Turn key, battery goes flat, ignition switch smoky. Options

[jaredmcginness]

Me again.
It’s gonna be one problem post a day, until next years Octeener fest. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/idea.gif)

So close here to firing this motor (in the car)(works fine outside of it)
I’m thinking I have a short somewhere in the ignition, but everything seems to check out.

Notes:

Early car, early VW style switch. (After market)
Turn key, ACC works fine, fuel pump relay clicks, all electrics work.
12v to coil, 12v to starter, power supply relay is good.

Turn key to run, Nothing - power goes flat, as long as I hold the key down.

Messing around a bit, tried again and the ignition switch/column starts
smoking and the IGNS wires are warm.

I believe once she smokes she’s done.

I’ll buy a new switch tomorrow, but I’m trying to probe if this sounds like more than a switch.



All my wiring matches the bowlsby pages. Battery is new.
Switch was new (but probably Taiwan crap), new ground to battery and new ground strap. Cleaned every ground I can find. Does not even considering the idea of cranking.
Starter cranks fine when manually jumped.


Now that my smoke is out, queue the ‘Replacement Can’ comments. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/bye1.gif)

[Tom]

Superhawk996,
In the military we learned the divide and conquer method. Essentially the same as what you learned as the half split method. And if one does not understand what the complete circuit is composed of, and how it is supposed to work, you are starting in a hole and digging the hole deeper. I have seen it too many times where someone working on an electrical/electronic circuit and does not understand the circuit and ends up making the problem worse.
A good set of wiring diagrams and or schematics is a must. The Haynes manual wiring diagrams have lead many to make the problem worse. Too small and too easy to jump a trace by one wire, ending up with measurements that make no sense.
One more tip: when using a multimeter, always test the meter on a known good power source of the same value you are checking for both before and after your readings have been taken. Just imagine taking reading for an hour or two and not getting anything that makes sense and then trying the meter on your known good 12V battery and the reading is 3 volts. Just wasted a couple of hours.
Tom