Car Falling Short Of A Flawless Electrical System: Expectations Vs. Reality

While a car battery short won’t electrocute you, it could still go up in flames like Ace’s 1981 Cadillac Eldorado Biarritz in Casino. Seriously folks, satiate your curiosity, then hit the auto shop for service!

If you ever smell burnt plastic or rubber in the car, it’s one of the two: you just did donuts, or there is an electrical short in your car. All in all, something is melting down & about to burn.

While it’s too early to exit the car Hollywood style and expect Michel Bay’s sparks, you can cruise over to Peter Boulware Toyota and get your ride checked. As for your curiosity, let’s deal with that too.

An electrical short usually occurs because of the following underlying causes:

1. A wire is frayed or losing insulation
2. A frayed wire is touching the car’s metal body. That grounds the current, allowing it to drain over time.
3. A damaged wire is pinched between two auto parts, allowing the current to drain.
4. A wire has been improperly connected or disturbed in an engine bay service.
5. A wire has come loose and is getting grounded when the car moves.
6. A wire with the wrong resistance is used to replace a damaged wire.

What Does an Electrical Short do?

Electrical charges seek the path of least resistance in terms of distance, not low resistance. So, a frayed wire shorted out will be generating high resistance & heat as it takes the shortest path to the ground. That can start a fire.

Sometimes, even before you smell the burnt scent, you will notice your dashboard warning light will show up an electrical fault warning, n the basis of which, you can go to a mechanic, or hone in on the fault yourself.

A DIY Diagnosis

Since you can’t just guess where the short is, and not all shorts produce the burnt plastic scent, you will have to get creative.

1. Don insulation gloves, and get an automotive diagnostic tool (ATD) for circuit testing (12-volt rating).
2. Remove the battery terminal connector & clip the tester to it. Touch the ATD end to the battery terminal. The light will turn on if there is an existing short in the car’s electricals.
3. Maintaining the circuit, start pulling the fuses in the fuse box using nose pliers. If the ATD circuit breaks, you have a short in the region the fuse corresponds to.
4. Next, check what fuse was it that has the short; you will find a guide in your owner’s manual or online.

While it’s been fun assuming component issues but finding out they are electrical, this is still not amateur night. If you called us up at Peter Boulware Toyota, our technicians would advise you to make it over to their auto shop before that short sets your car on fire.

Serving Crawfordville, FL, we’ve not only got an AAA-certified auto shop, but we also have new, used & certified cars with flexible financing options you can avail of at the spur-of-the-moment trade-in & purchase. It’s a much better option than dealing with an electrically flawed car!

Get in touch & find out more at our service center!