next day or 2 I may try to get up there and help troubleshoot. I have some multimeters that will be better than a test light. Also I'm much better at actually running down wiring problems when I'm there rather than trying to tell you what to look for over the computer.

i appreciate that more than i have words for. i got a multi meter but no such luck finding anything with it yet either. i am sure its gonna be something so obvious when it is found, like the dome light/chime.

issue with it was that 8 was the fuse that controlled them and 7 was a spare (both 15 amp) well apparently i pulled the fuse out of 8, checked it and placed it back in 7. therefore everytime i went back thru the fuses everything looked good being as i wasnt looking for the completely obvious.

[grabbinandstabbin]

take the cover off the steering column and unplug the dimmer switch. if the park lamps go off get you a wiring diagram and aee what is supposed to have fire and what is not. if the lights stay on, then the problem is between the dimmer switch and the park lamps.

[waypastcrazy]

Just throwing something out there but here goes. It could be the hazard light circuit is on making you think it is parking lights.idk maybe unplug them. Lol I keep thinking.

[Shorty]

ok. what i have learned. i found that there is voltage on a black/light blue wire at the dimmer which as best i can tell should be ground. i am basing my info on the schematic which is attached here. this wire also leads back to ignition switch at which point it is negative. here is the odd thing, when i turned the ignition "on" you could tell that something wasnt right with the chime and such. checking further i have found that particular wire becomes energized at the switch also once the ignition is turned "on". havent pinpointed it down yet but i am thinking that there is a bad ground (at something not constantly active, ie not a dome light) causing that wire to be energized in the direction of the lights. then with ignition "on" and that component active it is allowing that negative charge to continue traveling to the ignition switch. does any of this make sense.

thanks

[grabbinandstabbin]

the ground for the front lights is ,ounted on each side at the top of the core support. it should have a green screw with a 7mm head. don't remember any of the wires on the dimmer switch being a ground, but i could be wrong.

[Shorty]

the ground for the front lights is ,ounted on each side at the top of the core support. it should have a green screw with a 7mm head. don't remember any of the wires on the dimmer switch being a ground, but i could be wrong.

issue was at the dimmer switch,,,,,,,,,,,,,kinda. the grounding caused a harness to burn dividers and energize a ground source which was keeping the lights hot. which also tied into the ignition buzzer, so when the ignition was switched on it was allowing positive voltage to back track up a ground to the switch causing more issues. finally chased it down, made some repairs to that portion of the harness and all is good now. well except i still need a clutch, throw out bearing, etc.

finding the wrong currents at the dimmer was what narrowed it down along with the ignition switch thing. i hate wiring.

thanks to everyone.

wiring=:meth: