Ok guys, first off anyone want a 70 challenger? Cheap? Bring a trailer. Last night I went for a cruise for about a hour or so. Everything seemed fine. Then on the way home it died. Nothing at all. Not even lights. AHHHHHHHHHH
So I started looking and noticed the fusible link on the bat lug on the starter relay had fried. This wire has been ran to bypass the bulkhead and go straight too the ammeter. No sign of damage or heat on the ammeter side.
So like a dumb a## I decided to jump the fusible link to try and get the car home. As soon as I hooked the battery back up the wire running from the positive battery terminal to the bat lug on the starter relay started melting. Disconnected the battery right away.
So now I need to try and figure out where my short is. Any ideas on where and how to start. I hate electrical issues. Could it be the relay or battery? Thanks

so let me see if I got this.

you have a fusible link wired from the starter relay to the amp meter.

it bypasses the bulkhead connector?

the big 2 gauge cable started to melt?

Hello, yes a 16g fusible link coming off the bat lug on the starter relay to one post on the ammeter. Running straight through the bulkhead. (drilled bulkhead with no connectors) There is a small wire maybe 16g coming off the positive battery post that goes to the same bat lug on the starter relay. And that only fried when I replaced the burned fusible link with a 12g wire to try to limp it home. It started burning the insulation and I disconnected it right away.
When I hooked the positve battery cable back up after replacing the link it sparked like the 4th of july on the positive battery post.
The weird thing is I tried to hook the battery back up after that and had no sparks and it ran fine without burning anything. So I limped it home and all was fine.
So now it's going to be even harder to find.

1.

Quote:

---

When I hooked the positve battery cable back up after replacing the link it sparked like the 4th of july on the positive battery post.

---

2.

Quote:

---

The weird thing is I tried to hook the battery back up after that and had no sparks and it ran fine without burning anything. So I limped it home and all was fine.

---

From 1. we know that you have a major dead short (positive to ground without load).

From 2. we know that it is intermittent.

The top of that hit parade is the ammeter. I would start there. Do a shade-tree bypass by removing both the IN and the OUT wires from the back of the ammeter, and connect them to each other (WELL-insulated from the rest of the world).

Hello, the bypass on the ammeter was already done. All wires on one post. One black (from alt which is no longer there, one wire alt now) and three red. One is for the power windows. One goes back to the starter relay (the one that fried the fusible link) And not sure where the other one ends up,

The black wire runs to a splice in the dash harness and gives power to the fuse box, clock, horn and a few other things. I'd have to get the service manual out to make sure. But I didn't have that hooked up at first thinking since the alt is gone why hook it up. Then I found out what it all powered.

It was already done. I didn't do it after reading your post. I will try that. And see if it helps.

"Hello..." .....great way to respond to folks trying too help you. Good luck with that.

I think you took my hello the wrong way.

I think you did too.

but whatever.

once you verify the amp meter isn't shorting out, or if you decide to tie the wires together without it,
I would start by disconnecting stuff.
you know it isn't the starter, or the alternator. since that stuff was still connected when you lost power.
so it has to be inside, past the amp meter draw.

you will need the wiring diagrams, and figure out what can be safely disconnected that draws power. if the amp meter was not it.
it could also still be the bulkhead connector, if you still have power coming out from the amp meter that way.

Tim Keep the (1) red main feed in from the FL and (2) the black lead both on the 1 ammeter lug & see if that elims the dead short & if so work on the other 2 to find it. I'm gonna go out on a limb & say the short is not in the black wire circuit to the T/alt tho it being part time does complicate it but a dead short of that magnitude should b easy to spot/trigger and as said check the back of the ammeter for anything obvious as the insulation may have been compromised during the bypass switchover. You wanna get together & attack it? I'm in west Lincoln, We cant b more than a few miles from each other. If so let me know. RR

Thanks for the offer Robert. Really do appreciate it. But I keep the car in Columbus. Right now I disconnected the wires from the ammeter and will see what happens. I replaced the fusible link and the positive battery cable. (burned small wire) It pops right off and runs fine. Wires cold, 14.7 at the starter relay. 14.7 where the black and red wires are joined. But it was fine for an hour of cruising last night also.
So I guess I'll drive it and see if the fusible link goes again or if it was the ammeter. I doubt it though since everything looked fine on the back of the ammeter. Thanks again for your help

Right now I have the red power window wire, the red wire from the starter relay and the black wire joined together. Not on the ammeter. I left the third red wire off to see what it was powering. I think it might be for the rear defrost but not sure yet. So I'll try that for now. Stupid ? but is there anyway a battery could cause this? Thanks

W it like it was the odds are the dead short will kick in again & if it doesn't that would suspect the ammeter (the only recent change). I think I'd keep the 2 extra red wires unhooked & I'd check them out to try & pin down the dead short & see if one of them is it. Dead shorts are dangerous & a slow blowing FL will still let alot of damage take place b 4 it opens. Worst comes to worst you can jump from the batt or starter relay to the ECU and upstream side of ballast for it to run plus jump the starter relay batt to sol brown wire for it to start to limp it home and definitely unhook the FL to keep all the juice out of the prob area till you solve it

Since no fuses were blown I can pretty much rule out any circuit that runs through the fuse box ?

Correct, anything downstream from there is good, it's b 4 that