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Old 09-05-2010, 01:30 AM   #1
wrxbungs
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Black Blue Mica

Lightbulb Something I found in my used WRX

Ok so I picked up a 2002 wrx at the end of July.
Its been great so far, until two weeks ago my stereo and clock lost power.
I replaced the fuse and it was good another couple days.
Then that fuse went too.
I pulled apart my console and found a bundle of unorganized wires and some aftermarket speaker wires. But nothing frayed, nothing bare. I did however find under my dash a loose ground wire. I grounded it and put in a new fuse. Next day no trouble, stereo works.....for about 20min. Was braking going down a hill and it cut out again
Tonight I started jiggling the ground wire i had just re-grounded and could hear a ping noise...odd...
So I start messing with it again tonight and I hear a ping. I turn off my car...****ing hell my gauges are still on and car is still running WTF!
I go investigating further, following this ground wire to whatever its connected to


Lo and behold....

Someone was nice enough to leave behind their HKS Turbo-Timer for me lol
Alas I think the poor wiring seen in the picture is the cause of my short. Anyone know which of these wires does what???


There is one thick, soft rubber wire that seems to go up and around and loop-di-loop from somewhere around the steering column the disappears past the back of the center console.

Anyone know where my short is likely occuring? Any help would be appreciated

On the plus side I did just score a working turbo timer hahaha
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Old 09-05-2010, 01:31 AM   #2
wrxbungs
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There is one wire visible, the white with stripe coming from behind the console and looping around and meeting up with the bundle going to the turbo timer. Anyone know where its coming from/what its for?
This is suuuuuch a mess of wires under the dash, its the same behind the stereo
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Old 09-05-2010, 01:37 AM   #3
meccjoo
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does that white wire go to a ground? that looks exactly like my turbo timer (hks) ground wire.
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Old 09-05-2010, 01:40 AM   #4
jrank3792
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I wish I found treasures in my car. The only thing I have found is some wiring and metal brackets that held neon lights at one point I believe.
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Old 09-05-2010, 01:40 AM   #5
wrxbungs
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The ground for it, I THINK, is that small black wire crossing past it. It was loosely attached to a screw as the ground...
When I fiddled with the black wire thats when the timer would come on/off
I have nooooooooo idea where the white one goes once it disappears behind the console
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Old 09-05-2010, 02:06 PM   #6
wrxbungs
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bump
need some help figuring out where this is shorting my stereo
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Old 09-05-2010, 05:52 PM   #7
markgsa
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I hate shotty electrical work. Got a multimeter? All I can suggest is a continuity check. Could have a short in one of those wires. Good Luck.
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Old 09-05-2010, 06:51 PM   #8
wrxbungs
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yea i dont have a meter though
I figure there is a short somewhere
I finally got my stereo/clock working again but now TT wont come on....
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Old 09-06-2010, 03:47 AM   #9
wrxbungs
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Got TT to work, stereo was working

then on a hard braking the stereo/clock tripped again...back to square one
Any ideas whats causing this, as it clearly isnt the TT like I thought initially
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Old 09-06-2010, 06:49 AM   #10
Cougar4
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If a fuse isn't being blown out the trouble you are having isn't due to a short. There is either a bad connection to power to those areas mentioned or there is a bad ground to them. You may want to try cleaning the chassis grounds under the hood to start with. If that doesn't work then check the power to those areas with a test light and see if you can make it fail while monitoring the light. If the light goes out then you need to check the power lead to those things for a bad connection.
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Old 09-06-2010, 05:04 PM   #11
requience139
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I believe that wire is for the parking brake. I have a newer HKS turbo timer and i believe thats what it is connected to. I can look in a couple of hours and then i'll reply. You are lucky to find treasures from the last owner. what i found from the last owner on my subi: front and rear diff's were shot, 1st/2nd gears were shot, clutch problems. and then one day i looked for the car jack and found chick sandals jammed in there, which explains the first 5 problems i had before.
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Old 09-07-2010, 04:20 AM   #12
wrxbungs
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yes the white wire is for the hand brake
so TT is working great, as it should. just needs a proper mount
the stereo on the other hand is a problem

Fuse keeps blowing. The lights on the stereo/hvac continue to work but the stereo lcd, clock lcd, and stereo functions have stopped. Don't know where or why....
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Old 09-07-2010, 04:33 AM   #13
djinn
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Is the radio aftermarket or stock?
Either way take out the radio to see if previous owner had an aftermarket radio put in. Could be possible that the radio was wired up with just electrical tape. Since the turbo timer looks like a crap job maybe the radio wiring is too.
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Old 09-07-2010, 10:22 AM   #14
Cougar4
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One area of trouble others have had is the light for the glove box so check that out.

Last edited by Cougar4; 09-08-2010 at 11:09 AM.
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Old 09-08-2010, 03:05 AM   #15
wrxbungs
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Thanks I'll check the glove box.

The previous owner had an aftermarket stereo. The stock is in there now, but when I pulled it out there was aftermarket speaker wires, and yes also wired very unorganized. Couldn't see any worn/stripped wires though.
I'll have to have another look at it
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Old 09-10-2010, 12:37 PM   #16
Kiel
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I was pretty excited when I found out the previous owner of my car left the UTEC installed, even though the dealer said there were no mods.

He also left part of a Viper alarm installed, but all that I can find is a control box, shock sensor, and a little red light that always comes on when I turn off my car. *shrug*
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Old 09-11-2010, 08:20 PM   #17
hoffmanEstates
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my previous owner left me fries, dog hair, a toy and a roll of 20's under the back set
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Old 09-12-2010, 12:48 AM   #18
iconone
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I found a pair of crossovers in my front doors and a pair or led's under the dash. One wire turned the lights back on.
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Old 09-12-2010, 03:30 AM   #19
wrxbungs
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So here is the next installment of things found in my car...unfortunately this time it was just more bad wiring.



All the wires shown here were uncapped when the previous owner took out his subwoofer. Including the black ground wire and the red power wire... I'm hoping this is the source of my frustrations. Any ideas?

Where I'm at now; found shoddy wiring and turbo timer under the dash, all wires seem unharmed though. Behind the deck is another tangle of wires, though they also seem unharmed. There is a connection there for the subwoofer wiring, which leads to uncapped wires in the trunk, now capped.
At last check before finding the trunk mess the stereo kept blowing a fuse. It is the stock 6cd changer but there was clearly an aftermarket deck in the console previous to my owning the car.
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Old 09-12-2010, 03:33 AM   #20
iconone
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Looks like you got a free amp hook up kit. Throw a amp in there.
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Old 09-12-2010, 03:35 AM   #21
wrxbungs
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Quote:
Originally Posted by iconone View Post
Looks like you got a free amp hook up kit. Throw a amp in there.
haha true
but i'd like to solve the shorting out problem first
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