Melted wire and smoke

[ChildIdenticant]

What if the ignition switch was on? Its a little loose and may have been on?

Your post I referenced earlier : A Head Scratcher... reads as regarding a failing ignition switch on a 1994 explorer. Is that post about the same vehicle we are discussing now?

 

[Polardogg]

Your post I referenced earlier : A Head Scratcher... reads as regarding a failing ignition switch on a 1994 explorer. Is that post about the same vehicle we are discussing now?

Yeah i just completely forgot lol

 

[Polardogg]

Y bad i completely forgot about that head scratcher post February was a really bad month.

 

[ChildIdenticant]

If the car was in Key On Engine off the moment you connected that negative cable, I'm not going to try to figure out what the inrush could have been, but if you left a door open that's cabin lights, maybe you keep the blower on, radio too? Imma say yeah I think so. At least to pop the fusible link. You might want to go through some of your fuses. #4, #16... make sure that ignition switch is off and try this again after adding the fusible links. If you are going to try this again before fixing the ignition switch correctly, before you reconnect the battery, make sure doors are closed, radio is off, ac blower is off, headlights are off. Connect battery. Maybe even remove fuse #1 until after battery is installed for troubleshooting info if the link blows again.
If everything works right , I would still not consider the fuel pump relay melt to be definitively solved though.

 

[Mbrooks420]

There’s no way to “figure out the inrush” but connecting it with those live would be electrically no different then having them all on.

The key simply being in is NOT going to be the case here.

Don’t get your hopes up.

 

[Polardogg]

There’s no way to “figure out the inrush” but connecting it with those live would be electrically no different then having them all on.

The key simply being in is NOT going to be the case here.

Don’t get your hopes up.

Then what should I do?

 

[Louie the Explorer]

Then what should I do?

Go back to the basics. The wiring from the starter solenoid to the alternator was smoking and or burned out the fusible link. Only several things can cause that;


A shorted alternator + terminal.


A short or pinched wire leading to alternator + terminal from starter solenoid.


The battery was hooked up backwards.





All this can be easily checked without letting any more smoke out by using an ohmmeter. It can be used to check the wire leading from the starter solenoid to the alternator, thus also checking to see if the wire going to the alternator is shorted. This can also check to see if the alternator is shorted. It will also let you know if the fusible link is open (good chance it is if it smoked).





And lastly used in the volts mode you can check the polarity of the battery to make positive is actually positive (rare to have reversed polarity battery).





My educated guess is you hooked up the battery backwards. Be forewarned, if you did that even for a second, it will cause the diodes in the alternator to short out and stay that way. Disconnect the wire from the alternator (make sure it is not touching ground, tape it up). Then connect the battery up, just brushing the negative cable on the negative terminal. There should just be little sparks, not arc welding or smoke. Turn everything off in the truck first.





If that goes ok, take the tape off the wire that went to the alternator and check to see if you have voltage there with a test light. If you do the fusible link is still ok.





If you have big sparks, disconnect the wire from the starter solenoid leading to the alternator. Then try connecting the battery back up. If it is ok then the wire leading to the alternator is shorted somewhere.





Then disconnect the battery again and connect the alternator back up. Now try brushing the – battery cable against the – battery terminal. If you have big sparks and possible smoke the alternator is shorted.

 

[Polardogg]

Go back to the basics. The wiring from the starter solenoid to the alternator was smoking and or burned out the fusible link. Only several things can cause that;


A shorted alternator + terminal.


A short or pinched wire leading to alternator + terminal from starter solenoid.


The battery was hooked up backwards.





All this can be easily checked without letting any more smoke out by using an ohmmeter. It can be used to check the wire leading from the starter solenoid to the alternator, thus also checking to see if the wire going to the alternator is shorted. This can also check to see if the alternator is shorted. It will also let you know if the fusible link is open (good chance it is if it smoked).





And lastly used in the volts mode you can check the polarity of the battery to make positive is actually positive (rare to have reversed polarity battery).





My educated guess is you hooked up the battery backwards. Be forewarned, if you did that even for a second, it will cause the diodes in the alternator to short out and stay that way. Disconnect the wire from the alternator (make sure it is not touching ground, tape it up). Then connect the battery up, just brushing the negative cable on the negative terminal. There should just be little sparks, not arc welding or smoke. Turn everything off in the truck first.





If that goes ok, take the tape off the wire that went to the alternator and check to see if you have voltage there with a test light. If you do the fusible link is still ok.





If you have big sparks, disconnect the wire from the starter solenoid leading to the alternator. Then try connecting the battery back up. If it is ok then the wire leading to the alternator is shorted somewhere.





Then disconnect the battery again and connect the alternator back up. Now try brushing the – battery cable against the – battery terminal. If you have big sparks and possible smoke the alternator is short

Go back to the basics. The wiring from the starter solenoid to the alternator was smoking and or burned out the fusible link. Only several things can cause that;


A shorted alternator + terminal.


A short or pinched wire leading to alternator + terminal from starter solenoid.


The battery was hooked up backwards.





All this can be easily checked without letting any more smoke out by using an ohmmeter. It can be used to check the wire leading from the starter solenoid to the alternator, thus also checking to see if the wire going to the alternator is shorted. This can also check to see if the alternator is shorted. It will also let you know if the fusible link is open (good chance it is if it smoked).





And lastly used in the volts mode you can check the polarity of the battery to make positive is actually positive (rare to have reversed polarity battery).





My educated guess is you hooked up the battery backwards. Be forewarned, if you did that even for a second, it will cause the diodes in the alternator to short out and stay that way. Disconnect the wire from the alternator (make sure it is not touching ground, tape it up). Then connect the battery up, just brushing the negative cable on the negative terminal. There should just be little sparks, not arc welding or smoke. Turn everything off in the truck first.





If that goes ok, take the tape off the wire that went to the alternator and check to see if you have voltage there with a test light. If you do the fusible link is still ok.





If you have big sparks, disconnect the wire from the starter solenoid leading to the alternator. Then try connecting the battery back up. If it is ok then the wire leading to the alternator is shorted somewhere.





Then disconnect the battery again and connect the alternator back up. Now try brushing the – battery cable against the – battery terminal. If you have big sparks and possible smoke the alternator is shorted.

According to this post it has to be a short, I could have pinched the wire placing the battery in??

 

[BKennedy]

My educated guess is you hooked up the battery backwards. Be forewarned, if you did that even for a second, it will cause the diodes in the alternator to short out and stay that way. Disconnect the wire from the alternator (make sure it is not touching ground, tape it up). Then connect the battery up, just brushing the negative cable on the negative terminal. There should just be little sparks, not arc welding or smoke. Turn everything off in the truck first.

He already had the alternator tested and its not damaged. Can you explain what you mean by "educated guess"? Just asking for reference in case you are a mechanic or electronic person.

 

[BKennedy]

What the OP needs to do is carefully go through all the wiring, look for damage and make sure its connected correctly, before attaching wires to the battery.

 

[ChildIdenticant]

no way to “figure out the inrush” ...would be electrically no different then having them all on.

It is my understanding that KOEO position , attaching a battery sloppily can be similar to a switch bounce, which creates higher initial load on a circuit than normal if motors/inductors in circuit. Which is the fuel pump & blower & solenoids etc. Am I incorrect?

 

[Mbrooks420]

The load is insignificant to the fusible link. It should be able to clear a load of well over 100 amps.

I’m not familiar with a switch bounce is.

 

[Louie the Explorer]

He already had the alternator tested and its not damaged. Can you explain what you mean by "educated guess"? Just asking for reference in case you are a mechanic or electronic p

According to this post it has to be a short, I could have pinched the wire placing the battery in??

OK since you asked. Have a mechanical, electrical and electronics background spanning over 48 years. Worked as a mechanic for a Ford dealership (where my Dad worked for over 30 years) and later went to work for a Cadillac dealership). Later on worked for a company rebuilding alternators and working as an auto electrician in NJ and Florida. My heart was always in electronics, the mechanical jobs were mainly tie overs until the right electronics job presented itself.

In the 80’s found my niche, TV and radio repair. Worked for a company as an Electronics Technician for 3 years before starting my own business which me and my Wife owned for over 8 years. As the TV business was dying (buy it, use it, throw it away) focused on Trunking Radio system repair and worked for Motorola servicing high end State wide simulcast radio systems. Later on was snatched up by the State of NJ servicing the NJ State Police Statewide radio system. During the course of my electronics career still kept my hand in auto mechanics and to this day being retired still offer help to shops having unsolvable electrical problems (especially with the proliferation of electronics in today’s vehicles).

So yes, feel more then qualified to comment on the OP’s electrical system issue. So with that said......

Polardog, If you follow the exact procedure detailed above, step by step, you will find out exactly where your short circuit is (and yes it is a short circuit in that circuit). Just forget about all the other issues for now and focus on the wire that leads to the alternator. You can do this with no test equipment. Follow that wire visually and with your hand and make sure it was not pinched somewhere when you installed the alternator. And yes someone mentioned you had the alternator tested, heard that before and they could have missed something. Good Luck.