Window fuse keeps blowing ???
Discussion
Had to jack the car up for gearbox switch when back on the ground went to start and put window down and both switches dead ! (This matters as the windows worked fine as came home with them down and roof off and when shut door and locked the windows went up via alarm ) came out 10mins later to jack up the car !
Pulled fuse and it had blown went to replace fuse and it blow instantly with a spark !
Had a mate come round with tester he confirmed it was not the the door motors or wiring from door motors and connectors and or the switches but had to be a short in the fuse box area ?
He was doing me a quick favour so no time to start removing fuse box etc
This may or may not be linked to my central locking golf ball knob as green light stays on and has done for over a week now with no fix even pulled the fuses and it still stays lit !!
Anybody ever had this ? Wondered if it was a case of fuse box out and investigate or could be a common issue resolved before ? And could be pointed in a right direction all was ok before I jacked the car up !
Pulled fuse and it had blown went to replace fuse and it blow instantly with a spark !
Had a mate come round with tester he confirmed it was not the the door motors or wiring from door motors and connectors and or the switches but had to be a short in the fuse box area ?
He was doing me a quick favour so no time to start removing fuse box etc
This may or may not be linked to my central locking golf ball knob as green light stays on and has done for over a week now with no fix even pulled the fuses and it still stays lit !!
Anybody ever had this ? Wondered if it was a case of fuse box out and investigate or could be a common issue resolved before ? And could be pointed in a right direction all was ok before I jacked the car up !
You don't say which fuse blew. You found a fuse blown and it blew again when replaced but nothing has proved this fuse is related to the windows.
All still points to some sort of short particularly with your 'ball' light staying on when both fuses related to that system have been pulled. When this fuse blew did the light go out?
Steve
All still points to some sort of short particularly with your 'ball' light staying on when both fuses related to that system have been pulled. When this fuse blew did the light go out?
Steve
I fell into the trap with this one
The fact that the vehicle was jacked up after the windows last known good operation and then they had failed could very easily be a coincidence
There's nothing to say that the windows fuse didn't blow before the car was jacked up
The alarm could have had a glitch after its last closure operation and this could be causing the fuse to blow
A good example being.....What if the alarms window closure circuit did not switch off after closing the windows?
There could be damage to another control unit or even the motors if the above did take place, although you do mention that the motors have been checked ok
I'm still guessing though and I don't like guessing
The fact that the vehicle was jacked up after the windows last known good operation and then they had failed could very easily be a coincidence
There's nothing to say that the windows fuse didn't blow before the car was jacked up
The alarm could have had a glitch after its last closure operation and this could be causing the fuse to blow
A good example being.....What if the alarms window closure circuit did not switch off after closing the windows?
There could be damage to another control unit or even the motors if the above did take place, although you do mention that the motors have been checked ok
I'm still guessing though and I don't like guessing
Penelope Stopit said:
....What if the alarms window closure circuit did not switch off after closing the windows?
There could be damage to another control unit or even the motors if the above did take place, although you do mention that the motors have been checked ok
I'm still guessing though and I don't like guessing
Do Chimeras have automatic window closing via the alarm module? My Griffith certainly does not.There could be damage to another control unit or even the motors if the above did take place, although you do mention that the motors have been checked ok
I'm still guessing though and I don't like guessing
Or is this another example of Relay man spouting rubbish!
Loubaruch said:
.......Or is this another example of Relay man spouting rubbish!
The OP said they failed to close when he set the alarm.Not normal on a Chim or Griff but always possible with an aftermarket alarm.
If it is aftermarket there is very little any of us can now suggest as we have no idea how it is wired or should that read 'how badly it is wired'.
Steve
No it’s not stored in garage etc it’s a used car at 119k and it’s had a lot of maintenance to keep it going
The alarm is factory fit Meta confirmed with all paperwork and the window fuse did “not” blow on alarm lock operation they worked as they should and closed the windows , the car was then jacked up to figure out the reverse light issue (which turned out to be touching wires which completed the circuit meaning my reverse light stayed on )
It’s then that the windows did not work at all on either switch and kept blowing fuses , the fuse would blow as soon as it touched the fuse slot and you could hear the short !
From the wiring I’ve seen (but clearly I’m not an expert !!) it all looks fine and original no chopping into it for mods or fixes ! The wiper motor looks like it could be the actual brushes in the motor and is original and 23 years old !
Everything works on the car and drives fine except the windows don’t work now (but did fine used them loads and they were always quite good not slow like some) and the green ball stays lit !
I’m very basic with electrics so hoping a friend who knows more than me is going to take fuse box out and investigate and try and trace back the fault !
Knew it would be hard to help on here but it’s always worth asking incase it’s something not thought about or an issue someone has experienced before and could help !
Hoping once this is sorted I can get on and enjoy driving it !
The alarm is factory fit Meta confirmed with all paperwork and the window fuse did “not” blow on alarm lock operation they worked as they should and closed the windows , the car was then jacked up to figure out the reverse light issue (which turned out to be touching wires which completed the circuit meaning my reverse light stayed on )
It’s then that the windows did not work at all on either switch and kept blowing fuses , the fuse would blow as soon as it touched the fuse slot and you could hear the short !
From the wiring I’ve seen (but clearly I’m not an expert !!) it all looks fine and original no chopping into it for mods or fixes ! The wiper motor looks like it could be the actual brushes in the motor and is original and 23 years old !
Everything works on the car and drives fine except the windows don’t work now (but did fine used them loads and they were always quite good not slow like some) and the green ball stays lit !
I’m very basic with electrics so hoping a friend who knows more than me is going to take fuse box out and investigate and try and trace back the fault !
Knew it would be hard to help on here but it’s always worth asking incase it’s something not thought about or an issue someone has experienced before and could help !
Hoping once this is sorted I can get on and enjoy driving it !
Looking at some drawings the window fuse supplies the switches directly and also the alarm microwave module which I'm assuming lives under the centre console. Both on red wires.
I'd remove the console top and look around here for any shorts.
This is just a guide as some cars may be different but could help a little.
I'd remove the console top and look around here for any shorts.
This is just a guide as some cars may be different but could help a little.
TVRSJW said:
the window fuse did “not” blow on alarm lock operation they worked as they should and closed the windows
Yes you have already posted that the alarm closure circuit did close the windowsThe above doesn't prove that the alarm closure circuit hasn't gone faulty and kept power switched to the windows circuit
I doubt anyone that has experience in electrical fault finding would head in the direction of the fusebox before checking elsewhere
TVRSJW said:
the fuse would blow as soon as it touched the fuse slot and you could hear the short !
You weren't to know this but, you shouldn't be shorting fuses out at the fusebox terminalsThat arcing that you are hearing when you place a fuse in the fusebox terminals could cause you no end of trouble, the arcing is burning away at the fusebox terminals, it is blackening them and weakening them
You should make jump leads to go into the fuse box terminals and do all your arcing by touching a fuse to the other end of those jump leads
Your friend will very likely know this
Ok so if the windows are direct feed from fuse box and may be going through a window closure box am I best to remove centre consul to investigate ?
Can’t say in electrical jargon why but I was told the short was not related to the window motors or wiring through doors etc (he just tested and said they were ok ) I heard he said the fuse was putting earth on his tester hence the short he pulled one window switch (gear knob) as could get to wiring and that was dead but didn’t have time to start stripping stuff
Just wondering if the centre consul is the best place to start ?
Can’t say in electrical jargon why but I was told the short was not related to the window motors or wiring through doors etc (he just tested and said they were ok ) I heard he said the fuse was putting earth on his tester hence the short he pulled one window switch (gear knob) as could get to wiring and that was dead but didn’t have time to start stripping stuff
Just wondering if the centre consul is the best place to start ?
TVRSJW said:
Ok so if the windows are direct feed from fuse box and may be going through a window closure box am I best to remove centre consul to investigate ?
Can’t say in electrical jargon why but I was told the short was not related to the window motors or wiring through doors etc (he just tested and said they were ok ) I heard he said the fuse was putting earth on his tester hence the short he pulled one window switch (gear knob) as could get to wiring and that was dead but didn’t have time to start stripping stuff
Just wondering if the centre consul is the best place to start ?
Start at the easiest place that allows you to disconnect windows switches, motors or the windows closure unit from the circuit (take note of connections)Can’t say in electrical jargon why but I was told the short was not related to the window motors or wiring through doors etc (he just tested and said they were ok ) I heard he said the fuse was putting earth on his tester hence the short he pulled one window switch (gear knob) as could get to wiring and that was dead but didn’t have time to start stripping stuff
Just wondering if the centre consul is the best place to start ?
Below is a trick of the trade that will be of much help
Find some terminals that are a good fit or that you can hack away at until they push into the fusebox in the same way as a fuse does
Now find a 21 watt bulb and bulb holder
Connect a length of 2 core cable approximately 1 meter long to the bulb holder and add terminals that fit the fusebox to the other ends of the 2 core cable
Connect the above test lamp that you have now made to the fusebox at the position where the windows fuse normally fits
You now have a 21 Watt bulb in the circuit instead of a blade fuse
The 21 Watt bulb will be illuminating brightly when the short is on the windows circuit and will go out or to very dimly lit when the short is removed
You can now play away in search of the short circuit without using any more fuses
Make sure the bulb is away from the carpet or any other material as it will get very hot, cable tie it to a piece of wood or something so that the wood works as a stand or lay it on something out of the car
Good luck in finding the fault
TVRSJW said:
Brill thanks !
Glad to be of helpThe one thing I must point out is that although I have mentioned a possible windows closure fault could be blowing the fuse, I may not be anywhere close to what has happened
If the windows switches are of the 5 terminal type, there could be a short on a switch or their wiring
Jacking the car may have damaged something but you would very likely see the problem
As I have said I have not seen a Chim/Griff with alarm activated windows but they may exist. Cerbs do and have a control module.
If this is the earlier car in your profile then I would not expect it to have a module. It would normally just be wiring from both doors via their connectors, Up behind the dash to another connector, down under the console to the last connector before the plugs on the back of the switches.
The switches are normally quite loose in the console so you could start by easing them out and unplugging them before testing again (using Pennys test lamp) to eliminate the switches as your short circuit.
There is not much room under the console so if your system has a module then it will most likely be under the dash top or behind the radio.
Steve
If this is the earlier car in your profile then I would not expect it to have a module. It would normally just be wiring from both doors via their connectors, Up behind the dash to another connector, down under the console to the last connector before the plugs on the back of the switches.
The switches are normally quite loose in the console so you could start by easing them out and unplugging them before testing again (using Pennys test lamp) to eliminate the switches as your short circuit.
There is not much room under the console so if your system has a module then it will most likely be under the dash top or behind the radio.
Steve
Update !
Firstly thank you for all your advice it really does help to have the expertise on here to help to understand stuff like this , I know ultimately it’s always hard over a forum and could be many things when it’s electrical but pointing in the right direction helps so thank you !
Windows are fixed ! Now I really wish I knew the total fix but I took out the centre consul actually not as hard as I thought it would be , and removed the three dash bolts this was so when I helpful friend had time to look at it he didn’t have to do these things as he is not a TVR lover and thinks there very poorly made (SL55 driver !)
I had to leave it with him and upon return he said that someone had fitted a window lift module (which I had told him was not factory fitted info I gained on this forum thanks ) and that was creating the short or earth whatever , so he has taken this out the circuit and windows work again I just lose this feature which if I’m honest “I could’nt care less lol.....
He did say who ever fitted it made a right pigs ear of the connections !
I can use McDonalds drive through again now !
Firstly thank you for all your advice it really does help to have the expertise on here to help to understand stuff like this , I know ultimately it’s always hard over a forum and could be many things when it’s electrical but pointing in the right direction helps so thank you !
Windows are fixed ! Now I really wish I knew the total fix but I took out the centre consul actually not as hard as I thought it would be , and removed the three dash bolts this was so when I helpful friend had time to look at it he didn’t have to do these things as he is not a TVR lover and thinks there very poorly made (SL55 driver !)
I had to leave it with him and upon return he said that someone had fitted a window lift module (which I had told him was not factory fitted info I gained on this forum thanks ) and that was creating the short or earth whatever , so he has taken this out the circuit and windows work again I just lose this feature which if I’m honest “I could’nt care less lol.....
He did say who ever fitted it made a right pigs ear of the connections !
I can use McDonalds drive through again now !
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