HELP! ballast resistor getting hot with key off!

just replace the harness under the dash of my 72 satellite,everything now works,but the ballast resistor started getting hot and smoking with the key off.i checked the harness,didnt melt anything.what would cause this?

somethin not grounded?

Two wires touching

pull a batt cable & w your VOM on ohms see where the main line at from the fusible link on inside is connecting to the blue (ign1) circuit. I'm giving kind of a vague answer but as said above something touching somewhere (bulkhead/ign sw etc). What was the prob that you replaced the underdash harness?

You have a shop manual?

wiring diagram?

12v test lamp?

Yank all the push-on ends off your ballast/ ignition and the ECU, and probe with a lamp and SEE WHAT'S HOT. Everything should be dead with the key off.

Then find out which wire (color) it is and trace back to the bulkhead. Yank that section of the bulkhead connector off, make sure it's still hot at the bulkhead--that will eliminate a "welded" harness short under the hood.

Next thin I'd do is yank apart the connector going to the column/ ignition switch, to see if it's in there.

I highly reccomend one of these.
http://www.tooltopia.com/tool-aid-25300.aspx I Found a short with it in 10 minutes that had eluded me for 6 months.

Love this thing!!!!!

thanks guys.i replaced the under dash harness cause the old was hacked up.im gonna replace the engine harness with a new one from year one also