[Landshark]

Originally posted by Zeppelin
Anybody know a good website to learn how to find shorts in car electrical testing? I have a short in my old beater that I want to track down.

I have the basic knowledge, but I'm looking for some tips.

Thanks!

here's a tip from another forum i used to frequent:

1) Take one of the blown fuses, and solder 3 feet (approx 1 meter) of lamp cord (two conductor electrical wire) to the small metal test contacts on the face of the fuse, where the number is, with one conductor to each of the wires.

2) Solder the two conductors to a small 12 vdc light bulb, so that when 12 vdc is applied to the blades of the fuse, the bulb lights up.

3) Plug the modified fuse into the circuit containing the short circuit. As long as there is a short circuit, the bulb will light up, but the small bulb limits the current flowing through the circuit enough to prevent any damage. This allows you to start disconnecting things - when the light goes out, you have found the portion of the circuit containing the short. The long wire allows you to put the bulb atop the dash or out the door, so you can see it from where you are working.

Keep the tester - you'll need it again!

One word of advice - If you have worked on your car and shortly thereafter something doesn't work, go back to the area where you were working. You probably knocked something loose, misconnected something, etc.