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shorting out, melting wires... HELP!

Discussion in 'Flat Fender Tech' started by strayduck230, Jun 4, 2011.

  1. strayduck230

    strayduck230 New Member

    Facts: '50 CJ3A, Buick 231, HEI.

    I have some questions, but let me begin with what happened. I was up in the woods driving around and my buddy and I parked to take some pictures of a view. Like 5 minutes go by and we hear a spark sound and see smoke coming from my jeep. We run over and throw up the hood to find my hot wire that goes from my starter solenoid to my amp gauge was burned through (in half, and all rubber melted off it). So I got towed home.

    My question, what all of a sudden would cause this to short out? My jeep has been fine since I put the motor in a year ago. I have replaced the wire, and as soon as I touch the positive battery cable to the battery, It starts to melt it again. For fun I put in a new starter and solenoid to see if that helped. It did not.

    Any tips or other things to check out would be greatly appreciated!
     
    strayduck230, Jun 4, 2011
    #1
  2. Howard Eisenhauer

    Howard Eisenhauer Administrator Staff Member

    Looks like you've developed a short to ground somewheres behind your instrument panel.

    Could be your ammeter, starter switch or ???.

    Got an ohmeter or test light handy? if not time to pick one up.

    H.
     
    Howard Eisenhauer, Jun 4, 2011
    #2
  3. jeep2003

    jeep2003 Well-Known Member

    From my experience ampmeters are nothing but trouble. id disconnect it and try again or just test for a short. perhaps you left the key on? I dont know if that would cause it to burn up but possibly
     
    jeep2003, Jun 4, 2011
    #3
  4. Patrick

    Patrick Super Moderator Staff Member

    Personally, I'd start by removing the ammeter and tossing it in the can...
     
    Patrick, Jun 4, 2011
    #4
  5. strayduck230

    strayduck230 New Member

    thanks all for the help! I figured it out... finally. My ampmeter was grounding out against the dash. The wires going through it had no insulators between them and the bracket that holds the gauge in. So my whole ampmeter was "hot" and basically burning itself to the inside of the dash. Oldness took it's toll on this one. But we are up and running. Thanks again.
     
    strayduck230, Jun 5, 2011
    #5
  6. duffer

    duffer Rodent Power

    Glad you found the problem without burning up the Willys. You should include a fusible link in your replacement wire, right at the starter or a high amp circut breaker in the line. Potential for a LOT of amps on an unprotected circut. This is what I use:

    [​IMG]
     
    duffer, Jun 6, 2011
    #6
  7. strayduck230

    strayduck230 New Member


    That is a great idea, any local parts store have that? What exactly is that called you have there?
     
    strayduck230, Jun 7, 2011
    #7
  8. duffer

    duffer Rodent Power

    MRCB=marine rated circut breaker. A lot of suppliers, including BlueSea but best price I have found is Waytec

    http://order.waytekwire.com/scatego... Protection/?gclid=COnJ3L6ypqkCFQI3gwod8DFuvA

    The one in the pis is:
    http://order.waytekwire.com/productdetail2/M50/46873/MARINE CIRCUIT BREAKER 120A/

    I picked the 120A to cover the alternator output that also feeds through that lead, which is 6 ga wire. As a side benefit, if you manually trip it, it shuts down the electrical system which makes the vehicle a bit difficult to jump start and steal if you place it where it is not easily accessible by someone not familiar with the vehicle.
     
    duffer, Jun 8, 2011
    #8