Electrical Issue - Smoked Wire

[retrofive]

So in the 4yrs Ive owned the car this wires has end up like the pic. I have searched and have a FSM. However Im horrible at reading schematics and dont know the right term to search for.

As you can see the wire is fried. Can anyone tell me what this wire goes to?

 

[KLF]

That is definitely NOT factory OEM. Find out who installed that abortion and go beat his/her ass for almost burning your truck down. Ask them what else they installed, so you can rip it out before it does the same thing.

 

[Lka1988]

Looks like what used to be a fusible link, except it wasn't a fusible link.

 

[1shot1kill]

I replaced that fusible link a couple of weeks ago. It is 19 bucks from Toyota1

 

[retrofive]

Yep, pretty scary. I will remove it. I replaced the wire already thinking it needed to be there. But if its not OEM maybe a part of an old alarm system? The truck had one at one point (PO), but was removed by time I purchased it.

 

[retrofive]

That is definitely NOT factory OEM. Find out who installed that abortion and go beat his/her ass for almost burning your truck down. Ask them what else they installed, so you can rip it out before it does the same thing.

I replaced that fusible link a couple of weeks ago. It is 19 bucks from Toyota1

So are we talking the wire isn't OEM (I can see that), but black box is OEM fusible link?

1shot - Why did you have to replace it? did it try and burn your truck down as well??

 

[informationjunky]

So are we talking the wire isn't OEM (I can see that), but black box is OEM fusible link?

1shot - Why did you have to replace it? did it try and burn your truck down as well??

The black box is where two of the the three OEM fusable links terminate. Open it and you should see where the ring terminals of the links bolt to.

 

[SeanAndHis80]

Why the hell is that wire wrapped around the other one so much?

You have a problem and some symptoms. Unfortunately the damage you see is the symptoms. You need to replace the fusible links and then figure out what caused it to fry. Something unfused is shorting to cause that.

 

[retrofive]

Thanks guys. Im going to tear out as much as I can and re-wire with new stuff. Hopefully in the process I can find what the cause may be. Think I should use a better gauge wire with a fuse on it until I find the problem so I dont end up with smoke wire again?

 

[SeanAndHis80]

Those are supposed to be fusible links - they are supposed to blow when the current gets high over a period of time. Fuses would burn out in a shorter period of time. I see another RED wire of fairly wide diameter - that should be traced and fused if it is not already. About the only thing that is not fused in the stock setup is the link from the battery to the starter - it is a simple circuit and very well insulated. Fuse any added circuits. Replace the burnt out wires/links with the stock links - order some spares.

 

[retrofive]

The other larger gauge red wire goes directly from the battery to 40amp fuse, then to the amplifer in the back. Im at work now. When I get home Ill tear into some more.

Thanks

 

[retrofive]

Ok this is what I know at this point. The red wire that is fried is the Main (FL MAIN 2.0L). I know it has been replaced twice. First time 4yrs ago (looked the same as this fried one). And just yesterday. The culprit (thanks Sean) as far as I can tell was my amplifer power line. The 40amp fuse didnt break as in overloaded but the glass snaped at one of the ends. I couldn't see it until I started going through everything. Sidenote the amplifer for my sub is installed, but the sub is out of the car so I wouldn't have known the amp was off. With the amp fuse in a broken state the truck ran like crap (idling around 150-200, just barely enough not to stall). My guess is the 40amp was faulty, when it broke some how overloaded the main FL, and becuase of my ignorance the wrong wire or gauge was used as a replacemant causing it to fry??

Anyway I picked up a new 40amp fuse for the amp, put a 10 gauge new wire in for the Main FL (again is this wire specific? is the FL you can buy from Toyota for $19 or what not?. At this point everything is running perfect again.

Fusible Link is the term I was looking for, but dont really understand what it is. The FSM say 1 face wire or something like that. Does it mean something like a solid core? or?

Thanks again guys! I dont want to melt my truck to ground. Obviously the main FL connects to just everything in the truck so this could take a bit to track.



UPDATE: Ah HA!! FL little more research lead me to the correct parts

 

[informationjunky]

FYI they are about $10 for all three. IMHO, I order two sets to prevent the first set from blowing again.

 

[retrofive]

Great learning opportunity or as my grandpa has told me through the years GLO.

Thanks all for the help.

 

[jvazquez53]

I replaced that fusible link a couple of weeks ago. It is 19 bucks from Toyota1

Need to do that ASAP!, one of my trucks have a contraption like in the picture above.

 

[Photoman]

Fusible Link is the term I was looking for, but dont really understand what it is. The FSM say 1 face wire or something like that. Does it mean something like a solid core? or?

A fusible link is usually used in older higher amp circuits. It is there to blow before the wiring and components in the circuit are damaged. A fusible link in general is sized about 4 wire sizes smaller then the wiring it protects. Basically the difference between it and a regular piece of wire is the outside insulation. A fusible link has an insulation that will not melt and burn up like a regular piece of wire. This keeps it from burning in to other wiring and possibly shorting them out before the wire it self burns through. The length of the fusible wire matters as this is part of what determines how many amps it will handle before it goes.

There is a reason a fuse or fusible link burns up. Just replacing it without finding the root cause is just pushing the problem down the road or worse.

My guess is the 40amp was faulty, when it broke some how overloaded the main FL, and becuase of my ignorance the wrong wire or gauge was used as a replacemant causing it to fry??

Keep in mind you want it to be the weak link rather than the circuit going up in smoke.

Anyway I picked up a new 40amp fuse for the amp, put a 10 gauge new wire in for the Main FL (again is this wire specific?

I personally think the regular piece of wire you replaced the fusible link with is way oversized. This will keep that wire from burning up; but, can come at the expense of the circuit or a component it is supposed to be protecting.

I dont want to melt my truck to ground.

I would suggest if you are not familiar with troubleshooting wiring problems to find someone that you trust to look it over for you. Diagnosing problems over the interweb when someone has made connections somewhere to add amps and other accessories is pretty tough. HTH

Bill

 

[tblume]

that wrap deal is sketchy man, find the root problem and fix it first before you do melt something bigger. I had a volvo melt a battery down, happened after it had been parked, everyone was in the house etc.. did not notice till the next day what kept the car/carport/house from going too I'll never know, just lucky