Operation CHARM: Car repair manuals for everyone.

Testing For Short to Power





1. Remove the blown fuse. Leave the battery connected.
2. Connect the short finder across the fuse terminals.
3. Close all switches in series in the circuit you're testing.
4. Turn on the short circuit locator. It sends pulses of current to the short. This creates a pulsing magnetic field around the wiring between the fuse box and the short.
5. Beginning at the fuse box, slowly move the short finder along the circuit wiring. The meter will show current pulses through sheet metal and body trim. As long as the meter is between the fuse and the short, the needle will move with each current pulse. Once you move the meter past the point of the short, the needle will stop moving. Check around this area to locate the cause of the short circuit.