Won't Start - Weird Electrical Issues
 

Hi folks, I'm dead in the water and I'm hoping you can help.

Here's the scenario. I replaced all 4 midrange speakers in my 93 SC400 yesterday - the old ones were all blown (I just bought the car). When I replaced the passenger door speaker I noticed it was a little strange - it would cut out and in, but I couldn't find a specific spot in the wiring that made a difference when I wiggled it looking for a break - I just unplugged the plugs to the speaker and plugged them back in a couple times and it seemed to fix it. However, I did notice a LOT of moisture in the door. I finally got everything installed and buttoned back up while listening to the radio - all 4 speakers were no working (plus the tweets and sub), then I moved the car to it's parked location and turned everything off. I went to start the car an hour or two later and it was completely dead. Can't shift out of park. Instrument cluster lights don't come on. Door chime rings but sounds low-pitched, and the door-open light on the dash goes out and the chime stops entirely as soon as I touch the brake. Car doesn't even try to start - turn the key and both door lights and the door-open light on the dash all go out - totally dead - no clicks, not starter noise, nothing. So I threw a charger on the battery and I noticed humming coming from that same passenger door speaker (radio obviously off and dead at this point). I figure bad wiring - maybe something got wet in the door that's apparently leaking.

Left the charger on overnight - no change. Interestingly, the charger reads almost 0 amps, whereas on my truck it's closer to 5. I ripped apart the wiring harness in the passenger door but all wires look ok, albeit slightly damp. I unplugged the speaker but that hasn't improved anything. I cleaned up the ground connection where the battery grounds to the chassis. No effect. Here's where I'm a little foggy on how the wiring is supposed to act. I checked continuity between the speaker plug and the chassis - there is definitely some continuity between each side of the speaker plug and the chassis. This is with the battery disconnected. There is also continuity between a bunch of those other plugs in the door and the chassis. Is this right? What should I be looking for here? Just want to get this car running and fix whatever is killing the battery but I'm not sure what to check. Can anyone help a brother out here? What should I be checking?

Thanks folks.

not related. just coincidence. do normal procedure on electrical issues and forget the door. You've been messing with the dash, wiring in many other places lately. Nothing in the door will cause this. check the under hood fuses first.

Thanks O.L.T. The under-hood fuses look ok. I'm curious why the battery charger shows almost 0 amps when charging vs. my truck showing more like 5. Also, should those speaker wires show continuity to ground? I'm really not sure what I'm even looking for here... Want to fly out to Hawaii and fix this for me ;-) Seriously though, I don't even really know where to start. Charger has been plugged in for like 20 hours and still the instrument panel will light for a split second when I turn my key, then die. Are there some likely culprits I should be looking at? I feel like I'm stumbling around in the dark here - any guidance anyone can offer would be most appreciated.

I just did a parasitic draw test from the negative terminal of the battery to the negative lead going into the engine compartment. Got about .4A. I imagine this is above normal? Is it really possible that the car could go from everything running fine to completely dead in a matter of a couple hours? And what of the charger noise coming through just that one speaker? And the speaker cable showing continuity to ground on both poles? All fuses look ok on visual inspection but I don't have replacements to test each one. Are there specific ones that would cause the car to not power up at all. And what of the dash lights coming on for a split second when I turn the key, then dying - is that just the last little bit of power in the battery, even though it's hooked up to a charger? I would have thought that if it's hooked up to a charger I should at least get dash lights, etc. What else should I be looking for here? So frustrating... I really appreciate any help anyone has. Mahalo nui.

Well I'm certainly feeling silly. Dirty terminal connections at the battery. Funny how the simple solutions tend the be the ones I overlook. Thanks for pointing me in the right direction O.L.T. Lots of love for this forum!!!