grankin

Mechanic is trying to find exactly where the body shop (that repaired the rust bubbles that turned out to be a tad larger issue than they first appeared to be) managed to short a wire to ground in the left front fender, so that interior lights were always grounded.

While sitting in the car & thinking, he heard a noise from the dash where there should have been none (everything being off). He pulled fuses until it stopped. It was the blower fan.

Might this get grounded in whatever circuit also grounds the interior lights?

Enquiring minds ...

Chris R.

I have the same issue...

HiWind

check the door jam/upright light push-switch - it chafes behind it and I've seen multiple instances of that causing elec problems

grankin

That was my hypothesis, but it appears to be a bit more than that. To find out requires putting the car up on the hoist, pulling the L front wheel, then pulling the fender liner. More wires involved, and even a slight pinch which grounds even a few strands could be the source of the problem.

More reports as I get 'em.

HiWind

you checked both sides?

grankin

This will be followed in a couple of weeks with more detail, but .... it wasn't the door switch, not either one.

It was under the front hood, near the 'courtesy' light that there was an errant short to ground. The mechanic said he disconnected damned near everything until he found the fault. He's going to replace both door switches anyway, because their rubber covers had holes and the switches were not all that wonderful.

I'm off to England for a couple of weeks and, when I get back, I'll find out where the problem was located and photograph the exact spot where the short was found.

HiWind

glad to hear it!

grankin

It was the under-hood light, whose connections are bare. They appear to be able to contact metal after the light is popped back into place. The mechanic covered 'em with heat-shrink tubing, then belt-and-suspendered it with tape: