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Chasing Down an Electrical Issue

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Old 07-03-2006 | 06:25 AM
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Chasing Down an Electrical Issue

Hey all. My '93 SE has been showing increasing degrees of electrical issue symptoms.
  • My master windows switch went out 6 months ago. I replaced it and it went out again within a week.
  • My power sunroof switch began hesitating about 4 months ago. It would stop working, and then begin working a moment later.
  • A month ago my my starter began having problems. Turning the key to the "on" position gives power to the radio, AC, and windows like normal. Turning the key to the "start" position, when the starter usually cranks, gives me nothing but "click, click, click." Later, the car will start just fine. I replaced the starter, and the problem persists.
  • During the past 3 months while driving the car, the engine will very irregularly act as though it has cut out completely. It happens for less than a second, and then picks up again without any additional problems.
  • During the 2 years I have owned the car, I regularly hear a "click, click, whirrrrrrr" sound coming from underneath the dash somewhere.
I have a test light and a volt meter and am ready to do some diagnosis work. Before I dive into testing lead after lead, though, I'm hoping that someone here has had a similar experience and can point me in the right direction.

I figure there is a ground wire loose or corroded somewhere. Once I find the culprit, fixing the problem shouldn't be hard.

Has anyone had a similar problem that can give me some advice as to where to start?

Thanks!
Old 07-03-2006 | 07:26 AM
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clean the battery cable, clean both ends of them.
electrical problems are the most time consuming to track down.
Old 07-03-2006 | 10:21 AM
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sounds like something I ran into a few months ago w/a friends minivan. if the battery has corrosion on the terminals, clean that up and replace the connectors that attach to it- this one had corrosion inside the molded connectors that was causing the problem. You may also want to replace the connector at the starter as well, that should help with the starting issue.
Old 07-03-2006 | 03:00 PM
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Originally Posted by internetautomar
clean the battery cable, clean both ends of them.
electrical problems are the most time consuming to track down.
I agree... especially clean the negative cable on the side thats bolted to the engine. it sure sounds like a grounding problem, cuz you's also get that click sound from the starter if you unplug the negative cable from it. I remember from forgetting to plug it in when I did my tranny swaps. and if other electricals fail and it's not only a switch or so I'd say there's a bad connection from the source (battery). it's quite common with eroded battery cables so check that. remove it from the battery and engine, clean with a steel brush then put on some copper paste or similar before you put it back in. good luck!
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