I bought my cruiser about 2 months ago with the intentions of never paying someone to do any repairs . I also wanted it to never be towed. With this in mind, I have been busy refurbishing my TOY. With this forums help I have added:
new wheel bearings, front disc brakes, new wheels/tires, new brake lines, new master, new susp bushings, shakles/ shims, rodded and flowed rad, new rad hoses, new belt, cleaned gas tank, new speedo, new speedo cable, turn signals, side markers, bumperettes, tow hooks, hitch, 2 piece header, new muffler, tail lights, new choke cable, new battery
All this work and yet to drive once............ The other day, I got the header/ exhaust on and wanted to hear how it would sound (po xhaust was loud & leaky)
I drove out of the driveway with a fat smile on my face...... MADIEN VOYAGE Soon I smelled something burning..... I assumed that it was the VHT I sprayed on the header until I began to smell electricalplastic meltdown. I turned the key off and jumped out to look under the hood. I 1st noticed that the wires from the alt were on fire. I quikly pushed the truck into a yard and began using the h20 hose. As I was putting out the blaze, I noticed the choke and throttle cables were cherry red as well as many other random metal parts that shouldnt be hot.......
I next noticed the battery had flipped upside down and both terminals were touching the frame.....
So I am standing there in some guys yard with an electrical fire, a garden hose, and an inverted battery shooting sparks ....
Being the master mechanic I am, I had made the terminal connections on the battery really tight ( the cables weren't coming off)
My only hope was to grab the battery. I managed to flip it over and cool off the hot parts with the water hose. I called the only guy I know with a toyota to pull me home.
After everything cooled down a bit (including myself) I assessed the damage:
Most of the wires from the alt to the v reg were melted. The other surrounding wires were melted from the heat, including the wires to the hi lo headlight foot switch and the v reg. The choke cable is now in op as well as the cable for the throttle.
I just happened to have a wiring harness and a spare v reg. I cut and spliced all the affected wires, SECURED THE BATTERY, and the truck fired right up. The volt meter shows a charge. I was shocked the battery and alt didnt need replacing.
There is a problem. The headlights don't work. I pull the knob and nothing. Could a damaged hi lo switch cause them not too work? The wires were not melted at the pull knob in the truck..... they did get hot around hi lo switch though.
Also, my battery is grounded to the block. Should I also ground it to the frame?
thanks
mel
new wheel bearings, front disc brakes, new wheels/tires, new brake lines, new master, new susp bushings, shakles/ shims, rodded and flowed rad, new rad hoses, new belt, cleaned gas tank, new speedo, new speedo cable, turn signals, side markers, bumperettes, tow hooks, hitch, 2 piece header, new muffler, tail lights, new choke cable, new battery
All this work and yet to drive once............ The other day, I got the header/ exhaust on and wanted to hear how it would sound (po xhaust was loud & leaky)
I drove out of the driveway with a fat smile on my face...... MADIEN VOYAGE Soon I smelled something burning..... I assumed that it was the VHT I sprayed on the header until I began to smell electricalplastic meltdown. I turned the key off and jumped out to look under the hood. I 1st noticed that the wires from the alt were on fire. I quikly pushed the truck into a yard and began using the h20 hose. As I was putting out the blaze, I noticed the choke and throttle cables were cherry red as well as many other random metal parts that shouldnt be hot.......
I next noticed the battery had flipped upside down and both terminals were touching the frame.....
So I am standing there in some guys yard with an electrical fire, a garden hose, and an inverted battery shooting sparks ....
Being the master mechanic I am, I had made the terminal connections on the battery really tight ( the cables weren't coming off)
My only hope was to grab the battery. I managed to flip it over and cool off the hot parts with the water hose. I called the only guy I know with a toyota to pull me home.
After everything cooled down a bit (including myself) I assessed the damage:
Most of the wires from the alt to the v reg were melted. The other surrounding wires were melted from the heat, including the wires to the hi lo headlight foot switch and the v reg. The choke cable is now in op as well as the cable for the throttle.
I just happened to have a wiring harness and a spare v reg. I cut and spliced all the affected wires, SECURED THE BATTERY, and the truck fired right up. The volt meter shows a charge. I was shocked the battery and alt didnt need replacing.
There is a problem. The headlights don't work. I pull the knob and nothing. Could a damaged hi lo switch cause them not too work? The wires were not melted at the pull knob in the truck..... they did get hot around hi lo switch though.
Also, my battery is grounded to the block. Should I also ground it to the frame?
thanks
mel
