Wire tracing for 2000 Patriot

[Edward Buker]

Dan,

Because the current took off with the use of the Big Boy solenoid I was thinking that the drive coil in that might be shorting but it should only activate when the switch is pressed being a momentary switch in series. Earlier I was confused what you meant by interconnect when you were talking about the Silverleaf, thanks for clarifying that......

If you disconnect the 270 wire and hit the battery combining switch, see if the Big Boy no longer clicks, then you know that it must be powered by the 270 circuit. The coil is supposed to pull 5.6 amps during activation which would mean it should read about 2 ohms. All of this still does not explain the 35amps of draw at times when you are not pressing on the battery bank combining switch even if the Big Boy coil was shorted. The reason to check to see if the Big Boy is driven by the 270 wire is that if it is, the wire junction point you have been looking for might be in that side panel with the battery combining switch. You could then see where those wires branch to and what is involved. This is a guess that the junction point is in there but it seems unlikely that each item in that side panel has an individual DC wire in feed to power it.

I have no idea why the ABS light is on. Maybe it will go away when the rest of this gets sorted out...always hope.

Later Ed

[Steve Jewell]

Dan,

      This tool is the best I have ever used for finding a shorted or broken wire in a large bundle. Here is the website for the Power Probe ECT2000  http://www.powerprobe.com/ect2k.php
Just click on video and it will show you how it works.

Steve J

[Dan DeKorte]

Sorry I had typed out a post and must not of clicked the Post Reply button, oops!  Well BCS did not have any information for me, so I am back to self-diagnosis.  

Steve, my father has one of those tracers, but a he did not bring it along on Saturday, so will try that next.  Thanks for the heads-up.

Ed, I tested the theory of removing the 270 wire and engaging the interconnect switch, and it clicked just like normal, so not sure it is actually part of the issue, probably just a timing thing.  

Joel, everything works as it should regarding the ignition switch, coach engages the front solenoid, and will start & run just fine, so not sure it is the culprit, but I will look at it to see if the wire comes anywhere near the switch.

I am getting a 1998 Monterey electrical wiring schematic from a friend tomorrow, so maybe that will shed some light.  I really was hoping someone on the forum would have a complete schematic for a 2000 patriot, I would be willing to pay for the shipping to get it to me so I could make PDF files of it for everyone's use, seems like that year is unobtanium :-/

Thanks for all of the advise, really great to have a group of people so willing to contribute!

Dan

[Edward Buker]

Dan,

This is a tough one, I guess you are just going to have to slug it out with tracers and meters until find the culprit.

The one thing that comes to mind is that you cannot seem to find anything beyond the Silverleaf that seems to operate using the 270 wire. And yet the Silverleaf does not seem to draw excess current. I would consider running a new wire from the breaker to the Silverleaf and leave the old 270 disconnected and see what the outcome is. If all is well then go with it for now.  In time you can confirm that everything electrical continues to run. Any item that you find over time that does not run without the 270 becomes a suspect for the excess current draw. You could connect those items one by one until you find what is the current culprit. (so to speak)

Later Ed

[Steve Huber Co-Admin]

Dan,
I reviewed the 03 Marquis wiring diagrams on the BAC site. They show the 270 wire as the MPX- for the VIP ECU. It's a 20awg and runs between C34A pin 3 and C35 pin B. wire 272 is  the ECU MPX+ in the same connectors. Probably not much help but for what it's worth.
Steve

[Dan DeKorte]

Thanks, again for the suggestions and the time each of you has spent helping me with this issue, I really appreciate it!  I am going to try a couple of things over the weekend, hopefully my buddy will come through with the schematic and it sheds light on the location of the wire termination.  I am in the middle of a kitchen & living room remodel as well, plus my work schedule is getting busy, so my time is split amongst several needs!

Will keep you posted on the progress!

Thanks,

Dan

[Dan DeKorte]

Well I decided today was the day the we try to figure this darn wiring issue out.  My Father bought his PowerProbe ect2000 and we started cutting the zip ties behind the dash following the silverleaf harness.  We found a butt connector with the infamous #270'wire feeding one side and three other wires receiving the power.  One was the smaller silverleaf wire, the other was labeled 270-b and went to a round connector that was not plugged into anything(I think it was the predecessor to the silverleaf, and the third was a wire labeled ign spare.  The last wire ended in a butt connector, and the output was a red wire that was not factory installed.  We decided to clip the red wire and try to see what went dead.  After turning the key on with the 270 wire re-connected in the electrical bay, we had the silverleaf back on, and all seemed good until I tried the backup camera.  It did not work.  So after another hour of tracing, disconnecting devices, adding power, etc, we determined the there is a wire that heads from behind the tv, and into the a pillar access that is intermittently grounding out.  Since everything seems to work, we left the wire with no power to it, and buttoned the dash up.  It was amazing how many wires were feeding systems off of the one #270.  One circuit went into a breaker box behind the tv that activates a relay, and has 110 circuits inside the box.  I have to take the coach to the RV repair place locally on Thursday, so will see if anything else's seems to not work.  

Ed, or anyone else who knows, there is a ballast resistor mounted to the frame near the air tanks below the dash behind the front bumper that has a 4 wire plug, any ideas what that is for?  Also it seems as though we have a small vacuum pump behind the front bumper that is somehow tied to the resistor, can anyone shed some light on those two items?

Thanks again for the suggestions, and will let you know if I ever find out what I am missing!

Dan

[Edward Buker]

Dan,

I think the resister is for the heat/air conditioning fan speed control. See if it is tapped for the various speeds. you can also carefully touch it with the dash fan off and then with it on to confirm that is what it is for. Careful, it gets hot. The vacuum pump is for the AC/heat controls, moving the doors using vacuum actuators that moves the air flow from floor to vent etc. These are GM controls and typically would use a vacuum port from the intake manifold on a gas engine in a car.

Later Ed

[Joel Ashley]

The 12v lead into the 110v box may be for locking out the main TV whenever the ignition is on.

Joel

[Dan DeKorte]

Update:  Well went to a close state park for the weekend, and never noticed any missing systems while driving.  I cannot use the dash A/C at this point due to a compressor replacement, and not charging the system yet, but the fan & heat side work fine.  ABS light stayed on the entire time I was driving, and when parked I pushed the diagnostic button, and it flashed eight times, then a pause and one time. I would assume this means a 81 code. One problem seems solved, and on to another, got to love it!

Thanks again for all the assistance, I really appreciate it!

Dan