The body guy is assembling my truck.(finally)He got the battery in and no power.Only the door dinger dings and some dim headlights. After seeing a blown dome light fuse (25amp) we replaced it and got a dim dome light and a low speed blower motor with the motor off! Somewhere along the way the power locks started to work. Then we noticed the smoke coming from the dome light fuse and quickly removed it.
There is a heavy (10 gauge or so) red wire coming out of the steering column that is cut.Any ideas??
Also there is a ground strap under the dash right about where your right knee would be if you were sitting in the drivers seat, does it matter where that is grounded to?The dash is out of a 91 gasser so I don`t know if that strap is there in a diesel.
Also, where are all the grounds on this truck?(engine to chassis, body to chassis) And should I upgrade or improve the grounds?( Heavier gauge wire or different locations?
I am very green when it comes to eletrical, especially troubleshooting!
Any and all advice GREATLY appreciated.

 

Somebody here has to have some advice!

 

check for wires that are worn tht could be grounding out, check your grounds. also check your fusable links under the hood, there on the drivers side on top od the fender.

theres a ground from the body to the bat by the bat. there sould be ground straps from the engein to the frame. thats about all i can say with out looking at it for myself lol

hope this helps lol
Jim

ps i will look at the wiring diagram on that red wire

 

Ok so i cant find that red wire my diagrams are out of a chilton manual so there basic but that wire should be easy to trace. try to trace it under the dash. If you have a multimeter you sould be able to check olms through the wire

 

Red wire is cut off right under the dash. There is a similar wire cutoff that's connected to one of the grid heater terminals on the fender well, but I can't guarntee that's where it goes

 

One way to check the grounds is this:

1)Turn the ignition ''on'' so that some lights/accessories are powered;
2)Measure voltage between the ''-'' post on the battery and successive points in the ground line: the battery post clamp, the wire in the clamp, the other end of the wire, the body sheet metal, the engine.

If lights are coming on dim, voltage is being lost somewhere in the circuit (as long as the battery's voltage is good, check that too!) and that voltage will show up between two points along the line.

Most bad connections happen on the ground side, but it may be worth checking the power ''+'' line too, especially in the engine compartment.

So you have several things working wrong?? That may be good news. Usually that points to a central problem that is easy to trace and solve.

 

Thanks tons Lazerguy.I can handle that but I definetly need to get a little handier with my meter!