I was installing a new radio into my car. Someone I bought the vehicle had a mess to begin with. Anyways, something shorted out and i heard a pop behind the dash and now the door chime doesnt work, the dome light doesnt work and the clock only works with the door shut. and another strange thing is if the door is open and i turn the key on the wipers do a pass but then stop. but if the door is closed and i turn the key on it doesnt do it. If any one has suggestions help me out. thanks.

 

My suggestion, and I'm not trying to be a dick here, but if it were me, I'd start pulling the thing apart and get the dash out of there and try to get that whole harness either gone over and fixed, or replaced with a good one. Electrical problems suck and if the previous owner hacked stuff up, chances are, you'll be chasing electrical issues all over the place, all of the time. So in the long run, you'll save yourself a ton of headache just getting it all replaced now. I would go over the other harnesses too and make sure nothing else is damaged/rigged/hacked up.

 

^What this guy said . Electrical gremlins are a bitch in an older car...something has shorted, as i'm sure you know...essentially you need to track it down anyway. The basics would be to check all your fuses and such then take a closer look @ the mess of wires that someone left you behind your radio/climate control. You may get lucky and find the short...at the very least you will have a better idea of whats ahead of you in regards to repair and replace.

If its your daily it will be tough to just yank the dash and start from there...but i've seen crazier things done to a daily driven 240...lol

 

Yeah.. daily drive hopefully I can get a couple days off and pull the dash out. Thanks.

 

getting the dash out the first time can be a major pain because you don't now exactly where everything is and all of that, but it can be taken out, and replaced within a day.
get the FSM and look it over really well. that way you know what to expect.
Once you get it out the first time, you can take it in and out within a couple of hours.

good luck.

 

Yeah i know. This is my 3rd 240 and I've had my previous dashes out here and there. It normally takes me a couple of hours. i just want to give myself a couple days just incase i find a rats next.