Electrical Problems

[Patthehat033 10+ year member]

Hey,

I was working on a Buick 1998 Century today, and was doing an head unit/stereo and subwoofer installation. When I was finished, the power locks, power mirrors, and the fan adjustment panel thing under the radio was not working.

I noticed a harness that I may have hit with the drill while going through the firewall on the passenger side under the glove compartment.

I looked at the harness and it looked like some insulation had been peeled off of a red wire and a green wire and maybe a pink wire, but the copper was still connected on each wire. I believe I shorted out one of the wires by grounding it to the frame while drilling, so I am thinking it might be a fuse.

Any ideas?

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[maylar 10+ year member]

Better ask the guys on the Buick forum what you might have broken. I know on my Park Ave there are heater / ac actuators for the vents in the area you mentioned, but the door lock and window electronics are in the doors.

There are fuses everywhere in these cars.

 

[bubbagumper6 5,000+ posts]

Well I think the obvious answer is start checking your fuses. Consult your owners manual for the fuse diagrams and block locations because that will at least give you an idea where to start but if the obvious fuses aren't blown I would just start checking them all, one by one. Also keep in mind sometimes fuses don't show visual indication of being blown so it's best to test with a DMM for continuity.

 

[ahole-ic]

Fix the wires before you do anything. Even if it's just wrapping electrical tape around each one individually to seperate them from each other and from the body. THEN start replacing fuses. It just doesn't make sense to replace the fuse without fixing the actual problem first.

 

[Patthehat033 10+ year member]

Okay after looking at a remote start wiring diagram, I can make a pretty accurate guess that those were probably ignition wires. Do you think if any of those wires were shorted they would all have fuses? And I think the red one was a 12v constant wire.

 

[keep_hope_alive Premium Member]

Yes, the wires are likely fused in the engine bay fuse box, a shop manual will give you schematics, I recommend you review one after you insulate the wires.