Need wiring help on my truck.

Ak_Man4Jesus · 10-16-2009, 11:31 PM

I got my truck running today. (You can read all about it here http://www.christianguitar.org/forums/t180946/)
And way the wire to the head light have been chewed off by a squirrel or somthing so every time I try to turn them on it kills the engine.
how should I fix this? I already looked for the short but can not find it. should I just hook them up to a toggle switch, or keep searching for the short??
and other ideas??

What5647 · 10-17-2009, 11:35 AM

New wiring harness?

gtrdave · 10-17-2009, 12:29 PM

Wait, do you know for a fact that the wire was chewed up or is this a guess?
A short should not be too hard to find if you have a volt meter, test light or even a continuity tester. Once you find the short, isolate it from whatever it's shorting against (electrical tape or heat shrink tubing) and see if the problems goes away.
I'm not one for rigging up additional switches UNLESS the problem area can be isolated, removed and has to be replaced with a secondary circuit. Anything less means that the problem still exists and with electrical that means that a potential fire hazard still exists.

Ethan.Bassist. · 10-17-2009, 02:54 PM

Did you check the light bulbs to make sure there isn't a short there? Just unplug your headlights with the truck running (but not moving ideally

) then try to turn them on. If your truck still dies, its not the bulbs. Just a thought. My Mitsu Eclipse had a short so the gauge lights and taillights wouldn't turn on (kept blowing fuses) and my dad and I looked ALL OVER for a short. Ended up taking it to a Auto Electric shop and dropping ~$300 to get it fixed.

I hope you can find it yourself!

Folk_guy · 10-18-2009, 06:28 PM

Try to trace the wires from the switch, to the headlamps and visually inspect all the wiring to start with, if it's a squirrel induced short it should be easy to see, if you can follow the wiring, from one end to the other (not always easy to do), but if a squirrel got at it it can't be buried too deep. If you can visually find the short you may be able to insulate the bare wire with heat shrink tape, or cut out the bad section and spice in new wires of the same guage. You definitely should try to find the short rather than just leaving it in there and wiring another switch and wires in.

Ak_Man4Jesus · 10-18-2009, 09:23 PM

I have traied all that.It is not the bulbs.
tryed a volt meter
And I only paid $200 for the truck so I am not taking it in to the shop.

Ethan.Bassist. · 10-18-2009, 11:40 PM

I don't know how much work you want to do, but I've heard a lot of shorts happen in the dash. So you could take apart your dash and see what's going on underneath. Might be able to find a short in there.
Good luck!

Ak_Man4Jesus · 10-18-2009, 11:47 PM

with this truck you never knwo what you might find.
I have had the dash apart and it is a mess in there. the russians who rebuilt it when it was totaled just hooked up wires left and right and did now realy hoom them up in any order. it took me two weeks to get them strait and then it was good for about 8 months then it quit running and then I got it running and it is doing this.
good grief.

Ak_Man4Jesus · 10-23-2009, 07:13 PM

Ok I got it figered out. spent all day yesterday working on it and found the short in the left head light.