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Electrical Short w/ parking lights 200 1986

hey i need help tracking down a potential short in my parking lights.

whenever i start my car and flip on the parking lights (or the parks & headlights) my light for the rear defroster comes on. now, whenever i shut my car off with the headlights on, everything is fine. but when i shut my car off with only the parking lights on, the engine will continue to run until i turn the headlight knob to off or headlights. Also, if i have the car off and i flip the knob to the parking lights, it makes an electrical buzz noise and the car will act as if i have the ignition turned on.

What's going on here? if anybody can help, a response would be greatly appriceated.

Thanks!








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Electrical Short w/ parking lights 200 1986

That's a classic. I bet a cold one it's a wagon and the tailgate harness (probably both harnesses) has or have cracked. The wires in the harness are shorting together "backfeeding" one circuit from another circuit.

For example, the juice going to the license plate lights (which are part of the parking light circuit) is cross-feeding to the rear defroster circuit. When the parking lights are on, the the defroster timed relay is "backfed" power and the indicator light illuminates.

Sometimes the wipers get involved and weird things happen, such as stepping on the brakes cause the wipers to sweep, or turning on the rear wipers causes the car to drive to the local pub for a cold one.......

Keep in mind that five separate circuits feed through those two hinge harnesses:

  1. Brake lights
  2. Rear wipers
  3. Defroster
  4. Power locks
  5. Parking 'n license plate lights

Plus ground.

Can you imagine what happens when you intermingle those circuits? Consider that the brake light circuit is NOT switched by the ignition, so you could conceivably have the engine powered with your foot on the brakes and the key off.

This is so mind-boggling that you should give up now and donate your car to me.
--
Don Foster (near Cape Cod, MA)








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Electrical Short w/ parking lights 200 1986

Yes, there's a brake light wire in '86+ models.

Also to note that there is a ground for the taillights on either side. I've had funky things happen when the bit of body to which the taillight ground is mounted turns to rust.

Check that out, too.

Evan








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Electrical Short w/ parking lights 200 1986

Mr. Foster, not only are you a wealth of information - you're also a HOOT!
RP
--
RP '87 245 266,000 mi








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Electrical Short w/ parking lights 200 1986

"...also a HOOT..."

Hmm. I think wife called me that once, too. Or maybe it was, "...you're not worth a HOOT..."

But I fixed her. I wired the rear wiper to her left...

...oh, never mind. Though she sure looked funny when it rained....
--
Don Foster (near Cape Cod, MA)








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Electrical Short w/ parking lights 200 1986

If your 240 is a wagon, then the problem is the wiring to the tailgate. After awhile, of opening and closing the tailgate, the wiring running to it (through the pass. side hinge) begins to wear, and eventually shorts.....this causes all sorts of weird problems, including the ones your mentioning. If your car is a wagon, I'm 99% sure this is the problem.







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