electrical headaches

[honda-mini]

hi..

just replaced the battery on my freinds Griff 500 SE.

we now seem to have no dash warning lights, no boot solenoid, no fuel pump, no response from the gauges and no ignition???!!!

the car turns over and all other bits work (windows, radio, alarm, horn, lights, dashboard gauge illumination etc.) so i'm a bit confused as to the cause... is this a common fault and how can we get into the boot as there seems no way in (and all his literature is in there for the warranty!!)?

i've tried following the little handbook guide to the fuses but it lies but only partially

HELP PLEASE??!!??

sorry edited as didnt want whole world knowing about ways of getting in although I guess most crooks know. BB

>> Edited by Ballistic Banana on Friday 28th April 10:35

[Ballistic Banana]

Is there an Inline Fuse from the Battery?? that may have Blown?

BB

[steve-v8s]

My 98 car has one thick wire and a couple of thinner ones connected to the + terminal. Don’t know if this is standard or not but the V8 s was the same. Could you have missed one of them off ?

If you have no fuel pump that could be because the immobiliser is not letting it work.

[johno]

The SE's like other later cars do have 2 100amp fuses.

One is on the chassis by the starter, the other is in the footwell in line with the battery.

Would be worth checking both of these.

Additionally I would then make sure all the earths are in the right places and connected ..

[griffter]

Although I'd expect the immobiliser to cut the starter circuit - could it be the immobiliser in a tiz? Try repeated setting/unsetting of the alarm, or even disconnecting the battery for 30 mins, the reconnecting, setting and unsetting the alarm, and then try starting.

[Honda-mini]

if one of these 100 amp fuses went, would some of the car's electrical circuits still work, as they do in this scenario?

it all seems a bit strange to me..

also there is no red ignition light on the dash, so i'm presuming that's an indication of no power to that side of things?

need a wiring diagram really but i suppose all these things are hand built so anything could be anywhere, britsh build quality being what is is and all

[honda-mini]

ok... anything else to look out for on this one as i'm gonna go meter the car up tomorrow so while the bloody battery is out, it may pay to check whatever under there

also, is it normal for the ECU to be just wedged down the side of the battery box?
i was most surprised by that, then i remembered it is a british built car

[honda-mini]

ok.. quick update...

firstly we got in the boot not electrically tho

secondly, looking at the electrics, the state of play is as follows :-

- when 2nd position ign is on all fuses in the box are live
- there is a permanent live to the ignition which swithes across to the other wires on the 2nd position and obviously when cranking (which the engine does)
- when ign is in 2nd pos. we have

no ignition, oil or park brake lights
no fuel pump (but fuse is fine)
no heater motor
no boot release
no gauges ( well.. certainly no fuel gauge... dunno about the others) apart from the clock still works

everything else seems fine, alarm, doors, windows, lights, dash backlights, indicators, wipers, horn all work

i did take the wires from the switch for the boot to try and jump them to a perm. + but to no avail, but i did notice that if i jumped the green wire the dash warning lamps came on, so they are still part of a circuit.

ok... so would the non-working stuff be running off the auxilliary ignition relay?

i took it ot and tested across the two small terminals and it seems to work as new. it has two small terminals and two large ones. where does the power come from for the large ones? i checked the 100amp strip fuse inline with the battery (tis ok) but not the one near the alternator, as someone said this only controls the charging. but would it cover more? if so, i'll have to have a look on sunday.

thanks for your patience.. if anyone has a wiring diagram, life would be much easier

>> Edited by honda-mini on Friday 5th May 07:37

[jamiet]

honda-mini said:

also, is it normal for the ECU to be just wedged down the side of the battery box?

'They're all like that sir'