Burned wire from alternator

[btceng]

The wire from my alternator is burned almost the entire way to the ammeter. Luckily, it has not shorted to any other wires that I can find. It made a mess of the bulkhead plug but only the slot that it occupies.

Any ideas on the source of such a short? What fuse should have prevented this?

Also leads me to the question of how to remove the dash cover.

 

[Tunis]

The fusible link is the only fuse on the main power circuit. It will unfortunately not protect you from a short on the alternator side. The problem may be a short under the dash or a corroded terminal at the bulkhead.

Hope that helps!

Per

 

[sheetmetaldan]

Not sure if it would have made a difference for you, but I got rid of my fusible link and added a simple inline fuse in it`s place with a 25 or 30 amp slo-blo fuse I forget the exact size off the top of my head. I did this mainly because I didn`t want to pay the $20 bucks year one wants for a replacement.
I had some electrical problems of my own recently and popped a few of the slo-blo fuses trying to troubleshoot the source of my problem. Probably a good thing I switched to a fuse since the fusible link could have just kept cooking while I was searching for the problem possiblly causing more damage or a fire! :angryfire: I keep a few spare fuses in the glove box just in case but never had one pop when I`m out cruisin around.

I keep a small fire extinguisher in the trunk too, cheap insurance against the unexpected these cars cost too much just to sit there and watch them burn!

 

[burdar]

Check the connections at the ALT gauge. All the power for the entire car goes through that gauge. That is a main soarce for problems like yours. A simple fix is to bypass the gauge by bolting together the two ALT gauge connections. Wrap the connection with electrical tape so the bolt doesn't ground against anything. There are volt meter conversions that can be done to eliminate the ALT gauge if you want to go that route.

The bulkhead connections are also a problem area. You need to make sure those connections are tight and free from any corrosion.

If you don't care about bein gcompletely stock, there is a good wiring upgrade that fixes the problems of the factory system. It involved running an extra wire dirrectly from the battery to the alternator I believe. The main power wire is also bypassed around the main bulkhead connector. I know it has been talked about over on CC.com. I'm sure you'll be able to find it if you do a search. Good luck!

 

[Cranky]

Don't see how other wires were not damaged if the alt wire went up in smoke. A few years back, mine found ground on the valve cover on a slant 6 car and it melted into another wire but the fuseable link stopped things before it got any worse and no damage was done to the bulkhead connector. I got a new link at a local auto parts store.

 

[btceng]

Thanks guys. I found the CC article but it looks like the only damage that I have is the red wire. See my thread on dash removal for more. I haven't unwrapped the harness yet but I was able to find a used one in good shape on eBay. That is the inside harness. Still doing the bodywork now.

 

[redlinegw]

If you are using a high amp alternator you may want to consider having the ammeter converted to a voltmeter, then you can eliminate the ammeter wiring. Give Redline Gauge Works a call at (661) 259-8891 they are the leaders in instrument panel restorations and conversions, ask for Shannon or Andy.

 

[btceng]

I looked at the website for Redline. I would love the tach and to have the ammeter converted. Thanks.

 

[Chryco Psycho]

you can also run a bypass wire from the alt output to the start terminal on the starter relay , this will eliminate a lot of the load on the factory ammeter

 

[btceng]

Thanks for the advice. I will be doing something other than the ammeter.

 

[redlinegw]

Give Redline a call at (661) 259-8891