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30a Ignition Fuse Keeps Blowing

STIKLA

Member
Joined
Apr 29, 2014
Messages
5
Location
Salem, OR
Car: 1992 Mitsubishi Galant VR4
Recently I took my car out in a field and did a couple donuts. Snapped the passenger axle but that was it. On the way home my headlights turned off then shortly after I lost all power and my car died. Check the fuse box in the engine bay and the ignition fuse was blown. Put another one in and it was fine, the second I turn the ignition on the fuse blew again. I pulled the kick panel off looked under the steering column and couldnt find any shorted wires. I started unplugging everything I could (Ignition pack, alternator, 02 sensor, camshaft position sensor, starter, mpi relay) and it still blows the fuses. The last thing I did was got my blinkers rewired but it was done professional and fine for a couple weeks.

Any ideas what to do or what I can use to test the circuit. Or anybody have a ignition wiring diagram that I can use to track the wires. Need help ASAP.
 

gvr4ever

Well-known member
Joined
Aug 6, 2002
Messages
6,190
Location
central Indiana
Why did you get your blinkers rewired? The word professional can be loosely used. Double check the work done, I bet you will find a short. You can use a simple ohm meter. When checking just wire (no circuit boards) you should see zero resistance between a connection on a basic digital meter. I can't imagine a busted axle doing anything, but depending on how fast things were spinning, the grease in the axle boots can really make a mess.

For a quick test, find the fuse for the blinkers, take it out, and then see if you still blow that 30amp fuse.
 

STIKLA

Member
Joined
Apr 29, 2014
Messages
5
Location
Salem, OR
I didnt even get the chance to. I noticed the MPI fuse recently blew so I just put a new one in (still no ignition fuse put in) and my dash light, a/f ration light, everything turned on. They key wasnt even in the ignition. I put the key in the ignition on the off position everything is still on, turned the key to the on position and everything turned off. Never has it done this. I bought a 30a circuit breaker for the ignition fuse and it just burned it. I dont even know where to begin now.
 

gvr4ever

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Joined
Aug 6, 2002
Messages
6,190
Location
central Indiana
I can't imagine the awful things the axle would need to do to reach the main wiring harness, but if you busted the passenger side, that is below the main fuse box. Look for the wrapped wires in black plastic below your fuse box and see if they are damaged. If not, I'd question what was done to your blinkers.
 

STIKLA

Member
Joined
Apr 29, 2014
Messages
5
Location
Salem, OR
I can't even get under my car since I cant move it. I can't afford to take it to another shop either so I have no idea what to do. All they did was run a new wire from the fuse box to the hazards. I checked that wire and everything is fine.
 

mitsuturbo

Well-known member
Joined
Jun 2, 2008
Messages
3,544
Location
Near Seattle, Washington
Check and make sure you're harness hasn't chafed somewhere and is grounding out where it shouldn't. I had a car do this right behind/under the intake manifold once... And it was an intermittent issue. Talk about a pita to diagnose.
 

STIKLA

Member
Joined
Apr 29, 2014
Messages
5
Location
Salem, OR
How do I tell if I fixed it. I can't keep putting a fuse in and having it blow. What do I set the multimeter too, so I can plug it in to where the ignition fuse is and tell if it's fixed. If so what should it be at
 

gvr4ever

Well-known member
Joined
Aug 6, 2002
Messages
6,190
Location
central Indiana
click

You might want to try and watch a youtube video for using a ohm meter to check for shorts. You don't attempt to run power. You simply check the connectivity of the wires. If the wires are not shorted, they will not have resistance.

You still didn't answer why you had the blinkers rewired. Did you previously have an electrical problem?
 

AnotherNewb

Well-known member
Joined
Apr 25, 2010
Messages
1,472
Location
Orlando, FL
Quoting STIKLA:
How do I tell if I fixed it. I can't keep putting a fuse in and having it blow. What do I set the multimeter too, so I can plug it in to where the ignition fuse is and tell if it's fixed. If so what should it be at



Go pick up a 20a automotive breaker and wire that to your fuse buss in place of the 30a fuse. It will keep 'popping' and resetting itself until you can find the short.
 
Last edited:

gvr4ever

Well-known member
Joined
Aug 6, 2002
Messages
6,190
Location
central Indiana
Quoting STIKLA:
They got shorted out and the diodes got melted for the turn signal assembly.



A fuse should have prevented that from happening. I wonder if someone in the past used a fuse that was rated too high, or if someone just bypassed it with something that wouldn't break. If the turn signals got shorted out, then you might have a bigger electrical problem. The GVR4 doesn't typically have electrical problems, so sorting them out could be difficult. Hopefully not.

If you found the body and electrical pdf on that link I sent, hopefully it will help you out in narrowing the problem down. Also double check anything else that is aftermarket wired in the car. Many many moons ago, I chose a poor ground for a stereo deck and I kept blowing the tail lights out. It didn't take too long to figure out and pick a better ground away from anything else electrical, but just double check anything that you didn't wire yourself. About 4 years ago I shorted out the power wire going to my greddy b boost controller. The wire found its way under the clutch pedal and caused some smoke and ugly smells. It was one of the things I didn't wire myself. Lucky for me, I didn't damage anything other then the wire, but I re-did it and added a 3amp fuse in case the wire ever gets loose on me again.
 

swe_gvr4_1991

Well-known member
Joined
Jul 27, 2006
Messages
177
Location
Sweden, Alingsås
Alternator wires come off and touched ground? Driving in a field is pretty rough on the motor mounts and engine swings back to front, and vice versa.
Check all connections on the alt.
 

manikbastrd

Well-known member
Joined
Nov 19, 2009
Messages
660
Not to mention rocks and dirt clods getting thrown all over the place... I bet you threw something into your engine bay, or your engine rubbed a connection really bad and killed some insulation... Best way to do it is to half split.
GL with it!
 

theevozero

Well-known member
Joined
Oct 12, 2011
Messages
331
Location
Odessa, Texas
Ohm the mpi circuit to ground to see if its shorted. Start removing things till the short goes away. A simple dvom and a series of tests will tell you whats happening instead of blind guessing. Its like going golfing with no clubs or hunting with no weapon. You might get lucky, but it'll take forever and possibly cost you a lot of money.
 

gvr4ever

Well-known member
Joined
Aug 6, 2002
Messages
6,190
Location
central Indiana
Quoting swe_gvr4_1991:
Alternator wires come off and touched ground? Driving in a field is pretty rough on the motor mounts and engine swings back to front, and vice versa.
Check all connections on the alt.



Very good point. I always though the alternator was too low on these cars. I wondered how it could have ever survived when the GVR4 was an actual rally car. Did they relocate it? Or just rely on ground plates to protect everything?

Check both the red(hot) and ground wires for damage.
 
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