Fire Crisis need electrical help (3 Viewers)

[71/monarch]

Big trouble....
I've got a 12/71 FJ55LG and I'm in the process of installing a motor and since I'm waiting for the manifold gasket to arrive I decided to tackle some side projects. Well since I bought this rig back in sept. as is which means it needed some TLC at which point the rig sat in my driveway until now. Over the past week I've pulled the motor that was all busted up with a broken camshaft and installed a fair conditioned F motor (thanks Rob). Just last night I figured I would start with the electrical issues but if I know it was going to end up in flames I wouldn't have bothered with it.
Here's the situation; alternator wire from the battery to the alternator, alternator condenser, and the W/B wire from the Voltage regulator lite up like a firework show. The condenser sparked like a sparkle firework and the wires lite up red and melted like a snake firework (you know what I'm talking about).
The event leading up to; I traced the fried alternator wire out of the stock wiring loom (From the PO), I replaced the wire with a 12guage wire and used a parallel junction connection for the inline wires (two wires;one B/R to ignition and one W to the rear conjunction terminal for the rear window), I crimped the wires at the parallel junction and at the positive post terminal of the battery. I turned the key and got nothing so I played with the starter wiring for a bit and wired the BY wire to the post closest the motor and a BLK wire to the post closest the fender on the starter. The tried the key again, now I've got a red light on the right side the instrument panel on the first click and the start engages on the second click. Now I checked for power with the key on first click (ACC) got no power to the fuse box. I took that out and applied sand paper to fuse box for a bit then slapped it back in and what do you know POWER. The lights, wiper, lighter, signal, and horn worked minus the hazards and rear window. I was happy and called it a night but decided to take a picture to document the day work. I when to pull the light switch (keep in mind I didn't have the key in "OFF") the lights blinked once and all I saw was smoke coming out of the engine compartment.
I looking for some insight here.
Perhaps someone has had this problem before or someone knows a direct remedy (fingers crossed)
Any advice would be appreciated.
I'm going to have my alternator back in an hour and I'll be pickup a new VR (napa VR528SB) too.
Thanks

Starter shot

Parallel connection.

 

[71/monarch]

Since I mentioned the motor project I figured I would add a couple of photo's for insight.
The Old:

The Now:

 

[laguna80]

I had something similar like that happen to me with a 95 T100 years ago. The ignition switch was bad so that once you turned the key to start it wouldn't return to just on" this caused the starter to be constantly engaging. Fried everything and there was a lot of smoke. Maybe something similar happened with yours?

 

[71/monarch]

Sorry to hear about your situation on your rig but thanks for the info. I'll got pull the ignition and check that out. I've got to do a con-ta-new-whaty test on each prong, right. From the ACC to the IG, to the ON, and to the AM which is the one click to the left. If there is another way to check please let me know.

 

[cruiserbrett]

#1 issue= 10 or 12 gauge black with white stripe wire is the starter soleniod trigger wire, IE, makes the starter turn over.

Black with yellow is ignition hot, IE coil wire.

So, black with white shouldnt be connected directly to battery, or to anything but the downstream side of the ignition switch. you can trace back to ignition switch plug on left side of instrument cluster. Coil and other misc stuff should be on the black with yellow circuit.

the black with red 10ga wire is what attaches to the white wire that goes between the alternator and the battery. that feeds power to the igniton switch, etc.

also, junk the chevy starter you have in there, and get a toyota one.

I have the wiring harness out of my 12/'71 FJ55 in the garage, so I can point you in the right direction pretty easily.

 

[cruiserbrett]

one more thing, I am guessing that the ground cable isnt connected to from battery to chassis to engine. one of those connections is probably not connected, since that is about the only time I have seen the white with black wire from voltage regulator to alternator melt. This happens when the ground is bad between starter and battery when you try to crank. whether or not you heard it, since the black with white 10ga is connected directly to battery the starter wanted to crank, with a bad ground between the battery and the starter, typically this wire melts as the starter tries to crank, but without proper gauge wire it just melts this wire...

 

[71/monarch]

Luguna80
The ignition switch check out good, thanks for the info.

Thanks Brett
Okay here is an update.
I used a temporary ground for the engine to frame. Until I buy a ground strap.
Wasabi came over to help me out real quick and this is the conclusion.
The BW (correction) wire to the starter is good accord to the ignition (start position).
The little (16-18gauge) one that shares the same loom with the BY 10 guage is BW or BY and has constant power (red flag is most likely the culprit of my fried problem). On the first picture that is a YB wire coming from a connection where the YB crosses with a RY which is hooked up to the coil (unsure??). I've got no fried wirings today and I don't have clue what do with.
Thanks for informing me about the starter I'll have to swap that out in the near future but since I'm strapped for cash I've got to use what I've got.
BTW, The second photo with the BW wire got fried was my replacement for the WHT one and now I've got a WHT one to permanently replace the two fried wires, I figured that was one of my problems in the first place (wrong color code).

 

[cruiserbrett]

okay, so some PO work has been done on the wiring harness.

the yellow with black small gauge wire is actually the oil pressure sender wire. trace it back to the instrument cluster. the red with yellow wire that it connects to the connector behind the starter battery cable is actually for the t-case 4wd indicator switch that your truck shouldn't have, but its still in the wiring harness. Mine is has the same wiring with no indicator switch(only on earlier vacuum shifted t-case models.) you can trace one side back to 12v ignition hot, and the other will come out of the harness near the hazard switch connector.

Coil wire power should be black with yellow thinner wire.

without seeing it in person and checking out mods, its going to be hard to do further troubleshooting, since its not matching up to pretty standard toyota color codes that are used from the 60's to the 80's...

Something seems wrong, I would make sure the plugs on the fuse block are installed correctly, and that the ignition switch connectors are in the right spots. the haynes manual has a pretty good diagram, and short of the emission wiring and turn signal relay, its pretty accurate. I think I found that the 1972/1973 FJ55 diagram was closest.

the black with yellow wires in a factory configuration are ignition hot, not start hot

 

[71/monarch]

Okay so I reference the wrong color code according to the first picture the BW wire to the starter is the correct one. The only mystery that I need to figure out is the little BY wire that I think (so do you) should go to the coil but according to my wire diagram on hand it say the coil wire is RY. I'm got to do some school work today so if I get time I'll hit the garage for a bit.
I've got a oil pressure wire hooked up already and I'll post a picture of that tonight and I'll try to trace the BY wire as well. I'll just disconnect that YB wire from the 4wd indicator to the coil and tuck that away with a label. Everything seems to be stock minus the additional trail lights but I'll post some pictures of that as well.
thanks
Chris

 

[71/monarch]

I figure it only take a couple of minutes to snap some photos and upload them.
fuse box

Oil Pressure YB wire

Bus Terminal for trailer lights

I'll trace that BY little wire later tonight.
thanks