RedAnotherDimension

My lil bro smashed my car, no harm to him or any other car. Got the car back and there is a horrible clicking noise when I turn the wheel as if something is jammed in the steering column. As the car is idling and sitting in my driveway, my radio turns off. The antenna won't go down, the dome light doesn't work, and everytime I cut the ignition, the odometer on the trip meter goes to zero. I have an R1 and found that there is not radio relay, the audio fuses are fine. I open the steering column open and find that there is a electrical connection loose that has been snapped off and the wires are exposed. They are green and are on the right top end of the steering column which is held down by a zip tie. I checked and my windshield wipers work and both my headlights and turn signals. Now I think this is what shorted out the system, but I do not know where this sensor leads to, Air bag maybe? Here are the questions I have. Where does this lead to, can tape it up and leave it alone, and which fuse did I blow to get the radio, dome light and trip meter working? Thanks for your time.

DaleClark

iTrader: (55)

That, my friend, is a scary electrical problem. Something from the wreck damaged some wiring in the car. You're gonna have a hard time finding where the damage is and getting it repaired.

Dale

broken93

Well, the only suggestion I have for you is to unplug that airbag first, before touching anything.

IIRC all the meter fuses are in the driver side floorboard fusebox. Keep in mind that fuses blow for a reason - find and repair your wiring problems before you replace the fuses. You're liable to have more damage or worse (a fire) if you don't.

2-Rotor

First off before anyone could possibly help you out let me ask you this, did the bodyshop do any repairs to the car dealing with the wiring?

Did the air bag go off when it was in an accident?

Do the dash board lights work on all of the instruments in the cluster even the idiot lights?

Does the horn work?

Answers to your questions: The only 2 possible electrical circuits in your steering wheel that can possibly cause a short are the horn circuit, and the airbag circuit. You said that you have an R1 so i assume that you dont have cruise control so you can cancel that circuit out.

The second circuit in the steering wheel that i mentioned is the air bag circuit. There is a sensor below the airbag which is sometimes called a "clockspring" and is used for deploying the airbag. You may have a short in that circuit.

At this point with out looking at the car i have no clue. My best advise to you is get the factory wiring diagrams and trace your wiring harnesses that go from your fuse box (inside the car) all the way up through out the steering column. From how you are explaining it to me it sounds like you have a pinched wire(s) some where that are grounding out against something.

Take your time and try to isolate the problem. Hope i helped you out.

RedAnotherDimension

Dash lights work and so does the horn. The body shop did not do any wiring in the car, and the air bag did not deploy

DaleClark

iTrader: (55)

It's gonna take some serious electrical know-how most likely to find the problems. In an accident, it's real easy for wires to get cut and broken, wires to chafe through and short to ground, all kinds of problems.

If insurance paid for the car to be repaired, the body shop should have repaired the electrical system as well. From your questions, I'm gathering that you're not an expert with automotive electronics. Someone who knows this stuff really needs to look at the car - it could be something really simple, but it's very likely it's something devilishly complicated and hard to find.

Dale

RedAnotherDimension

After further investigation, I found the problem. The wires that were exposed lead to the light in the steering column that glows in front of the key slot. I cripted it so it wouldn't short anymore. Then I went to the fuse box and looked for anything that would describe the circuit for all the problems. 10amp "ROOM" fuse was blown. I changed it and everything works perfect. Well at least for now

broken93

Man you got lucky. Glad it worked out in the end.