FUSE problems post vandalism

[jszarecki]

hey fans, after my stereo got stolen, i now have no fuel gague, tach or dash lights. The fuel gage was blown. everytime i replace it it blows as soon as i turn teh ignition to on. no clue on the tach lights thing... any clues?

[240ZX]

I think they call it a short!

[LanceM]

I would start with the wiring that was connected to the stereo and make sure none of what is left is shorting, perhaps one of the stereo leads attached to the dash lights for dimming control of the stereo panel lamps and now it is shorted to ground.

[jszarecki]

ok, however, none of teh radio wires are connected to anythign except the battery...and the ignition switch. how does this effect teh fuel gage, also the tach was workign yesterday

[=Enigma=]

The multimeter is your friend.

[sideshowbob]

Connected to the ignition switch and the battery? Hmmmm. Come on now, think about that for a second. This happens when you turn the IGNITION SWITCH on and theres a loose wire connected to the IGNITION SWITCH.

[jszarecki]

ok, sorry , youre right

However new problem developed this evening on the way home from work.

i turned my brioghts on, and the car started to buck and lose power. a wierd smell was in teh cabin and car started acting very much like a buckig bronco. upon reaching my house, i discoverd the the battery has come loose from teh tie downs. wierd. i think what happened is this. the positive terminal , which is abotu 1/2" from teh chassi/hood (metal) started arcing. woudl this cause the alternator/electrical system to fail? is that what was happeinging. i since cut all ext. wiers from teh positive lead from the battery. hopefully this will solve the problem...

[Murph]

I'd recommend you get your hands on the correct wiring diagram for your model of zed, then trace out the power feeds for all the gauges. Definitely check for any loose wires coming from the two loom plugs behind the centre console. The ign feed to the stereo is sure to have come from there (and if it didn't, someone wired it up the hard way).

[sideshowbob]

Extra wires? If you had a wire running directly to your stereo, there should have been only one 'extra' wire.

[jszarecki]

well yes, than what the hell are all the smaller wires coming off the neg and positive on the car batery. they are attatched to random stuff in teh eng. compartment. also note, i looked under the passenger dash and there are probably 50 wires that are either cut or go nowhere (GNDN). these have alwasy been this way, even when teh lights etc were workign properly. so what are they. i DO have the Chiltons guide for my car, so i havea schematic for othe elec systems. do i just see what colors they are or try and figure out thru all that electricla tape where they come from..

someone else suggested i put in a NEW wireing harness, with an updatee modern fuse panel (the NON tube kind) that sounds liek a nightmare

[sideshowbob]

The smaller wires would be - YOUR FUEL INJECTION SYSTEM. I'm curious, does the car still start after you cut them? 50 wires? Something is very wrong here, got pictures?

[sideshowbob]

Oh wait, you might have meant '5' wires. This would be a good sign that your ignition has been changed to a ZX unit. What is 'teh'?