I currently have a “dead short” on my 73. I think it is underneath the console and possibly has to do with the cigarette lighter. Seems to be a lot of exposed metal near it and ground location on the heater control assembly. I also ran across a fuse but don’t know what it controls. I am attaching photos as well. Anyone know what it’s for?
Thanks!

 

That is the seatbelt and park brake override relay.
I can't see anything by the pics you've posted that would be causing a short. Orange hot wire for the cig lighter appears to have a good, insulated connector installed.

 

Thanks for the info. That this was connected but just lying loose under that console so I loosened op one of the screws that holds the shifter boot down and attached it to it. I’m going to work on it again tomorrow. Had to buy some fuses to get voltage back down there😁

 

Welcome to the Corvette Forum Kruzin4now!


Many years ago I bought a master kit from Power Probe with a "Power Probe 4" and many accessories. One of the parts included was a "short-circuit" finder that is supposed to help find the short physically and electrically. The Power probe is the very best tool for working on Corvette Electrical systems, even more important on my C4 with all the electronics. The Power Probe is in my primary tool bag as it is often used.

In the center console on many Corvettes they now sport USB adapters and other devices that did not come with the car. In each case they should have added a fuse to each new circuit. The fuse holder you showed in the picture looks more like a OEM part than many fuse holders.

Best regards,
Chris

 

@ctmccloskey is absolutely 💯 correct about the Power Probe. Autel makes the PowerScan PS100 at a fraction of the price with all the functionality of the Power Probe 4.

 

I don’t see a picture of the. Light bulb assembly that mounts to one side of the cylinder that hold the cigarette lighter. This is only powered when the instrument lights are on. Go ahead and remove the console insert (4 screws) after removing the shifter. I don’t know if your car is an automatic or manual. It would be helpful to list more details about your car, ie. year, tranny, engine, and accessories.

 

I have had some success with the method in the Electrical Troubleshooting manual. Replace the fuse for that circuit with a test light. The light should glow if there is a short. Start disconnecting things until the light goes out. That should narrow things down

 

It shows in the first picture. Light blue wire.

 

Ok. More backstory. I’ve had the car for about a year and a half. Bought a new battery in Jan. 23. When I got the car, the air vent in the kick panel on passenger side did not close. I bought new cable and vent door. I had to remove front half of the console, along with the gage cluster and radio as well as the glove “box? panel?” to access and replace the vent and cable. I noticed that the cigarette lighter was not working when I was reassembling the console. Found a blown fuse and replaced it. Needed the cig lighter for phone charging cord so I thought it was fine. I finished the reassembly and a week or so after we went to a local car show and lighter did not work. After the summer I noticed that the battery was not staying charged. If I drove it and it sat for about 30 minutes had trouble starting. Slow in starting.
Now I have to charge battery if it sits for a day or more.

Working on it currently and trying to get the lighter to work and noticed that the retro look aftermarket radio was not working. It is wired straight to battery along with an inline fuse. That fuse was blown. Replaced the fuse…all good with radio. New fuse in for lighter as well. Screws in the shifter/heater control plate to attach it, pressed in the lighter to test it and notice a flash under the bottom of the lighter assembly. Checked courtesy light/cig lighter fuse. Not blown and I noticed that courtesy lights were on. Lighter no longer works. Can the element be shorted out? Also after more investigating, I was placing the shifter/heater control plate back in place and the plate touched the shifter and it sparked and blew the fuse…AGAIN. The cigarette lighter wire and the wire to the light bulb were both attached.

Waited a day to work on it again and the battery was dead. Charged it, checked the voltage across the posts and it was 13.45. Connected the terminals, checked voltage and 13.25 and dropping about .01 per second. Started engine, checked voltage at alternator and it was 13.66.

At this point I’m just gonna have to remove the console and gage cluster plate and see if I can find anything going on. A screw in a wire, a bare wire or something. I’m no electronic whiz by any means and I’m not the best at following a schematic. Any help or insight or tips are greatly appreciated.

 

I think you're on the right track to visually inspect the wires. Sounds like something is grounded. Also sounds like you have a pretty severe parasitic draw or a bad battery. (Or possibly both)

Good luck and keep us informed on your progress.

 

CRAP!! Second time writing this!
Ok. Looking for the short. Removed shifter plate(manual trans), removed the center gauge cluster as well as the two small access covers at either side of the front of the console. Checked for any damaged or frayed wire. Found nothing that looked suspect except a wire to the bulb at the wiper control had gotten pinched kinda flat. The insulation was not damaged so I used pliers to restore the shape of the insulation. I saw nothing else so I went ahead and straightened up a bunch of loose wires and zip tied them out of the way.

I started putting things back together and got to reinstalling the fan/heater control unit. I could not get the unit to set in correctly. It was cocked up on the left and I couldn’t figure out why. Any ideas?
As I was wrestling with that I noticed a wire connection that I hadn’t seen before. Single connector with a grey wire. That grey wire goes into the harness not far from the connector. Don’t know if it was there before and I just don’t remember seeing it, or I’ve disconnected something. If I’ve disconnected, I don’t see what it might be. The plastic connector looks like it has a groove on either side of one side that maybe helps hold it or maybe attaches to another connector. Just not sure.
Also, there is another connector that I’ve seen before just don’t think it’s used for this car. It is a double connector with two purple wires coming off of it. One solid purple and one purple with a white stripe. Maybe goes to ac controls or something? This car never had ac.
Any how, Any help would be appreciated. I have attached a few pictures to look at.

Thanks,
Mike




Connector with purple wires is below my thumb in the picture.