Back with an electrical problem

[nowhereman]

Hello everyone,
History: A year ago, the battery would not start the engine(only after cranking 4 or 5 times), took the car to three different shops who all confirmed that I have bad cells in the battery and need to be replaced.
Battery replaced and the charging system was tested, all looked ok

A week ago, I was giving a friend a ride at night, then when he opened the door to get out we spoke for like 2 min (while the passenger door was open) during which the inside cabinet little lamb was on because of the door, at the same time the left signal was activated as I was turning, everytime the signal light/relay comes on/off, the inside cabinet light flicker as if the juice to it is withdrawn when the signal comes on (engine was on by the way)
I took it to autozone to test the battery and it came back fine, they also made me start the engine to check the charging which came back ok as well.
Is that normal? if not, any suggestions?!!!!
Thanks everyone..

Topic

[twiggy]

Oneissue you might have if your interior lights are dimming when the blinkers flash you have a common wire somewhere that is resistive or a common connection that is resistive. Either a ground or power feed wire. It is also possible that one of your blinker lights is drawing too much current as I’ve seen the filaments refuse creating a shorter coil inside the bulb that still lights but draws a lot more current. That would an easy check.

[nowhereman]

Thanks for your reply,
I went outside to test if any of the bulbs is the issue and found out that the interior light dimms regardless it was the right or left turn signal activated, also I found out the light dimms when the low/high beam is turned on as well regardless the engine is on or off.
I guess this rules out the bulbs?!!! I am wondering what should be the next step to diagnose this problem and how to do it, I am still ignorant and learning so I appreciate any help.

[dave]

give me the year/make/model/engine and i will pull the electrical schematics and find the problem for you.

[nowhereman]

Thanks, I really appreciate it.
its a 2005 FORD ESCAPE XLT SPORT UTILITY V6, FWD, REAR DRUMS.
Also, I saw a cable at the left side of the engine (one side is bolted to the body near the neck of the wipers fluid reservoir), and the other end is lose, I guess its G106, can you tell me where it should be bolted (I do not think this is the problem as I tried to connect it to possible locations without any difference in my main issue)
Again, thank you guys I appreciate it………..

[dave]

I am having difficulty locating the interior dome lights on bbbind.com. Monday I will be back at school and will have access to AllData and can be of further assistance at that time.

[Zod]

Bolted to the body, it’s likely a ground. If it’s loose, that would explain the light issue, but would not explain other issues that haven’t occurred.

Stretch it out, and look on the engine for a possible bolt down point. Usually, it will be on the block, rather than a head.

HTH..

[Charles]

Most of the circuits in an automobile start at the positive battery post and are distributed hot through the fuse panels (the common point of circuit protection). The dome light and most other lighting circuits have battery on them all the time and ground is applied by the door switch to cause the lamp to lite. If you open more than one door you supply more than one ground to the bulb see if this makes a difference. So grounding between the chassis and negative battery terminal is important.

Start by cleaning and inspecting your battery terminals then work your way to the primary body ground on the other end of your battery cable. If it is a frame ground, use a jumper cable to connect the negative battery cable to the body of the vehicle to see if it makes a difference. If it does then the ground wire between the body and chassis may be bad. The body is not directly connected to the frame (rubber bushings).

[nowhereman]

I went a head and bolted the lose wire to the block, and I tried to find if any door is specifically associated with the dimming issue, I still have the issue regardless any door is opened.
make the ideas flow guys……….

[dave]

everytime the signal light/relay comes on/off, the inside cabinet light flicker as if the juice to it is withdrawn when the signal comes on (engine was on by the way)

Haven’t found any commonalities between the turn signal and dome light (which Ford calls the “interior lamp assembly,” which added to the difficulty finding the schematics)

Power Distribution

[attachment]escapepower.jpg[/attachment]

Interior Lighting

Ground Distribution

In classic ford fashion, dozens of compenents are tied into a single ground; you can see an example of this in the ground distribution schematic above (outlined in green.) I believe in systems like this, it will pay of took use a DVOM and look for a bad case of VD. (voltage drop)

Attachments:

• escapepower.jpg
• Fordescapeintlights.png
• fordescape2005.png

[twiggy]

Try this to help isolate the problem by at least half the wiring-

1. Put your neg lead of your DVM on the negative terminal of the battery. You will probably have to extend the lead with a scrap piece of wire because you need the pos lead of the DVM inside your cabin,

2. then open the cover to the dome light. Turn the dome light on. With the positive lead of your DVM, you should measure 12V (battery voltage) on one side of the bulb and 0V (ground) on the other side of the bulb.

3. Then recreate your condition by turning signals on (or stepping on brake pedal would be better if that causes the flicker)

4. Measure both sides on the bulb to see if you 0V ground reading is coming UP (voltage increases) or if your 12V side of the bulb is going DOWN in voltage.

This will tell you if you have a ground issue or a hot feed issue because if the ground side of your bulb is increasing in voltage, then your have a ground wire issue. Of the 12V side is decreasing, then your have a wiring issue on the hot side.

[nowhereman]

I will collect all the ideas (drawings) you mentioned/attached here guys, in a couple of days I will go over them, I will get back with results…………

[college man]

keep us posted.

[dave]

Put your neg lead of your DVM on the negative terminal of the battery. You will probably have to extend the lead with a scrap piece of wire because you need the pos lead of the DVM inside your cabin,

I always use jumper cables and connect one end to battery negative, and bring the other end inside of the cabin. This will give you the best possible ground.

[EricTheCarGuy]

I’m on board with checking connections especially at the battery but I’m wondering exactly HOW much it’s dimming. Have you considered that this may be a normal condition? Given that the dome light will draw a LOT of amps adding other loads to the system, such as the turn signal, may bring overall system voltage down. I suppose it’s a matter of how much it’s dimming, if it’s a lot then I would say by all means chase it down (I’d be looking hard at ground connections especially if you’ve had any paint work done lately, painted grounds do cause issues in my experience) if not then I might leave it be and just monitor the situation.

[Author]

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