# short finder



## Guap0_ (Dec 2, 2017)

I used to be able to do everything with a 12V test light. I haven't tried the tools that you posted. I would take a chance on one of them, if the store has a good return policy.


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## DexterII (Jul 14, 2010)

I don't have one, but have seen them used, and yes, as far as I have seen, they work, but I guess I would think of more as a circuit finder than a short finder. Say you are trying to find a particular wire in a bundle, this should help you find it. As far as a short, say it was pointing to more than just one wire, okay, as long as you have both ends disconnected from whatever the bundle plugs into you probably have a short, but if either end is connected to anything it could be carry over through a module, relay, whatever on one end or the other, in which case the results would be inconclusive. And if you were to unplug both ends, having just the terminals exposed, you can perform the same check with an ohmmeter. And if you did find a short in a bundle of wires, it's not going to pinpoint the actual location of the damage, so you end up performing a physical inspection. Well, anyway, I could be wrong, but that's sort of my take on them. And I'm sure there are a lot of scenarios that I'm not even considering. Like any tool, it has its' place.


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## carpdad (Oct 11, 2010)

I see what you mean about needle in the hay stack. I also found a article about starting the search at the fuses. Looks like volt meter and long extensions.

BTW, it's camry and the inside fuse box is kind of buried and my back gets twisted trying to see anything under the dash. Shorter time spent better for me. Do you agree that I can stick the short finder probe in one of the fuse receptacle and at least locate the path of the wire bundle? With the battery disconnected.


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## DexterII (Jul 14, 2010)

I would say probably not, but, again, I have only seen others use them, so maybe someone else here can lend some more personal experience. I think though that you're going to have to be pretty much on the exact wire to identify it, so I doubt it would provide much more information in this case than if you were to start removing pillar and door trim, etc. and physically looking for the path. What exactly are you chasing and what do you suspect is the cause? I can't say that it would necessarily be me, but I would bet the chances of someone here helping identify a specific problem are better than that device following one particular wire out of the hundreds or more wires in an automobile.


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## Guap0_ (Dec 2, 2017)

Carp, what's the exact problem with the Camry?


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## Brainbucket (Mar 30, 2015)

Crap. Another tool that wants me to buy it.:vs_smirk::vs_laugh::vs_cool:


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## Bigplanz (Apr 10, 2009)

Yes, they do work, but they work best if you use them the right way.

Example. A broken wire/bad connection. No power is getting to something but the fuse isn't blown. First, get a wiring diagram so you know which wire should be hot. Then, disconnect the battery so the whole system is de-energized. Then, pull the fuse, put in a fuse socket connector (link below). Then connect power to the fuse socket connector from the short finder. The wand will detect the signal in the wire and the short finder will beep!

Follow the wire. Anywhere there is a beep, there is power. When the beep stops, you have found the break in the wire/bad connection.

Disconnecting the battery prevents ghost signals, false positives.

I used my Harbor Freight short finder once and it worked. 

https://www.amazon.com/GTC-CT6100-F...F8&qid=1522333902&sr=8-12&keywords=fuse+buddy

https://www.harborfreight.com/cable-tracker-94181.html


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## carpdad (Oct 11, 2010)

It's the tail light and the fuse blows when head light is turned on. I think there is only one bundle going to the trunk area and I was hoping this kind of short finder can tell me something without removing the mid tower covers, etc. If I have to unjacket the bundle and separate out each wire, then I can use the volt meter I have already. Not sure I was expecting from this tool.:smile:

Main reason is so I don't spend any time between the seat and under the dash, trying to id the wire colors, etc. I tried and the body won't tolerate that much bending for much more than a few minutes.:smile: And the wiring diagram doesn't help much. Thanks on that link for the fuse adapters. I think that'll make it a step easier, meter or the finder.


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## Bigplanz (Apr 10, 2009)

Sounds like a wire chafed and shorting to ground. Find out what wire is shorting, look for where it rubs on something, gets hot or vibrates.

Here is a video of tracking a short in a tail light.


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## DexterII (Jul 14, 2010)

Just thinking here, so don't ask why I'm asking as I'm not fully there myself yet, but when the fuse blows do the turn signals and brake lights still work on that side?


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## Guap0_ (Dec 2, 2017)

Carpdad, here's a trick that I learned in 1972 but you have to be fast. Replace the fuse that always blows with something that won't blow like a piece of metal. The shorted wire will get hot fast. Follow that wire to where it's pinched.


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## carpdad (Oct 11, 2010)

Turn signal/brake lights are on a different circuit. Have seen about all videos there are for finding the shorts. I don't think I have a cut/crushed wire, because I checked the usual suspects on this car. I admit I haven't checked the entire length yet.

But there may be another cause. Someone at the toyota forum said it may be my HID headlight conversion. This camry's headlight "turns on from the negative lead". And my conversion kit's relay/transformer/whatever may be on a positive and that may be the short. I haven't checked that possibility yet. I need to disconnect the kit from the car, which is easy enough, but just haven't had the time.

Thank you for all replies. I am hoping it is the headlight kit, although that leads to another headache.:smile:


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## DexterII (Jul 14, 2010)

carpdad said:


> Someone at the toyota forum said it may be my HID headlight conversion.


I cannot offer anything in this regard, except to agree that I would address this before chasing anything else. Different vehicle altogether, I understand that, but the headlights on my 2017 Ram were terrible out of the factory, and an LED conversion was one of the things that I initially considered. BUT, after a fair amount of research, hearing and reading all of the problems that people had with a wide range of vehicles, virtually all makes and models it seemed, there was no way I would ever consider making that conversion. It's not the "good ol' days" where you simply hung a set of auxiliary lights on a vehicle, hooked them up, and everything worked. Too much going on inside of today's vehicles, and too many consequences if one component doe'st "talk" with another in the intended manner. So good luck.


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## carpdad (Oct 11, 2010)

Appreciate it. This camry is also factory defective in lighting. 
I actually like the white light. I tried more expensive halogen (sylvania) but white light (I think this is 4000K) is better. I did it right as well, not just swapping the bulbs. I converted the housing to accept the projector. But this hid kit is all in one, that is, light and high beam together, because that was the factory design. The cut off shield that gets out of the way for high beam is a problem as well because when the car dips down, I'm driving blind, no matter how short time that may be. I think the cars with 2 separate bulbs will be best or bigger housing that can fit bigger projector. But the cut off shield is still a problem. I understand that the shield is there to cut off the glares, but I think it is over engineered.
Morimoto mini from retrofitsource. It is funny, but if it is a problem of the electric poles, then I may have to mod the headlight switch.:smile:


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## carpdad (Oct 11, 2010)

The answer was somewhere else. I used Depo lamp housing for the conversion. It is usual recommended housing for this kind of conversion because of the clear lens. Factory lens is striped for the beam scatter. 
New housing also came with side marker lens and this side marker comes with a new bulb plug adapter. New is straight adapter and original is angled. Totally by luck but got little suspicious of this adapter. When original put back, short went away. Depo also supplies bulbs. Bulbs tested fine for continuity.


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