Rear spoiler doesn't work still!
 

Okay, here's the deal. My spoiler doesn't work at all as the fuse is blown. If I replace the fuse, it simply blows again. I searched the archives like a good RLer and took the cover off the mechanism. No obvious jams there. I took the drive cable off the motor. If I turn the cable manually, the spoiler goes up & down. If I put the fuse in with the cable disconnected, the fuse blows. What's up? Would a bad motor cause a fuse to blow like that? I would assume that the motor just wouldn't work but wouldn't cause the fuse to blow. Any help is much appreciated.

Also, does anyone know what that drives off of that fuse other than the spoiler?

Thanks much in advance for any help.

Have you checked the limit switches for the spoiler. Maybe one is faulty causing a short. Does the spoiler move at all or just immediately blow the fuse? Know anybody close who will lend you a spoiler module? It could be the problem. Was for me.
Del

Probably a shorted winding in the motor itself. Disconnect the motor, replace the fuse and see if it blows.

Hmm... I have a drive motor and shaft laying around the garage. It came off an extra decklid I purchased. If you're interested in giving it a shot, send me a PM.

Connect 12V to the motor direct from an external battery. See if the motor smokes or operates. Those are the only 2 options. It won't smoke if it is in good order.

The spoiler doesn't move at all. Fuse just blows immediately. I'm thinking Chris is right, that it is a short in the motor.

Anybody know if anything else runs off of that fuse?

Fuse 37 ... 15A? It doesn't power anything else. It's power straight into the control unit. I'm with Chris. Disconnect the motor and see if your fuse blows. If it blows with the motor disconnected the problem is either the control unit or the wiring between the control unit and the motor. Of course if the fuse doesn't blow it's the motor.

It's not the limit switches. They switch ground.

Don't hook the power straight to the battery and look for smoke!!

Okay, I may be in over my head here now. I am not exactly what you would call, the electrical type. I unplugged two, what I believe to be, power cables to the drive motor, replaced the fuse - instant blowout of fuse. Any simple way to trace back to source of short or should I leave it to someone who knows what they are doing?

Sorry, I assumed that the fuse blows when you press the switch. Are you saying that the fuse blows as soon as you put a new one in the fusebox?

There are two fuses that provide power to the control unit. #17 is 7.5A and #37 is 15A. Which one is blowing?

If you put a fuse in and it blows instantly then it's either the control unit or the wire from the fuse to the control unit that is bad. The best way to troubleshoot that is with an ohmmeter and how to check it depends on which fuse it is. Know someone who can operate an ohmmeter?

There is only one connector for the motor (2 wires). The other connector in the same area is to the micro switches (4 wires).

It is #37 that blows and yeah, it blows instantly. If it is the control unit, maybe I'd do the RUF upgrade. I'll need to find someone who can operate an ohmmeter for me (David in LA???).

I took the factory spoiler off my car. If you need a control unit, and I can find it, I'd be happy to send it to you.

Okay, the spoiler has been fixed thanks to the help of a generous rennlister. Grmnxtc (Clive) drove to my house and discovered the problem. Apparently when the prior owner had the V1 harwired in, they hooked into the spoiler power wire. While doing that they knocked out the pins that connect to the spoiler module and replaced them in random order. It's amazing my spoiler worked for as long as it did. Clive, wiring diagram in hand, figured this out, put the pins in correctly and voila, spoiler works! I can't tell you how much help Clive was for me today. If I would've taken my car into the dealer, they would have taken me for a ride. Clive, thanks for the help, I owe you one. As Chris says, is this a great place or what? Rennlist, what a resource and what great people!

Thanks again.

Glad to hear that you and Clive were able to find the issue. That was some work to trace all those wires I am sure.

This is the exact reason why I always run 1 wire from the fuse box to my under dash for all my hard wire projects in all my cars. This way, I don't mess up any wiring and the car can be reverted to "stock" by just removing this one wire. :thumbup:

Enjoy your new spoiler!

You are right about taking your car to a dealer. They more than likely would have started with replacing all kinds of stuff before looking into other causes.. Great job all!

Bobby, no sweat... glad to help... Had me stumped for a few moments though... :confused: no power on pin 6 despite the fuse being intact etc.

It was a pleasure to meet you, and now you can enjoy the extra noise of the spoiler even more as you reach the stop signs :jumper:

Don't forget to get a fresh supply of fuses :thumbup:

Just paying it forward!!

ITAGPOW? :cheers:

Clive.