Q: Accidentally grounded out hot wire to chassis, now no electric available.

asked by on November 08, 2016

I accidentally grounded a hot wire from the positive terminal to the body, now there's absolutely no electrical in the car. All the fuses are in tact, is there a relay I can test before checking/replacing the PCM?

My car has 56000 miles.

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Hello. There are high current fusible links that should be tested before you look at the relays, particularly the circuit opening relay(s). These links are depicted on the factory wiring diagram for the vehicle. Since you short-circuited the battery, it’s worth testing the battery (voltage, load test as well) to see if perhaps the battery is simply not putting out sufficient voltage.

It’s a long shot, but nevertheless has to be done to rule out obvious possibilities. To do a proper and systematic check of the fusible links, wiring, and relays, and trace the "main circuits" to the point of failure requires the wiring diagrams. I recommend setting up an electric diagnostic with a certified technician in order to get this covered. They will be able to scope the situation out and let you know exactly what should be done so that you don’t have to guess.

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