Need help guys finding the grounds for these lights

Ok winterbeater
i'm doing this step by step so i dont get confused
I have everything hooked up with the exception of the 2 blue wires that i disconnected from the switch i also tape the ends so they dont ground anywhere!

with that said
the rear tail lights plug in on both sides so I want sure if you wanted me to check both of the plugs(connectors) so i just check the one on the driver side behind the spare tire! I touch the probes together and the meter read from like 0.12 then went down to zero, (0.00) thats with the teo probes touching together
I tested the connector coming from the front driver side that connects to the tail lights.... Checkong in ohms I got the same reading it goes from a high number down to
zero as if the probes are touching
so what does that tell me that the short is within the wires that are disconnected from the switch?
 
hey sin try going to the PA. chapter (guess that would be northeast) and posting in there perhaps someone lives close to you and will come help (n/m i did it for you)
did you ever look for a trailer harness or do you have no hitch
 
Last edited:
theNAST1EST said:
I live about 10 minutes away...but I leave all things electrical to professionals.


My best advice is to spend the money...now.
Click to expand...


oh well aint that the way it always works, its like the old saying theres never a cop around when you need one

and please no police officers jump my case im mearly repeating an old saying
if i still lived in md. id drive up and help him
 
I think this just take time and real jeepers of course
cause winterbeater is helping from online
why spend money i dont have
when I can learn in doing it my self so next time i dont have to be a such a pain in the
...
so far with the 2 blue wires cut from the head light switch I am still getting a reading on my meter in ohms (goes from a high # down to zero) indicating that there current going to ground some where (now how did i know that.... of course I GOT IT FROM HERE) some body once told me it takes time and effort that exactly what i plan on giving........ like true jeeper lover
 
kennzz05 said:
hey sin try going to the PA. chapter (guess that would be northeast) and posting in there perhaps someone lives close to you and will come help (n/m i did it for you)
did you ever look for a trailer harness or do you have no hitch
Click to expand...

NO hitch?
I dont think so its a stock jeep as far as i kno

but i have a question
how come if i have both blue wires disconnected
and the switch mounted up and with the car on does the clock work in the dash i thought it was fed off 1 of the blue wires?
 
no... that does not indicate that there is current going to ground somewhere. It indicates a low resistance - how low it should be depends on what it's running. Remember that at full output, a 55watt headlight will draw quite a bit of current, it'll have a resistance of approximately 3.5 ohms. When the filament is cold (i.e. when you are measuring it with a meter) it'll have an even lower resistance.

Some useful equations:
V = IR (volts = amps times ohms)
P = I^2 * R (watts = amps squared times ohms)

Current is measured inline with the circuit - as in disconnect a connector and insert the meter in between with the black lead toward the load and the red toward the source of the power. Voltage is measured between two points, in automotive stuff usually from ground to a wire.
 
kastein said:
no... that does not indicate that there is current going to ground somewhere. It indicates a low resistance - how low it should be depends on what it's running. Remember that at full output, a 55watt headlight will draw quite a bit of current, it'll have a resistance of approximately 3.5 ohms. When the filament is cold (i.e. when you are measuring it with a meter) it'll have an even lower resistance.

Some useful equations:
V = IR (volts = amps times ohms)
P = I^2 * R (watts = amps squared times ohms)

Current is measured inline with the circuit - as in disconnect a connector and insert the meter in between with the black lead toward the load and the red toward the source of the power. Voltage is measured between two points, in automotive stuff usually from ground to a wire.
Click to expand...

but i shouldn't have voltage
what me and winterbeater are doing is
- #1 disconnected both the blue wires off of the headlight switch
- #1 those wires are the source of power for the parking lps, marker, audio alarm (1st blue wire) tail lights, lisc. plate light, clock (2nd blue wire)

-------------------note the switch connector is fully reassembled just 2 blue wires off----------------

- #2 disconnected the back connector for the tail lights both sides
the connector going towards the front (from connector side not switch side) should have no power in the blue wires

I am testing dead circuits
In Ohms just like when you touch the meters probes together
I get that when i touch the dead circuits (tail light connector that feeds from front)

does it make sense now
 
You still haven't disconnected two possible sources of grounding other than the wire being shorted. The license plate bulb and the clock bulb. The tail light connector you are testing still has connection to those two places.

I hate to go forward, when a very possible source of the short is where the license plate light wire goes from the body to the liftgate. I would take out the spare and the plastic panel behind it. Then take off the trim leading up to the roof around the rear door. I believe that you will see where the one blue wire from the front branches off into four other blue wires. One of these goes to a trailer harness connector, which I think will be empty on yours. Then one blue wire goes to the right tail light, one to the left, and one to the license plate lights. We need to isolate the license plate light wire so we can test that. The blue wire running up into the ceiling at the back will be the license plate light wire. Either find a connector along that wire and disconnect it, or we have to cut again. Then take the bulbs out of the license plate light. Then use your ohmmeter to test for a short to ground. Wire disconnected from the front and taillights, bulbs out, the circuit should not show continuity to ground. The blue wires take power to the lights, the black wires are the grounds. Set on ohms, red lead of tester to the blue wire to the license plate light, black wire to a good ground. Meter should show no circuit, just like when you hold the meter in the air. If it shows continuity, like when you touch the probes together, you have a short in that wire.

Hope this all makes sense.
 
makes sense find the lisc plate wire should feed up through the back
find a connector or cut the wire either way isolate it
then take the bulb from the lisc. plate socket and test for continuity
 
YES
I did what you said the 2 wires in the front are still disconnected (at switch)
both tail light connectors are disconnected LT & RT
and I found two black rubbery connectors connecting the wires to the license plate bulb
one blue one black I disconnected the blue one and tested the wire to the lisc. plate socket nothing, then i tested the female side that going back down into where the tail lights its showed continuity really high numbers like 11.02 then goes back down to 0.00 so that means my problem is in that wire right?
 
Any body know how they got all that wire into the back door panel I'd really like to know if i have to pull this out cause i'd wanna know how to put it back before i take it out looks like the wire comes into the truck door cover by some type of braided covering
 
The short can still be anywhere between the lic. plate light and the place where the wire is disconnected at the switch. It can also still be in the tail light wires. That is why you have to find where the blue wire that goes to the lic. plate light starts to come off of the harness. Probably behind the spare tire panel. You have to get to the other end of that wire that goes up into the back door. That wire has to be seperated from the harness (unplugged or cut) in order to test it.

If it does end up being that wire, we will leave it disconnected and test the rest of the lights again. Fixing the lic. plate light is not the most important thing right now.
 
winterbeater said:
The short can still be anywhere between the lic. plate light and the place where the wire is disconnected at the switch. It can also still be in the tail light wires. That is why you have to find where the blue wire that goes to the lic. plate light starts to come off of the harness. Probably behind the spare tire panel. You have to get to the other end of that wire that goes up into the back door. That wire has to be seperated from the harness (unplugged or cut) in order to test it.

If it does end up being that wire, we will leave it disconnected and test the rest of the lights again. Fixing the lic. plate light is not the most important thing right now.
Click to expand...

let me know whats going on here cause I'm confused
the lis. plate light is out of the socket from there the 2 wires one black one blue lead to 2 rubber connectors,....... plugs right in!
from there it leads to the hole on the driver side of the trunk has a connector(this connector has a gray and one blue) right before its feed down in the truck to the spare tire area which in spare tire area has another connector for the same 2 wires blue and gray the gray when it goes up into the trunk leads to the lock i believe or lock assembly (one gray one black)
I am getting continuity from the connector i unplugged by the spare tire area going towards front
I also get continuity on the connector side leading up into the truck if I leave the ground connection to these wires connected ( but i can view the whole wire nothing is wrong with it)
the gray and blue wires connect at the spare tire area (2 wire connector)
then it runs up the rear door well out of a hole on the left side of the truck window................ which has another connector for those 2 wires (gray and blue) the grays feeds into the truck by the motor to truck door latch
(i suppose) the blue wire comes to this single rubber connector that splits into 2 blue wires
I going to take pictures and hopefully its easier to understand
was i suppose to disconnect the grounds for the lis plate if so then its not showing continuity but with the ground connected back there the power line shows continuity! but i can see the whole blue wire nothing is broken or nothing looks wrong
 
http://img132.imageshack.us/i/pict0105to.jpg/

this is where the wires lead into to go down to spare tire area
that connector is 1 of the connector for the the lis. plate bulb

http://img59.imageshack.us/i/pict0104c.jpg/

this shows how it comes out into the truck door as a gray and blue wire the blue leads to a connector that grounds (bottom black wire) and the another blue leads to the lisc. plate lights
if I leave the lue wire connected to that ground I get continuity to the lis plate connectors but if its unplugged i only get continuity into the pplug by the spare leading to the front

http://img5.imageshack.us/i/pict0103ph.jpg/

this is a up close on the connector coming from the truck door it has blue n gray wire
this same connector is in the spare tire area for the same wires

http://img59.imageshack.us/i/pict0101w.jpg/

picture of the connector right by the lis. plate bulb
notice ground is connected (not sure if should be) let me know if that messes up my testing! also that metal assembly in the back ground is where the gray line the first comes into the truck opening leads too when the gray and blue line split

http://img132.imageshack.us/i/pict0111h.jpg/

this I'm assuming is where the wires feed to the front

http://img59.imageshack.us/i/pict0106o.jpg/

this is the connector in the spare tire area that leads to the rest of the connectors for the lis. plate bulb

http://img132.imageshack.us/i/pict0107m.jpg/
http://img16.imageshack.us/i/pict0108lz.jpg/
http://img15.imageshack.us/i/pict0112j.jpg/
http://img14.imageshack.us/i/pict0109ws.jpg/
my ground connection for the multi-meter and tail light connector disconnected (1 con. each side)

hopes this gives a better idea on what i need to do maybe we can even refer to these pics so i know exactly the next step
 
Last edited:
OK, with the lic. plate light unpluged, you unplugged the blue wire (power) and the black wire (ground). You also have to disconnect that blue wire where it joins with the other blue wires inside the body. Then with your tester (on ohms), you hold the red probe to the blue wire that goes to the lic. plate lamp (which you already disconnected at the light). Hold the black probe to a good body ground spot. This should NOT show continuity. If it does, you have a bare spot in the wire touching the body or melted to a black wire.

You say you can see the whole blue wire, but how do you see where it passes through the grommet from the body to the door?

You say you can see the whole blue wire
 
well except the side that passes through the grommet and goes to the door
the section in the door i cannot see but i doubt theres a short there simply because testing between the connector at the top

http://img5.imageshack.us/i/pict0103ph.jpg/

and the connector at the bottom

http://img59.imageshack.us/i/pict0106o.jpg/

with everything disconnected I dont get continuity so I thought i could remove this section from the equation

aslo I already check the plate bulb for continuity with the ground disconnected and I got no continuity with ground disconnected only continuity when the ground was connected but i seem to get continuity in the plate wire leading to front............

http://img59.imageshack.us/i/pict0106o.jpg/
 
You are supposed to be testing from the disconnected plug to a ground, not from one end of the wire (top plug) to the other (bottom plug). We are trying to test if that wire connects to ground (It should not.).
 
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