Happy Camper
New Member
- Joined
- Jul 17, 2009
- Messages
- 19
- Reaction score
- 0
- Points
- 0
- Location
- Canada
- Vehicle Year
- 1998
- Make / Model
- Mazda
- Engine Size
- 4.0L
- Transmission
- Manual
Hi guys,
I'm running down low on ideas/solutions to solve an electrical (wich I believe to be a serious ground fault) problem on my 98 B-4000 4.0L (Manual transaxle, 4X4).
Any help will be appreciated.
Let me start by the symptoms:
While driving at low speeds in the woods at night coming back from my shack, I noticed that the headlights were dimming (blinking) and were also loosing intensity (brightness). I had the heater fan running at the same time and I also noticed that the revolutions of the fan motor were dropping at the exact same time that the headlights were dimming down. Cherry on the cake: I could ear some weird noises from hell from the radio also at the exact same time the headlights would be dimming down. A couple days ago, it got to a point where that dimming/decrease in fan motor rpms and radio issues last for 10-15 seconds. This situation happens each and every time I go to my shack when I run trough a lot of bumps at low speeds.
Also, last summer, my battery was dead after the truck sat for two months. At this time, I simply jumped-started the truck and didn't make a case out of it as I figured it was normal after two months of sitting. But recently, as temperatures are getting below freezing point with the upcoming winter, the battery gets dead after only a couple days of sitting.
So, I figured I have a ground fault (probably a wire touching the frame somewhere) that drains my battery when the truck sits for a while. Correct me if I'm wrong but I suspected systems that are always supplied with power even when the contact is "OFF" because the battery gets drained when the truck sits...
For now, as I can't find the problem I've taken the habit to disconnect the battery positive terminal whenever I know the car will sit for more than a day, wich is quite annoying...Doing so, I noticed some small sparks taking place between the battery pole and the wire connector each time I connect/disconnect the cable, which means to me (again, correct me if I'm wrong) that a current is flowing trough even when I got the contact switch in the "OFF" position, which, to me, looks like a good confirmation for the ground fault theory.
Now, what I've done:
I've took apart my starter to both have a look at the wires/connections (they look fine) and see if those little sparks would still occur with the starter dismantled from the engine and they did. So as far as I am concerned, I figured the starter motor isn't related to the ground fault.
Also, I'm really not sure if it can be related but as many other ranger/B4000 owners, I have this problem of the "door ajar" staying on all the time thus keeping my interior lights on all the time as well (which I took off in order to prevent my battery to get drained). Because I tough this problem could be related to my ground fault issue, I tool apart both of the door trims and disconnected the connections for the switch to check the switches operation. On both sides, I had a closed switch (continuity) when the door was open and an open switch (no continuity) when the door was shut, which seems like correct operation of the switches to me... I also measured the resistance across each of the switch leads and the frame with a multimeter in order to look for some current that would "leak" to the frame by the switches but all 4 measures where of the scale (open circuit). So I figured the switches are not related to the ground fault...(that however doesn't explain why my "door ajar" sign remains on all the time knowing that the switches do work correctly. I'm now suspecting a faulty timer to keep the circuit closed (the timer that allows a delay between the moment that all doors are shut and the moment the interior light extinguishes)).
Finally, I had a look at a couple wires I could find but they honestly all look fine as they are inside one of those protective plastic shell. I also verified the power wire for my radio (aftermarket radio) to make sure it was in good shape and it is...
End of the story! (long one...sorry!)
So the question:
Have anyone experienced such a problem with the 4.0L or is awared of such an issue or at least have an idea on what I should look for next?
Feel also free to let me know if you need more precisions on what I've already done or if you think I've done something improperly...
Thank you for your time.
I'm running down low on ideas/solutions to solve an electrical (wich I believe to be a serious ground fault) problem on my 98 B-4000 4.0L (Manual transaxle, 4X4).
Any help will be appreciated.
Let me start by the symptoms:
While driving at low speeds in the woods at night coming back from my shack, I noticed that the headlights were dimming (blinking) and were also loosing intensity (brightness). I had the heater fan running at the same time and I also noticed that the revolutions of the fan motor were dropping at the exact same time that the headlights were dimming down. Cherry on the cake: I could ear some weird noises from hell from the radio also at the exact same time the headlights would be dimming down. A couple days ago, it got to a point where that dimming/decrease in fan motor rpms and radio issues last for 10-15 seconds. This situation happens each and every time I go to my shack when I run trough a lot of bumps at low speeds.
Also, last summer, my battery was dead after the truck sat for two months. At this time, I simply jumped-started the truck and didn't make a case out of it as I figured it was normal after two months of sitting. But recently, as temperatures are getting below freezing point with the upcoming winter, the battery gets dead after only a couple days of sitting.
So, I figured I have a ground fault (probably a wire touching the frame somewhere) that drains my battery when the truck sits for a while. Correct me if I'm wrong but I suspected systems that are always supplied with power even when the contact is "OFF" because the battery gets drained when the truck sits...
For now, as I can't find the problem I've taken the habit to disconnect the battery positive terminal whenever I know the car will sit for more than a day, wich is quite annoying...Doing so, I noticed some small sparks taking place between the battery pole and the wire connector each time I connect/disconnect the cable, which means to me (again, correct me if I'm wrong) that a current is flowing trough even when I got the contact switch in the "OFF" position, which, to me, looks like a good confirmation for the ground fault theory.
Now, what I've done:
I've took apart my starter to both have a look at the wires/connections (they look fine) and see if those little sparks would still occur with the starter dismantled from the engine and they did. So as far as I am concerned, I figured the starter motor isn't related to the ground fault.
Also, I'm really not sure if it can be related but as many other ranger/B4000 owners, I have this problem of the "door ajar" staying on all the time thus keeping my interior lights on all the time as well (which I took off in order to prevent my battery to get drained). Because I tough this problem could be related to my ground fault issue, I tool apart both of the door trims and disconnected the connections for the switch to check the switches operation. On both sides, I had a closed switch (continuity) when the door was open and an open switch (no continuity) when the door was shut, which seems like correct operation of the switches to me... I also measured the resistance across each of the switch leads and the frame with a multimeter in order to look for some current that would "leak" to the frame by the switches but all 4 measures where of the scale (open circuit). So I figured the switches are not related to the ground fault...(that however doesn't explain why my "door ajar" sign remains on all the time knowing that the switches do work correctly. I'm now suspecting a faulty timer to keep the circuit closed (the timer that allows a delay between the moment that all doors are shut and the moment the interior light extinguishes)).
Finally, I had a look at a couple wires I could find but they honestly all look fine as they are inside one of those protective plastic shell. I also verified the power wire for my radio (aftermarket radio) to make sure it was in good shape and it is...
End of the story! (long one...sorry!)
So the question:
Have anyone experienced such a problem with the 4.0L or is awared of such an issue or at least have an idea on what I should look for next?
Feel also free to let me know if you need more precisions on what I've already done or if you think I've done something improperly...
Thank you for your time.