Outer Limits 4x4 Board

hi all i have a mistrious problem

i wired up a new rear view mirror with a combo interiour light with some door switches on sunday all worked fine

and also tested my cd player that was already wired but i hade done some speaker wiring

the cd player worked fine

today i fitted my roof console which now has my cd player and interiour light in it
it didnt work and now the light doesnt work as well

i checked the fuse the ascessory fuse had blown so i replaced it still no radio or light

i then checked all the connections they were still the same as when they originaly worked then plugged it all in again and tried it all again still nothing but the tail light fuse had blown (i tried plugging the interiour light into the power for secondary light switch it still didnt work before or after relacing the fuse)

im thinking there is some thing wrong with the light, the globe is fine and its all wired up correctly well to what i think it is

it apears im getting no power to the light

any one got any suggestions

il try again tomorrow i disconnected it all incase there is a short in the light or cd player

ill see if i can dig out the multi meter old man cant find it

cheers
elliot

Elliot

Sounds like an earth problem to me

Interior lights often rely on the screws that fix the light assembly to the roof for an earth.

If you've now screwed the light to an overhead console you may have lost your earth and if you have earthed your car audio to the earth of the light then it won't work either.

Can I suggest that you just work on the light making sure that you have power and earth return and then add the radio in to the mix after you have the light working

Ado

there are 2 earths going to the light one a bolt throught the body and the other being the switches for the doors they are running earth as i couldnt stop them from earthing out so i know they have earth and plenty of it

one of the reasons i think it may not be getting positive current is if i simply grap the positive wire and run it across the earth there isnt any arcing or sparks which there was before when i was wiring it up

when i tested them they were just sitting on the car seat then i permantly connected them to the wooden roof console
cheers
elliot

most interior lights are neg switched, ie you have positive permanately connected to the light and multiple earths running away to various door switches, when a door opens the circuit is completed. now this cable is not an earth for earthing other equipment to as it will be +12v when the light is off (door closed) but 0v when the light is on (door open).

run an independant earth for the cd player (screw that holds the roof console up) and a +12v supply from either the battery (fused) or hang it off the ciggie lighter.

ausoops wrote:run an independant earth for the cd player (screw that holds the roof console up) and a +12v supply from either the battery (fused) or hang it off the ciggie lighter.

it has its own earth

basically the cd player worked fine
the face kinda got a little jammed in a door but i opened it up and it looked of no broken parts and he cd player worked fine bofore that

i then did the speaker changes and it still worked fine

i then put the interiour light in replacing the old one using the same positive as the original and just running a new earth to this light as it wasnt connected to the body and it worked

now i permanantly fix it all in position not changing a single wire and replacing a burnt fuse and it doesnt work so thats why i dont get it

any ways ill see what tomorrow brings
cheers
elliot

well i dont know what the problem was but its fixed now

i plugged it all in the same as i had it yesterday
not a single thing changed and it now works

but the globe is dodgy but i tested it with a diffrent globe

and i spent a good half hour checking all visible connections to make sure nothing is loose
all is well

i will keep you all posted if it happens again

cheers
elliot