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Post by wh23g3g on Mar 1, 2009 16:27:45 GMT -5
I'm finishing up my 73 restoration and was attempting to test the lighting system last night. The battery I had only had 11.50 volts and 186 CCA. So I had it charged today and now it has a full 12.5 volts and 860 CCA. Well last night I was able to hook up everything without any sparks at the battery probably because the battery was so low. Most all the lights worked, the glove box, gear selector, dome light, and right rear tail lamps didn't come on but everything was conncected right. So when I went to connect the battery today to retest everything the large spark occured and melted my new positive cable and fried the starter relay. None of the instruments are on and I can't find any wire that's touching anything metal. There is a 14 gauge red wire that should connect to the B terminal of the relay, then into a fusible link, then turn into a 10 gauge red wire that goes to the Ammeter. If I follow that wire on the wiring diagram it says 60AMP. I now have a 60AMP alternator but it's not even connected, there is no engine in the car even, I'm just testing lights. I had a 10 gauge red wire that came out of the light harness connector which had been spliced with a black wire halfway between and was suppose to be plugged into the B terminal of the relay but on the wiring diagram it said to remove it with 60AMP. I removed that wire and just had the red starter wire hooked to the B terminal and that's when the relay fried and melted the battery cable. Before this happened we were getting the constant spark so I took out a couple fuses and tried to reconnect and was still getting the strong spark when connecting the negative cable. None of the fuses have ever blown throughout this continuing to connect the cables. All throughout this attempting to test the lights everytime I hooked up the negative last it would spark at the battery and at the B stud of the realy. So something is going on at that circuit right? What could be going on?
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Post by Nacho-RT74 on Mar 1, 2009 16:38:20 GMT -5
#Thinking# #Thinking# #Thinking#
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DynoDave
CO-ADMINISTRATOR
Motown Mopar-Wizard
Posts: 11,169
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Post by DynoDave on Mar 2, 2009 8:25:09 GMT -5
I'm not sure I'm following all of that (not your writing, just a lot to think about without seeing it). And you've got our electrical guru (Nacho) scratching his chin.
Here's my thinking, for whatever that's worth. If you were getting the main battery cable so hot that it smoked the insulation off of the outside of it, then you had one MAJOR fault to ground somewhere.
Sparks near batteries are BAD. Batteries give off small amounts of hydrogen gas that can explode. If you are going to continue to test for this fault, you might want to buy a battery disconnect switch, the round knob style that can be mounted right to the battery terminal. This would give you a safe way to power the car up without creating a spark.
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Post by gunmetal on Mar 2, 2009 8:37:07 GMT -5
You said the engine is out of the car. What is the status of the wires that went to the starter? Could they be shorted to the frame? Is the solenoid wire touching the heavy battery cable? Just a thought.....
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Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
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Post by Deleted on Mar 2, 2009 10:24:33 GMT -5
You said the engine is out of the car. What is the status of the wires that went to the starter? Could they be shorted to the frame? Is the solenoid wire touching the heavy battery cable? Just a thought..... thats exactly what I was thinking. Just to clarify.....what wires were actually hooked up to the starter relay, when you fried the B+ cable? |
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Post by Nacho-RT74 on Mar 2, 2009 10:27:26 GMT -5
as everbody said the only way to get a fail like that is the alternator HOT wire shorting ( eyelet terminal ), or the wire from batt to starter motor, any of them making contact with something around.
some notes:
batt to starter motor definitelly wouldn't burnt the fuse link and I don't think starter relay, but who knows about the last one.
ANY OTHER HEAVY SHORT ON REST OF CAR, including alternator stud wire will burn the fuse link
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