HELP: engine fuse (#13, 20AMP) blows when taking off...

[Guest]

ohhhhhh, no one should take their MOVING and IN-ORDER VR4 for granted. NO ONE!

so friday night, i left the servo. my car rolled out fine, except, when i accelerated off, the engine cut out, like a stall.
confused, i tried to start up again, FAIL. push starting it, FAIL. called RACV roadside assist. within less than an hour, i was attended to. thank god, it was just a blown fuse. my mate and i jumped in joy and drove off happily.
but why did it happen? not sure. being the weekend, i couldn't get anyone to check it out.

except, it happened again, as i was pulling onto North Rd, from Ormond station (did anyone spot a broken down galant vr4 on sat night?). just like the previous night, i had just got in, and was taking off.
tried replacing fuses. the engine blew each and every one. my car was towed home :cursing:.

so guys, if anything:
- my turbo timer plugged in again on wednesday
- all 6 of my spark plugs were changed to NGK Platinums on thursday.
- 98 octane fuel + nulon octane booster pro formula were used to fill up since getting the car.

any help would be appreciated in diagnosing this issue. please help.
as much as i know, it could be the alternator, fuel pump, or wire shorting.

 

[naughtika]

what is that fuse for? any pics of its position?

try eliminating the possibilities that the turbo timer was causing it.. by unplug the harness for it

also try to track down or trace where that fuse leads to.. kind of hard but I think that's one way to figure this out..

another thing could be.. grounded wire somewhere.. or even loose wire not giving enough current

several questions..

1. you said you changed the plugs on thursday, who did the job?
2. is your car auto? I don't think it is cause you said you tried to push start it.. just double checking..
3. you said you plugged the turbo timer again on wednesday.. why did you disconnect it in the first place?
4. did the RACV tech check out your alternator, whether it is charging properly or not?
5. what other work was done on your car before this issue started happening? even if its like a week or so before..

 

[TTVR4]

if your plugs have been changed, how about when the manifold was bolted back down a wire has benn pinched. and every time you give it some, with the roll of the engine it is pulling the wire and earthing it out on something.

 

[Guest]

if your plugs have been changed, how about when the manifold was bolted back down a wire has benn pinched. and every time you give it some, with the roll of the engine it is pulling the wire and earthing it out on something.

I would suggest a pinched wire too, or possibly a worn wire that has been moved and is now grounding on the engine or chassis. The heat in the engine bay practically turns the insulation to dust over time.

 

[wesleyong]

Yeah, check out my fuse problem.
http://ozvr4.com/forums/showthread.php?p=138954#post138954
It may be caused by the same problem... There is a bracket which holds some wires kind of near the gearbox area which is prone to rubbing the wires and causing a short.

 

[Guest]

thanks for the responses guys.
on monday, i took up christian's (naughtika) advice.
the car was taken to the local auto elec. all three black connetions under the plastic head cover were checked. they were all connected.
the alarm wiring under the steering column were welded yesterday, by Techsport. yesterday and today, the fuse blew. yesterday, it was as simple as replacing the fuse. but today, i had the car towed back to S.S.V. where i got it from.

2 places left for me to check are,
- the alarm wiring under the bonnet
- under the head of the engine - may need to be removed

wesley, the fuse i blew is completely different to yours.
for all those that don't know which fuse i am talking bout, its fuse #13.
it is a 20amp MAF fuse (yellow) and is situated under a 10amp fuse (red).

a discovery was found:
friday: fuse blew upon take off in 1st gear - engine started once fuse was replaced.
saturday: fuse blew upon take off in first gear. replaced fuse 4 times, blew every one of them whilst cranking engine. engine failed to start.
monday: fuse was replaced by mechanic, who couldn't find the problem. engine started well.
tuesday: fuse blew upon take off in 1st gear - engine started once fuse was replaced.
today (wednesday): fuse blew WHILST IN 2nd GEAR. replaced fuse 4 times, blew every one of them. on fifth attempt, fuse blew without the engine being turned on, upon installing it.

ok, does that help anyone???

 

[Guest]

See if you can make it blow when sitting stationary and revving the engine.. so without driving it off.

 

[Guest]

i cant do that because i cant even turn the engine on
the fuse is required to turn the engine on, and it keeps blowing when i try to turn it on

 

[Guest]

Have you traced the wiring for that fuse to see if it's rubbing anywhere?

I would probably look at getting a fire extinguisher too, even if it's one of those cheapy $20 ones from Bunnings.

 

[naughtika]

Mike, have you contacted the workshop who installed the alarm? could be possible that they touch something that's not related to the alarm install.. just a thought..

 

[wesleyong]

Although the fuse you blew was completely different from mine, there is a stash of wires in that spot I was referring to. Any number of those wires could potentially rub and be shorted...

 

[Guest]

PROBLEM RESOLVED - IMPORTANT

Although the fuse you blew was completely different from mine, there is a stash of wires in that spot I was referring to. Any number of those wires could potentially rub and be shorted...

hello everyone...
i'm back on the forums, after a case of being ****ing sick for the last 3 days...

- a round of applause to WESLEYONG.

it was discovered that the wiring in the engine bay was actually the cause of the shortcircuit that blew the #13 engine fuse. although the described scenario that wesley was referring to was blowing a transmission fuse, in this case, it was blowing the engine fuse.
certain wires are held in place by clamps in the engine bay. these wires can be found not far from the air filter box.
over time, these wires rub against the clamp, causing their insulation to grind away, exposing these wires to ground and causing a shortcircuit.
i strongly suggest that anyone facing any type of fuse blow or shortcircuit, check these wires where all other trouble shooting fails.
once again, thanks to wesley for your diagnosis.
thanks to everyone else who responded to this forum and tried to help in whatever way they could.

 

[Guest]

Great to hear, and good work Wes

Let this be a warning to anyone working on their own car (as mechanics are useless!) - whenever you are doing work in the engine bay, just spend a few minutes inspecting the wiring looms for any rubbing or otherwise deteriorating insulation. It will save you a lot of hassles down the track, and could stop your car going up in flames too.

Mike, was it in the same location that I found the problem? If not, then if you could please put the details of location and some photos into the below thread (to keep the info in the same place) it would really help out other members and earn you some rep too

http://ozvr4.com/forums/showthread.php?t=6573

 

[Keifyo]

I had my car break down on the bottom of the hill on a rail bridge in the pouring rain! Thinking the fuel pump died I pulled it out, then managed to push the car out of the way.. Got home and tested the pump, it ended up being fine...
Next day I reinstalled the pump, had a look around the engine bay and noticed the fuse blown (#13).. I thought I'd accidentally cut some wires whilst replacing the fuel pump a few months back..
so I taped it up... Replaced the fuse, got someone to jump start the car... It seemed fine, so I decided to drive back home...
i drove back up the hill and stopped for the red light! Green came, stepped on the accel and it shut down again! So I frantically rip the back seat out and tried to look for where it was earthing! After going through 10+ fuses I decided to bypass the fuse and directly hook up the fuel pump!
After that I ran back down the hill to find someone to give me a jump start!
But the engine still didn't kick over! I decided to roll the car back down the hill and park it out of the way!
After reading this article the next day I went back and looked at the cables next to the intake held by the clamp!
I jiggled it and place a new fuse in and it was fine! Only prob now was during my frantic attempt to run power directly to the f. pump I managed to rip the wire out from the plug! So now I had to run it directly from the battery, so I installed a inline fuse from an old cd deck along with a house hold light switch (I didn't have any other around)..
I managed to finally get the car home after 3 days!

Lucky the car didn't cut out mid corner! So guys just for the safety sake of it, get elec tape and wrap those wires held by the clamp!