Cougar Posted November 27, 2012 Share Posted November 27, 2012 (edited) Perhaps I'm testing it wrong? I hold the red tester lead to the battery side of the link, and the black tester lead to the other side of the fuseable link. Okay, now I understand how you got those readings. You can certainly do what you did but it isn't the easiest way to do the testing we wanted to do. You should be making the readings with the meter reference to ground. That is by placing the black common lead of the meter to a good chassis ground point. Then place the red probe of the meter on each of the fusible links on the protected side of the link. You should see 12 volts at each of the links if the links are good along with the power source. Making the readings the way you did seems to indicate there is a problem with all of the links, especially the one that had 12 volts on it. Making the measurements the way you did there should normally be close to no voltage since the links should have very low resistance and that means a low voltage drop. A good fuse will always have very little voltage across the fuse itself since it basically is a piece of wire. A fusible link has a specific current capacity and will melt in the middle if the current exceeds the limit. Edited November 27, 2012 by Cougar Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doodlebug Posted November 27, 2012 Author Share Posted November 27, 2012 Well, testing that way, it would be 12V because the battery side of the link is one piece of metal attached to the one cable as shown in the picture. I can go out and check to make sure.... Yep. 12V. So now I'm more confused then ever. What would be a good thing to do? Edit: I have also been pulling off the link before testing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cougar Posted November 27, 2012 Share Posted November 27, 2012 Make sure you have 12 volts on BOTH sides of the links with reference to ground. If you have that confirmed and there is still a power problem then the trouble is after the links. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doodlebug Posted November 27, 2012 Author Share Posted November 27, 2012 (edited) I didn't write down the numbers, but all of the links on the other side were in the MV range. Would you like the numbers? Hmm... I just realized I've been writing Milli Volts wrong! Is it more correct to have it mV? We're not talking Mega Volts. Lol. Edited November 27, 2012 by Doodlebug Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doodlebug Posted November 28, 2012 Author Share Posted November 28, 2012 Alrighty, with the links IN PLACE. Red testing lead to car side of link (testing uses link), and Black lead to negative battery post. Voltage is the same as battery. The sluggish power locks we had before are completely fixed. They work like they did when we bought the car several years ago. I quickly checked the power leads for the radio and it's still in the mV range, higher then before I think. I'll have to see if it's enough power for the stereo another day. I've got a screaming headache... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cougar Posted November 28, 2012 Share Posted November 28, 2012 Alright, we are making some progress. You say all the links have 12 volts on the protected side of the links so now we can move on down the line to see where the trouble is at. You now need to check the voltage (with reference to ground again) getting to fuses 13-16 in the fuse panel. If the voltage is low there then you need to check the ignition switch, the white wire to the switch from the battery, or the wiring to the fuse panel for a problem. The correct abbreviation for millivolts is mv. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doodlebug Posted November 28, 2012 Author Share Posted November 28, 2012 (edited) Cougar, the fuse panel isn't labeled by numbers. So I tested all of them. With the key off, I pulled one fuse out at a time and had black lead to a part of the chassis without paint, and the red lead I tried both sides of where the fuse was. The ones colored red, don't have 12v on either side. They are in the mv range. Everything else reads 12v on one side or the other. Common theme? Edited November 28, 2012 by Doodlebug Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doodlebug Posted November 28, 2012 Author Share Posted November 28, 2012 Update: well, my dad needs the Subaru as of tomorrow. So I found a constant protected wire (one that had already been spliced in the past), and a switched wire (under the steering column), and spliced them to provide adequate power to the stereo. Stereo now powers up fine. Because I live an hour away from my parents, it's unlikely that I will get back to this project anytime soon. It would have been fun (probably pretty frustrating too), to figure this out. But it will have to wait for another time. Things are working better now then before changing the fuseable link box, etc. So at least some of the issue was fixed. Thank you guys, especially Cougar, for all the help! I've learned a few more things about electrical stuff. I SO GREATLY appreciate the help with that! BTW, I tried to power the stereo with the factory wires. Still not enough power. Adding the spliced switched power didn't power on the stereo either. Not until I had both switched and constant power wires spliced, did the stereo turn on. And as a side note, it's an older Kenwood stereo. CD player, detachable faceplate, and no outputs of any kind. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cougar Posted November 29, 2012 Share Posted November 29, 2012 (edited) You're welcome for the help Doodlebug. Power to some of the fuses at least need to be checked with the ignition switch turned ON. Power is provided to the fuses (like the radio fuse) through the ignition switch. That is why you had no voltage there, if everything is ok to that point at least. Leave the fuses in place for the test. You will notice on top of each side of the fuses there is a small slit to place your meter probe on to check each side of the fuse. The fuses marked in red may mean they have power to them only with the ignition switch turned on, but I'm not sure about that. The fuse labels in your picture are numbered by starting with number 1 being in the lower left corner of the panel, marked Heater. Number 2 above it is marked Heater also and that progresses to 8. Fuse 9 is to the right of fuse 1 and they progress up the same way in the middle column along with the third column doing the same thing. So the radio fuse is #13. I'm not sure why the radio wouldn't work unless the memory power was tied in also. Edited November 29, 2012 by Cougar Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doodlebug Posted November 29, 2012 Author Share Posted November 29, 2012 Sometime when I'm in town and Poppa is off work, I'd like to test the fuses again. One thing I noticed, after making a stop to get it power rinsed and wiped down, is that the clock reset after starting it up again. No memory anywhere in the car? The power seat belt didn't move out of the way unless the key was in the on position and the door open. It definitely has a power issue! Now I'm curious about our other cars. I'll have to check their current too! I obviously have A LOT to learn in this area! Any book or website/article you might recommend to help me get a good foundation? I'm working towards going to a really nice automotive collage here in Spokane. Hopefully I will be able to go sometime this next year! If I can get a head start with the electrical side of things, that will make it easier for me to focus on learning the other stuff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fairtax4me Posted November 29, 2012 Share Posted November 29, 2012 The "memory" power is actually the main supply power for the head unit. The switched power just tells it to turn on, just like the remote lead on an amp. I'm a week away from finishing my first semester in automotive technology at a local community college. Of the classes in my first semester the one I've been the most surprised by is the electrical class. I had a pretty good understanding of electrical stuff before taking the class but there were a lot of things that were still fuzzy and it really cleared those up. One of the websites we use occasionally is http://autoshop101.com/ This site has a TON of great info and tech articles on electrical diagnosis. It has a great tutorial section with loads of info from the most basic fundamentals of electricity to how to use a multimeter and goes on into some intermediate electrical topics. Then there are hundreds, or probably thousands actually, of tech articles on components, hybrid systems, wire diagrams, all kinds of great stuff. And the best part is its all free! Definitely worth spending some time there to help get a solid understanding of electrical basics. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cougar Posted November 29, 2012 Share Posted November 29, 2012 The "memory" power is actually the main supply power for the head unit.The switched power just tells it to turn on, just like the remote lead on an amp. That is interesting what you say there Fairtax4me. Doodlebug: There are many good books you can purchase that will teach you how to work on the electrical systems of today's cars. They will also teach you about working with basic DC circuits and how to test them. When you have learned and mastered things like Ohm's Law you will have made a big step forward. There is also a lot of free information on the web. A small investment in a good book will pay you big dividends later on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doodlebug Posted November 29, 2012 Author Share Posted November 29, 2012 Very cool looking site! Thanks fairtax4me!! That will give me plenty to do when I'm not busy working on the vehicles. (They have good taste for their home page vehicle too! I drive a 2000 RAV4 (4 door, 1st gen), and am a big fan of RAVs. ) I've got new motivation to sort through Amazon's automotive electrical books again. Maybe I need to be less picky with finding ONE good book, and just get several. A well rounded understanding can be better then a very good understanding of one view point. There will definitely be a next time for this little Subaru. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fairtax4me Posted November 29, 2012 Share Posted November 29, 2012 That is interesting what you say there Fairtax4me. Doodlebug: There are many good books you can purchase that will teach you how to work on the electrical systems of today's cars. They will also teach you about working with basic DC circuits and how to test them. When you have learned and mastered things like Ohm's Law you will have made a big step forward. There is also a lot of free information on the web. A small investment in a good book will pay you big dividends later on. That's always been my experience with aftermarket head units at least. Perhaps some are different? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Please sign in to comment
You will be able to leave a comment after signing in
Sign In Now