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So I was driving along today, and then suddenly(I was just upshifting to 3rd), I just lost power to the engine. Couldn't start it, either. Turned on emergency lights, looked under the hood, and found a blown Engine fuse, so I just pulled the cig fuse and put it in. Blown again. I tried once more before I gave up and called a tow truck to tow it home.
Once in the garage, I tried to do a bit more trouble shooting. I looked up and checked for some common causes. One seems to be the components of the ignition wires touching something, and I tried to move the connectors of the BHR ignition coils around, and nothing happened. I have also seen some people saying it's the ABS module.
So I am at a loss here: what could be causing this? I am thinking to tow the car to the dealership to figure out, but I just want some ideas.
For reference, my car doesn't start and will blow the 15A Engine fuse the instant the key is turned to ON position. It's actually a pretty violent spark(so it's probably a short somewhere, but I can't find it).
And my instrument panel now looks like this:
- Note the dead water temp gauge. The engine is still hot. (Anyone had the coolant level sensor shorting out on them?)
- The icon with the lock keeps flashing quickly.
Another thing that might be worth mentioning: my car was in the repair shop for the past week to fix up my rear bumper and the passenger side fender, and both parts were taken off. Not sure if there are any components there that can cause a short. Car died 25km after being taken out of the shop.
P.S. A dumbass shouted "Buy a Canadian car!" while I was trying to troubleshoot on the road. How many cars are actually made in Canada? LOL.
Last edited by UnknownJinX; 07-25-2017 at 10:55 PM.
This is EXACTLY what I had. It was my dumbass mistake not removing the engine hanger when installing the BHR kit. The #2 coil's wires rub on it. The harness wires, not the one that goes to the spark plug.
This is EXACTLY what I had. It was my dumbass mistake not removing the engine hanger when installing the BHR kit. The #2 coil's wires rub on it. The harness wires, not the one that goes to the spark plug.
With enough rubbing you get a short.
Yeah, I read your thread about it. I checked the connections, but couldn't see anything wrong with them. I might take another look just to be sure. Doesn't seem like they are rubbing against anything, though.
This may be a stupid question, but do the ignition coils get power as soon as you turn the key to ON? My fuse blows as soon as I turn the key to ON position. I don't even get a chance to crank it.
Edit:
Fiddled around with the ignition coils more, and again, couldn't see how they are the problem. I will keep them in mind, though.
The car is also electrically stock. The only "mod" is a Valentine One radar detector. It's hooked up to the OBDII and powered by it(they have a special connector for it).
Edit 2: Disconnected the V1. Still blowing the fuse.
Last edited by UnknownJinX; 07-25-2017 at 11:30 PM.
Reason: Update
Yeah, I read your thread about it. I checked the connections, but couldn't see anything wrong with them. I might take another look just to be sure. Doesn't seem like they are rubbing against anything, though.
This may be a stupid question, but do the ignition coils get power as soon as you turn the key to ON? My fuse blows as soon as I turn the key to ON position. I don't even get a chance to crank it.
Edit:
Fiddled around with the ignition coils more, and again, couldn't see how they are the problem. I will keep them in mind, though.
The car is also electrically stock. The only "mod" is a Valentine One radar detector. It's hooked up to the OBDII and powered by it(they have a special connector for it).
Edit 2: Disconnected the V1. Still blowing the fuse.
Everything gets power in "On", it's the position the key is in when you drive. In my case, what rubbed was the positive wire for #2 coil, so it was a very direct short from positive to ground. I suppose it must be similar in your case for the fuse to blow as soon as you hit "On".
As soon as the ignition relay closes it powers the engine fuse. You simply follow the wiring diagram lead from the 15A-ENG fuse to all the end points noting the specific wires for each; Engine Control System, Immobilizer, DSC, ABS, EPS. With the key off none of these wires at any connection will have power, i.e. an open circuit. You have to test for continuity at the all of the connection points inbetween them and trace it down from there. Continuity will indicate a short. However, the attachment is generic for an S1. You really need the specific manual with all the detail diagrams for your model year.
I will have to wait until next Tuesday for the dealership to help me, so I will have time until then to poke around. Time to grab a big pack of fuses...
Originally Posted by Loki
Everything gets power in "On", it's the position the key is in when you drive. In my case, what rubbed was the positive wire for #2 coil, so it was a very direct short from positive to ground. I suppose it must be similar in your case for the fuse to blow as soon as you hit "On".
That'd make sense. I will try disconnecting the coils first and put in a new fuse and see what happens.
Originally Posted by TeamRX8
As soon as the ignition relay closes it powers the engine fuse. You simply follow the wiring diagram lead from the 15A-ENG fuse to all the end points noting the specific wires for each; Engine Control System, Immobilizer, DSC, ABS, EPS. With the key off none of these wires at any connection will have power, i.e. an open circuit. You have to test for continuity at the all of the connection points inbetween them and trace it down from there. Continuity will indicate a short. However, the attachment is generic for an S1. You really need the specific manual with all the detail diagrams for your model year.
I will look for one for the S2. Seems like there is a lot that can go wrong with this fuse. Owner's Manual says it's responsible for the "Engine control system, Supplemental restraint system, ABS, Power steering". I will try to isolate the problem.
Yeah that's pretty much how I traced mine. Unplug everything (that's on that fuse, following a wiring diagram), throw a fuse in, observe fuse is not blown, turn off car, plug one thing in, turn on car, check the fuse, observe fuse is not blown, repeat until fuse is blown.
That was after I blew a bunch of fuses doing the same thing in reverse order, unplugging things one at a time.
This is EXACTLY what I had. It was my dumbass mistake not removing the engine hanger when installing the BHR kit. The #2 coil's wires rub on it. The harness wires, not the one that goes to the spark plug.
If you take the bracket off, be aware that the bolts hold the water pump on.
Idk if they will bottom out without it, but I used washers the same thickness as the bracket, JIC.
If you take the bracket off, be aware that the bolts hold the water pump on.
Idk if they will bottom out without it, but I used washers the same thickness as the bracket, JIC.
I will take the engine hanger out. Thanks for the tip.
I need an extender to unbolt the bolts, so I suppose I can buy some spacers as well.
So I tried to take the hanger out, but the bolts seem to be stripped, for some reason. Ended up just breaking off a big chunk of the hanger, and taping it off so it won't cut anything. I might try to have someone take off the hanger when I get my accessory belts done.
The wires on the coils are all taped up now, so they won't be shorting anything anymore. I hope the wires won't rub against anything. They really shouldn't now.
The car runs happily again. Took it for a spin and got some gas, and nothing bad happened.
So I think anyone trying to install BHR coils should watch out for the engine hanger. Remove it, or at least bend it so the coil wires won't rub against it.
will it affect anything if we take out the engine hanger? since we only need it when rebuilding? or does it have other uses?
Its only use is when you need to jump start the car/charge the battery, you need to connect the negative wire to the engine hanger. You can pretty much attach the negative wire to any bare metal that has a ground connection, so the piece on the top of the alternator works as well. In a pinch, you can even use the negative terminal of the battery.
will it affect anything if we take out the engine hanger? since we only need it when rebuilding? or does it have other uses?
The bracket itself won't, but the bolts are for the water pump also.
I would recommend using washers the same thickness as the bracket if you take it off unless you're sure they won't bottom out.
07-25-2017, 10:52 PM
Engine Fuse (15A) keeps blowing
