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Thread: Center console still has power when key is out

  1. #1
    Junior Member
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    Center console still has power when key is out

    Hello,

    My center console still has power when the car is off and the key is out of the ignition this has been happening every since I bought the car 6 months ago. Ive asked the PO but his response was "the PO had the car wired weird to do that". There is a weird twist to this though, it doesn't happen every time. Sometimes when I turn the car off and pull out the key everything will shut off like it should, others everything will be on. Here is where the plot thickens, after the key is out of the ignition if I start to use anything, AC fan, Windows, Radio, Defroster, headlights, or flashers the power will be cut and everything will be off. Most of the time this does the trick to turn everything off, so I don't drain the battery, but other times it will stay on indefinitely. I have even had the power come back on after a couple of hours of it being off.

    I have tried to see if something was jumped or wired up to keep everything on but I have not been able to find anything. Ive tested a possible jump at the fuse box #10 and #11 fused but when I pull the fuse it cuts power to everything like it should. Now I have to disconnect the battery so it will not drain on me.

    Here is a video of what I'm talking about. You can see when the key is out the clock and Lock Doors light is on. When I turn on the defrosters the defroster light will come on for a split second then everything will turn off (off screen, sorry hard angle). Video

    Anyone have any idea why this is happening and how to fix it?

    Thanks
    Matt

  2. #2
    "Former Delorean owning Guru" Spittybug's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by MTB View Post
    Hello,

    There is a weird twist to this though, it doesn't happen every time. Sometimes when I turn the car off and pull out the key everything will shut off like it should, others everything will be on.
    This rules out anything but a faulty key cylinder to me. Your circuits are wired to power that is constant, auxiliary or on run. They don't jump back and forth.
    Owen
    I.Brew.Beer.

  3. #3
    Senior Member Bitsyncmaster's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Spittybug View Post
    This rules out anything but a faulty key cylinder to me. Your circuits are wired to power that is constant, auxiliary or on run. They don't jump back and forth.
    But the fact that a high load would sometimes stop it may indicate an AUX relay is sticking. I've not heard of many AUX relay failures though.
    Dave M vin 03572
    http://dm-eng.weebly.com/

  4. #4
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    The only way you are going to do anything about this is to open it all up, see what modifications were done, and figure out what you want to do. Once modifications are done it is impossible to give you any specific advice since we cannot know exactly what was done. It does seem weird that it is not consistent. Could be a sticking relay but it is only a guess. There may not even be a relay involved! There are sources of power in the console that are not turned off by the key. The cigarette lighter and the clock power for example. Nearby is radio power. The radio, like the clock gets two sources of power, one is always on and the other is controlled by the key.
    David Teitelbaum

  5. #5
    Administrator Ron's Avatar
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    If the power for fuses 9, 10, 11 and 16 comes and goes together (as it should), I'd suspect the switch/relay too.
    I'd try:
    Pull all four fuses.
    Mark which side of each has power when the the key is ON.
    Confirm they all loose power with the key OFF => Switch/relay normal.
    ...
    A quick look shows several components on those circuits are connected to more than one power source e.g., modules, relays, etc. (all have LGW wires):
    Now, with the key OFF, apply power to the unmarked side of each empty socket, one at a time, and see if power is getting to the unmarked side of any of the other three sockets.
    If so, one of the two circuits is supplying power from a source other than the main relay via the common junction at the main relay....

  6. #6
    Senior Member
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    Could be any of the posted suggestions: flaky ignition key, sticking Aux relay, or feedback from one of the powered circuits. I'd start with the simple fixes and progress to the more complex.

    1. Shoot some electronic spray cleaner to the key switch contacts (but after your done, spray the key core with some lubrication - silicone spray). Perhaps there was enough bleed thru conductivity to just keep the Aux relay energized with the key removed. Cleaning might resolve.

    2. With the key out and the power still on, Give the Aux relay a thump. See if the power goes off. If it does, pull the relay and use a meter to see if any voltage is present on the coil connection.

    3. Just a simplification of Ron's suggestion to investigate feedback; pull fuses 9, 10, 11, and 16 one at a time and see if it has any affect on the issue. Do a test with fuse 9 pulled, then put 9 back and pull 10, and so on till you've cycled thru all listed fuses. In other words, isolate any electrical feedback to its fuse circuit. If you can identify a specific circuit then it's a matter of troubleshooting that circuit. By the way, since you have a manual transmission make sure fuse 13 is not used. If there is a fuse 13 then investigate what the PO has done with it. It should only be there for an auto trans.

    Ron
    Last edited by DMC-Ron; 12-03-2018 at 05:58 AM.

  7. #7
    Senior Member
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    now that's a cool new problem I never heard of before :-D

    I'd also bet on a bad AUX relay.

  8. #8
    Junior Member
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    Thanks everyone for all the advice and tests to do! I will definitely look into all of them and let you all know what I find. I did have the center console out at one point fixing speaker wire and my A/C switch, I looked for anything that was spliced, jumped, or modified but it didn't look like anything was. Then again it could have not been so obvious.

    I did look and I have a fuse in spot 13 and there are wires ran to the bottom of the fuse box. With the key on and the car not started I pulled the fuse and nothing changed that I could notice. I will look more when I have more time, just did a quick look between putting my kids to bed.


    Thanks again everyone!!!

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