lights and wet driving - problem (need a miata) Options

[jimkelly]

whenever i drive my car in the rain, my directional indicators on my dash start to blink on and off randomly. while driving i did notice one of my fuses blew. then when coming upon a red light intersection, slowing down with brakes, my gas guage and tack started dropping off. turns our i have a short in my brake electrics when driving in rain and in my directionals too. maybe it is just a matter of replacing seals around light lenses? thoughts?

[Tom_T]

If you're lucky Jim, it might be just lens seals, but not likely due to the broader extent of shorts you describe.

Time to get out the multimeter & start checking everything in the affected circuits, but check the lenses & inside at the connections & socket for evidence of corrosion to start with, then move to those areas where water could be getting into where the wiring is located. It may be getting in around the cowl, given the items affected.

You'll need to replace any rubber seals that are damaged or deteriorated, but you may also want to check with Jeff Bowlsby about a full or partial harness(es) rebuild.

The 40+/- year plastic insulation on these harnesses can get pretty crispy by now, so wire-to-wire contact can happen anywhere & everywhere - just like the "old VW electrical gremlins scourge" of the 50's & 60's & 70's Bugs & Buses.

Also, if this is on a Subie or other conversion where you have modified harnesses, then you need to check those & any hacks/mods into the harnesses done for the conversion as well.

Good Luck! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/beerchug.gif)
Tom
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