wire fire (1 Viewer)

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Joined
Jun 10, 2003
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Location
Mooresville, NC -- Lake Norman
i was moving my 40 to my parents so i can finially get to the frame rust and while driving down the road i heard a loud bang thought it was a backfire but motor died and i had no power.

i thought it was just a loose battery cable so i jiggled it and sparks started shooting everywhere and i heard crackling i thought i left the key on so went to turn it off and a fire started in the dash. got the fire out and the cruiser to my parents (only 5-6 doors down) pulled the bad wire (one from alt to amp meter in instrument cluser) no other wires melted thru their insulation, but when i tried to start the cruiser back up... nothing.

i have pulled the whole harness its going back in after rhino line and dont wanna put a bad harness back in

did i fry my alt what about the starter -- what should i be concerned with?? any way to test without the harness in the cruiser

should i replace the whole harness or the single wire -- ie painless?? also if i replace it will only be with new not a used harness -- i hate electrical problems -- but i think mine is still good since it was only one wire

also i know what started the fire -- had the instrument cluster hanging and the wire contacted with the body

thanks for any help
 
You could have the starter and alt tested, they do it at most auto part stores. I doubt there will be a problem. It was a direct short and you were doing a little welding :D You may have hurt the Battery.

I had fire issues with my harnes (melted wires under the hood) but I just spent the time with the harness on the table and checked and identified each wire, and fixed the ones that needed it. It took a while but well worth the time IMO. Nothing will kill you faster in the woods than electrical. As for the painless harness I have heard they are anything but "painless"
 
thanks

can they test the starter and alt without them being hooked up??

i damn sure cant drive it to the auto parts store.

battery is still good atleast for now -- put in the runner for the test
 
You will have to take the start and alt off the motor and down to napa or whatever most stores can bench test.
 
any chance it's fuses?
 
i wish

the only wire was the one that goes directly from the alt to the instrument cluster -- it sounds like it should go thru a fuse but it was direct
 
i thought mine went through a fuse, just not one associated with the fuse box.

checked the grounds???

did it blow out the fuses in the fuse box?

i know it's far fetched, but i'm trying to think outside the box
 
no all fuses are good, no inline fuse either atleast on the + side and i cant see why one would be on the -.

i had the cluser hangin (didnt disconnect wires yet b/c wanted to mark them for when i reinstalled) and the + side i guess touched the metal dash causing a ground?? fried the insulation totally off, split harness all the way down but all other wires seem good just a little stuck together and real sticky

there was a fuse in the harness (not sure what it goes to) that is blown -- i think for my hazzards or horn -- the only 2 things not working b4 the fire -- anybody...anybody??

but thanks that was a question i had anyway
 
Happened to me as well, fried the ammeter wire. Alt & starter should still be fine, mine were. I eventually disconnected the ammeter, too small anyway. Ran a thicker gauge wire from the alt straight to the battery.
 
i did sorta the same thing.... i was working on my cluster and wearing a ring (made it in 8th grade) while i was hooking stuff up. my finger, and ring, were resting on the dash when the ring hit the ammeter wire from the battery! :eek: :eek:

let me tell you, that fawkin ring was HOT! ::) :D
 
sounds like the time i was stripping telephone wire with my teeth, one wire in mouth and another touched my lip... i never thought telephone line carried such a strong bite -- my dads workmen thought it was really really funny.
 
[quote author=Fat Kid link=board=1;threadid=6341;start=msg51941#msg51941 date=1066400033]
i did sorta the same thing.... i was working on my cluster and wearing a ring (made it in 8th grade) while i was hooking stuff up. my finger, and ring, were resting on the dash when the ring hit the ammeter wire from the battery! :eek: :eek:

let me tell you, that fawkin ring was HOT! ::) :D
[/quote]

Been there too!

Remember to ALWAYS disconnect the ground cable or cables from your battery, or batteries, before working on anything, especially electrical. :)

A little extra time spent on this simple task makes things A LOT safer!
 

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