I hate routing cables

FlightSimBoy

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Anyone else hate routing cables in vehicles?

I'm trying to put a new +12V constant line in my van. Not sure what I did, I either stripped the original out or shorted it somewhere. All fuses are fine, checked every single one with a multimeter.

But my God, I spent over 2 hours trying to run the new line, and I just couldn't do it. I couldn't find any hole in the firewall to work with, and I didn't want to drill another, but I found (or so I thought) a perfect spot, where the hood latch release cable runs into the car. I got a coat hanger all the way through with no problems, but when it came time to run the line through it, forget it. It just did not want to go. It would be the perfect spot if I could get the line to run through.

Not sure what the exact issue is with the original 12V line though. All of my research I've done has led me to believe if I shorted it out somewhere, then my dome lights, cigarette lighter, and power locks won't work unless the key is turned on, however, my dome lights work. Cigarette lighter and power locks don't. Everything works fine when the key is on. I'm confused as to why some things work, but others don't. Until I get the new +12V line in, I'll just run the radio off of the switched +12v. It works fine that way, but the radio doesn't keep presets or time that way.

It seems to me like cars, vans and smaller trucks are a pain to work with when it comes to audio. No room to work. However, in my F-150 (may it rest in pieces) I had an extra foot of cable to work with on the audio wiring, from the factory!

Anyone else ever run into problems like this?

BTW, if you can help figure out what's wrong with the original +12V line before I get the time to attempt to route the new one again tomorrow, I have a 1999 Plymouth Voyager.
 
I am having this problem now. I ordered 4 strips of white LED lights off of eBay and I need 12v lines to set the up underneath the steering column, passengers side and behind both seats. I extended the lines out but they won't give power to the lights. Not entirely sure why.
 
Try checking it with the continuity on a multimeter first, make sure there's no breaks in the line. Then check voltage and current.

A friend of mine fixed a problem like that by adding a transistor to the LED's, but his were wired up to his amp/sub setup.
 
Instead of shooting in the dark why don't you guys get the Haynes books for your cars? Best 5 bucks I ever invested...
 
whats the vehicle?

Did you check the 'fusible links'(older cars) and 'fuse box'(newer cars) at the battery?..or Depending on the age, the fuse may be fine, but the wire may have burnt out just in behind the fuse panel. Its happened to me on older cars.
 
Seti, I wanna know where you got one of those books for 5 dollars. They're 24.99 where I'm at. It sucks, too, considering I needed one for my Ford and never bought one, and I really could use one for my van now.

Turns out that the 10A memory fuse in the underhood distribution box controls most everything in the vehicle - power locks, dome lights, and you guessed it, the +12V constant going to the radio. I never even noticed there was a 10A memory fuse until I took a good look at the fuse box, it's a mini-fuse that's off by itself in a corner. I popped it out, and sure enough, it was burnt all the way through. Replaced it with a spare I had, and now my radio works just fine.

Now my left turn signal isn't working. Right works fine. Left comes on when the hazard flasher button is on. Essentially, left turn signal won't work when I push the handle for it to the left position, but the right one does in the right position. Not sure what happened there.

Detox, it's a 1999 Plymouth Voyager.
 
there is probably a blown bulb messing with your turn signal. just put you hazards on and walk around the van and replace the bulb that's not flashing.
 
then in that case, there is probably a relay for left and right, one of them is blown.
 
Well, I found a wiring diagram. The same relay has controls for the left and right signal, but one could still go bad.

But I think both are bad now, because neither of the signals work. I'll replace the relay when I find the appropriate one, and if that doesn't fix it, then it's the switch on the steering column. Meaning, 60 to 100 bucks down the drain.
 
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