ELECTRICAL: gremlin getting stabbed?

[bigray327]

I have an electrical gremlin, and it sounds like he's being stabbed with a tiny knife. See video below. I believe all of the following symptoms are related, since they all started at the same time:

• Instrument cluster making a weird gremlin-getting-stabbed noise when the ignition is turned off.
• No power to the overhead panel, dome lights not working.
• Intrusion sensor/alarm light coming on when they car's off, didn't do that before.
• Engine intermittently overheating.

Troubleshooting done:

• Checked every fuse in the BEC and SJB, no joy.
• Changed every relevant relay.
• New fan assembly.

Video proof: (and no, it's NOT "cute")


Any ideas? TIA.

 

[UltraKla$$ic]

It's got to be a relay of some kind behind the cluster it would seem. Like something is SNAFU when going through it's "power down" check or something. wierd.

 

[bigray327]

As far as I know, there aren't any relays behind the instrument cluster.

 

[BruceH]

I might not be hearing everything but what I hear sounds like the door/valve thing that selects if air goes to heat, defrost, etc. I think it's called a blending door.

 

[bigray327]

I actually just replaced that damn thing, but trust me, that's not it. This sounds like something electrical getting uncharged. Thanks, though.

 

[one eyed willy]

Check your 2 dash grounds, take the bolts out, sand the surfaces down and reinstall the bolts.

One is near the hood release latch and the other under Heath the glove box on the support the glove box is bolted to.

 

[peckshelby]

sounds like a capacitor discharging or something pressure/pneumatic operated "powering down"

 

[bigray327]

Troubleshooting the dome lights, I unplugged the connector inside the passenger side A-pillar. The dome lights flickered! Figuring it might be a bad connector, I removed it and hardwired the wires together. No joy.

Still no blown fuses. The gremlin is still there, crying like a bitch. What a pain in the ass.

 

[Fullboogie]

Check your 2 dash grounds, take the bolts out, sand the surfaces down and reinstall the bolts.

One is near the hood release latch and the other under Heath the glove box on the support the glove box is bolted to.

Yes! I left off the ground behind the glove box a few weekends ago and had all kinds of problems. The Shaker would randomly come on with the car off and keys out of the ignition and I had random interior and dash lights going on and off.

It also could be that your car just hates you because you're such a tool.

 

[Airborne2000]

GROUNDS, GROUNDS, GROUNDS!!!! check every single ground you can find and pull on them lightly and see if they are loose, i found my gremlin that way. heres a thread on my problem:

http://www.s197forum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=81102

 

[TexasBlownV8]

Sounds like possible sjb issues.
Also, there's a power-off delay relay/circuit. But that's for things when the key is off and you still need power for a little while.

 

[minivanracer]

What is SJB

 

[bigray327]

GROUNDS, GROUNDS, GROUNDS!!!!

Thanks. I checked the grounds when you mentioned it previously, and they all seem fine.

Sounds like possible sjb issues.

That's what I'm afraid of. I really don't need that right now.

 

[bigray327]

The cooling fan cut out today (which is causing the overheating above), and I wiggled the BEC. The fan came back on, so yay, looks like that box needs investigation.

 

[bigray327]

FML. That explains the intermittent cooling.

 

[stkjock]

Main fuse box with burnt slots?

Hard to see on my phone

 

[bigray327]

Main fuse box with burnt slots?

Hard to see on my phone

Yeah. Click the thumbnail for a larger version.

 

[stkjock]

Yea, I did click, thanks. Good Luck on the fix

 

[bigray327]

Solution: the illuminated door sill on the driver's side was shorting to ground, causing the car to shut off power to that circuit. I didn't know the car was that smart.

 

[bcb06gt]

Glad you found that, but I have to ask "How did the door sill grounding out" got discovered?