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1995 COBRA Electrical problem

1K views 5 replies 5 participants last post by  P63 
#1 ·
Until today my 95 cobra has run perfectly.

This morning I hit the button in the glove compartment to open the trunk, I put stuff in it, and closed it.
A few minutes later while driving, the trunk lid thumped open. I figured I hadn't shut it properly, so I signalled that I was pulling over and... the signals didn't work. I pressed the hazard lights... nothing.

So I just tried to be careful, I got out, closed the trunk and verified it was closed, then drove on with no further problems excepting for the signals that didn't work.

I parked and "worked" :rolleyes: all day. When I returned to the car at the end of the day the battery was drained flat. Plus the trunk lid was ajar. (nothing stolen btw)

I figured maybe the solenoid for the trunk is shorted and drawing juice constantly?

After a jumpstart (engine started right up) the turn signals & hazard still didn't work. I drove a few miles, and now the hazards and signals work again.

When I got home I disconnected the battery.

Does anybody have any idea what could have caused this problem?
 
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#3 ·
I dont think mods necessarily caused it. My dash lights went out 4 weeks ago for no reason, and I haven't been able to fix them yet :( thinking about taking it to an automotive electric repair shop.

Get yourself a test light and a wiring diagram and dive in... its hard work deciphering electrical problems but hopefully you wil figure it out!
 
#4 · (Edited)
wiring

Hi P63/BenW. I have a question for ya. Do you have an alarm on your car? I had a similar problem with my 94GT. My dash lights went out one night while driving. So, I wiggled the head light knob and they came back on? This went on for a month that got worse and worse.

Anyway, to make a long story short. I ended up replacing the headlight switch. While doing so I noticed some burn spots on the switch and electrical connector.

If your car is so equipped...most alarms will flash the headlights/signal lights and toot horn. I think over a period of time this shorted out my HL switch and caused some burning of the connector. This didn't allow my tail lights, dash lights, signals not to work. You might try checking your headlight switch for proper connection or signs of shorting (browning of the wires there).

I did a quick repair with the burnt wires till I come across another HL switch connector. Haven't found a late model in the salvage yard yet.

I hope this helps
 
#5 ·
What work have you done to the car recently. Maybe you have run a screw through a wire or have a wire pinched in between something. I had dome light problems once and traced it back to the spare tire pinching the cargo light wire. It shows in my service manual that the trunk popper is powered through the #12 position in the fuse block which is a 20 amp circuit breaker. that would explain why it works, then shuts off, then works again. My guess is that you ran a screw through, or pinched the wire that powers the trunk popper and also some wire connected with turn signals. somehow these two are making contact when they should not.

Good luck.
 
#6 ·
Thanks for the responses. To answer a few questions

1. Only non-stock items are a stereo I installed two years ago and a set of Ford 9mm ignition wires installed about a month ago.

2. No car alarm. (Thanks for the info, though. I'll look out for the headlight-flasher problem if I buy an alarm.)

3. The problem hasn't repeated, but I'm not going to press the trunk release button. I'm going to do some troubleshooting tonight or tomorrow night by repeatedly pushing the button in the glove compartment. If a cause is found, I'll simply remove the offending part.
(Gee, Victor, why didn't you troubleshoot OVER THE WEEKEND??)
:eek:
 
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