Hi, can anyone help me with a mystery? My 1991 Volvo 240 has the battery draining and my test light connected to the disconnected negative cable and to the negative post comes on indicating a short. Fuse # 8 when removed turns the test light off. I have checked all the doors for short & broken wires but none there. The dome lights all look good. I pulled the instrument cluster out just enough to unplug the clock but that did not make the test light go out. The only weird thing I see is that the glove box light is dimly on at the same time my test light is. If I unplug the glove box wire harness that has a disconnect point behind the radio then the test light remains on. So it is not the glove box light. However if I push in the driver door pin switch to turn on the overhead dome light when the door opens then the test light dims but will not turn off. Also the glove box light dims when I push the driver door pin switch. I disconnected the driver door pin switch from the wire harness and the test light remained on. The wires were good I examined those wire all the way back behind the fuse panel and removed the kick plate.

I am scratching my head so thought I better ask some of you will probably know what I'm dealing with.
Thanks for your help.

 

some of that behavior sounds like a bad ground in the vicinity of the light circuits that are crossing each other.

 

#8 fuse sounds like it's for the un-switched stuff, dome light, trunk light, clock, glove box, trunk, and --- lock/unlock system. I would guess problem with the drivers door switch - does the central lock system still work?

At the fuse panel - unplug the wires going to the circuits - not the power wire - if there are multiple wires connected to a single spade terminal - choose a wire and cut it - you can always put a spade terminal back onto the cut wire and piggyback in onto the fuse terminal again. Use that method to determine what is causing your drain.

 

Thank you, Yes, the central door locks work except for rear driver side door and the wagon hatch is a nogo. I always have to use the key to manually open the hatch. I did unplug the wire harness for that driver rear side door and the test light remained on. I will try the fuse panel like you described since I have the whole car practically taken apart on the inside. Haha.