In need of electrical help!

[Sean123]

Alright, so after 45 days in the shop (I told my mechanic to take his time, I wasn't in a hurry!) The beast came home today.

The misfire issue was caused by the CAT being completely blocked off. It drove beautiful all the way home.

I will be repairing the vacuum locking hubs in a few days, Just needs new rubber lines. It a temporary fix til I get the Warn hubs. Speaking of which, Warn lists the manual hubs and the automatic hubs on their site. Are the automatic hubs the same vacuum hubs or are they something else?

Anyway, on to the point. My mechanic mentioned the electric windows worked when the Kia was off without a key. I never noticed this since I hadn't driven it much since it was given to me this fall. He also replaced the battery, noting that I wouldn't hold a charge.

After I got it home I took a quick peak and notice these electrical issues.

1) The windows work without the key
2) So do the windshield wipers
3) Yeah the heater blower fan as well


Sooooo, I am a little concerned. Is this going to drain the battery? What could be causing this to happen? Are there any other electronics I should be looking at to not be working when the Sportage is off. How do I fix it?

Part #'s and a walk through would be very helpful since the Kia online manual is worthless on "how too's" and haynes / Chilton don't make one for the sportage.

[Harry Morgan]

Sean

You're rambling here -- a good rule of thumb is to target one issue per thread. As well, it would be helpful to mention the year and model of the vehicle !?!

Nonetheless, if I get your drift here, my quick take on the electrical issue would suggest that the ignition switch may have been "tampered with" -- how well do you know the person that "gave" you this vehicle ?

Harry

[Sean123]

Thanks for your reply. Sorry about that, it's an '02 4dr automatic.

I recieved the vehicle from my sister, who has now said that she forgot to tell me she knew about the issue. She bought it from a used car dealer, I am unaware of the dealers details.

As far as the electrical issue, is it going to drain the battery too have them with constant power? I can shut all of them off when I turn off the vehicle, it's just not automatic like it should be.

Is it possible the ignition switch has gone bad and is not disconnecting the current when I turn it off like the others on the forum that have an issue with the engine not turning off with the key? Or is it more likely that someone has gone in and bypassed the ignition switch on these things? Where should I look to start?

[Harry Morgan]

Sean

Assuming that the other similar threads here have failed to help you resolve your issue, then I would next be suspicious of the wiring associated with any aftermarket electrical devices installed in the vehicle (e.g., stereos, alarm systems, etc). If there are none, then I would consider just replacing the key-lock assembly in the steering column as a reasonable next step (my guess < $100, though perhaps more, if you don't want to have to have one key for the doors and another for the ignition).

Harry

ps: ignition switches don't normally just "go bad"... they usually need a little "encouragement" -- if you know what I mean

[Sean123]

Thanks Harry,

The only after-market item I am aware of is the stereo I installed when I first got it. The issue was apparently there prior so I don't think it could be the cause. I will take a look behind the dash tomorrow and see if there are any signs of an alteration.

If there isn't anything apparent I will try to scavenge a key-lock from a junkyard and go from there.

[Sean123]

Problem Solved! By accident actually.

So here is the basic run down (ok its the long winded version) of what happened: On my way home I had another issue with the "2002 Beast" misfiring. In my fiddling with the wiring harness and being very pissed off, I blew the IGN 1 fuse. In a pinch I desided to use the A/CON fuse, since they are the same Amperage and size. The AC isn't really an issue in the middle of winter here, not that it works anyway.

After a very long and painful afternoon of splicing in an aftermarket wiring harness. (I had to sweeze my hands down behind the "hot at the time" engine) I cut most of the original harnesses out from the connections on the coils to as far down behind the engine as I could get all my tools.

I finally got it back together and took it for a LONG drive to make sure everything was working. All seems to be great now by the way. The misfire issue is solved for me....I think?

So when I came home it was raining and cold and dark! So of coarse the lights, wiperblades and the heater fan were on. Not thinking I turned off the key and guess what? They turned off!!!!!

So my thinking is either the ignition switch had a hickup and started working or for some odd reason all three things were wired into the AC fuse.

I will pick up a new fuse in the morning and test my theory! If I am correct, then I will have to figure out where and why it is wired like that.

In any case, other then the AC not working (not a big deal to me) the beast seems to be normal for the first time since I got it!

[Harry Morgan]

Sean

Good job. Just curious -- what made you suspicious of the wiring harness ?

Harry

[Sean123]

Sorry again for my long winded rambling, I'm just happy to be resolving these issues and want to give as much info for the next person to solve their own issues.

When I first had the issue with the misfire, I moved the harness out of the way to see if there was anything else going on (the engine was running and misfiring at the time) it just so happened that when I moved it over, it stopped misfiring for a minute.

From there, I messed around with it to get the misfire to stop. After a careful review of the wires, it appears the 2 white wires had cut marks through the insulation and the 2 yellow wires had a break inside the wire with no external signs. I testes the wires with an ohm meter to confirm the breaks. When I moved the wires around the Ohm meter went nuts.

So until the other day, I had not seen an electric arc or any other signs of the wires being bad. I had originally suspected the harness connection itself, and for a while now I had been just pulling on the wires when the misfire happened.

On the other issue, the AC fuse is what has been causing the constant power to the windows and heater fan. The headlights still stay on but I am not sure if that is natural as it is on some vehicles. I will continue my investigation as to where and why the windows and heater fan are hooked through the AC Fuse under the hood. Also if you or anyone could confirm if the lights stay on when the key is off, that would be very helpful

Current my thoughts are:
I wonder if the AC fuse being hooked to the wrong stuff has anything to do with the AC not working or if the AC is hooked up at all.

I also can't figure out why the windows and heater still work without the fuse, since having 2 positive wires hooked to them should have blown a fuse.

On the positive side of things, I fixed an issue with the rubber seal around the window causing an air leak and used some plastic weld to make some minor repairs to the cup holders.

[Harry Morgan]

Sean

OK, I now understand the wiring harness logic. The headlights on my 02 conv will stay on after removing the key, unfortunately, I've left them on many times by mistake.

Are you saying that when you remove the AC fuse:

(1) that the windows and heater fan then behave correctly
or
(2) that the windows and heater fan stop working completely ?

Harry

[Sean123]

When I remove the AC fuse, the windows and heater fan work correctly. When I put the AC fuse in they work even with the key removed.