I have a '97 e150 van that is driving me nuts. I think it has either a short, a bad computer or a demon inside it, as I keep having issues w/ the electrical system, over the past 2+ yrs. The 1st time it occurred was w/ my rear ac unit; it just died one day. My mechanic tested it and got it to work when he supplied external power, but, determined that there must be a short somewhere in the wiring. Later, I had a problem w/ my wipers only working when they felt like it; replaced the control arm & relay. Problem solved. The short then migrated to the radio, where the display light would come on AFTER the key was removed and even AFTER he disconnected it completely! It also appears that it fried my neutral safety switch. He later replaced the top dc port, as it wasn't putting out enough power. Works great, but then my ac only blows out thru the defrost vents. However, my radio is now working correctly. He mickey-rigged a solution for the ac; used zip ties to hold the actuator in place (sits just under the top of the dashboard); but now I don't have any high beams and my wipers start up when I turn the key to "ON"; despite them being in the off position!!! This 'short', to me, is like a laptop computer virus; after I fix one system, it migrates into a different system! I'm getting tired (and poor) constantly fixing/replacing mechanicals, only to have this thing migrate into a different system or two. He admits that he isn't trained in electrical work, but is only guessing at what and where the problem lies. Any ideas??? Does this van need an exorcism?

 

check the grounds first

 

Which grounds?