|
Battery wire from alternator to battery MELTED!!!
#1478524
08/02/13 08:11 PM
08/02/13 08:11 PM
|
Joined: Jul 2005
Posts: 1,499
Slidell, LA
Plum440
OP
pro stock
|
OP
pro stock
Joined: Jul 2005
Posts: 1,499
Slidell, LA
|
My volts dropped to 10, the car died and the wire from the battery to the alternator completely MELTED!  Where do I start? Replace wring and hope it was just a short? Thoughts?? She was smoking like a S.O.B!  Thanks!! 
70 Challenger, 440, 4-speed, pLuM cRaZy
71 VW Super Beetle Convertible, Lemon Yellow
A couple of Jeeps…
|
|
|
Re: Battery wire from alternator to battery MELTED!!!
[Re: Plum440]
#1478525
08/02/13 08:25 PM
08/02/13 08:25 PM
|
Joined: Jul 2007
Posts: 1,526
North Carolina
cjskotni
pro stock
|
pro stock
Joined: Jul 2007
Posts: 1,526
North Carolina
|
I would wonder if this were a bad cable and/or a toasted alternator that would cause this. Either way, something is connecting that positive cable to ground. Check the positive battery cable and surrounding area to see if the wire grazed something and maybe melted the insulation off and grounded. If this is the case, you should see evidence of this where it made contact and arced. If the positive cable looks like it didn't graze a ground (just all the insulation burned off uniformly), I would be testing the alternator and making sure that positive post doesn't have a path to ground through the alternator itself. I would take it in to be tested or at least use a multimeter to see the resistance from the alternator post to ground...should be infinite (open) I would think. Good Luck!
|
|
|
Re: Battery wire from alternator to battery MELTED!!!
[Re: IMGTX]
#1478529
08/03/13 12:20 AM
08/03/13 12:20 AM
|
Joined: Sep 2007
Posts: 14,889
up yours
Supercuda
About to go away
|
About to go away
Joined: Sep 2007
Posts: 14,889
up yours
|
Voltage dropping to 10 and melted wire tells me you have a short somewhere.
They say there are no such thing as a stupid question.
They say there is always the exception that proves the rule.
Don't be the exception.
|
|
|
Re: Battery wire from alternator to battery MELTED!!!
[Re: Plum440]
#1478530
08/03/13 12:23 AM
08/03/13 12:23 AM
|
Joined: Nov 2003
Posts: 36,040
Lincoln Nebraska
RapidRobert
Circle Track
|
Circle Track
Joined: Nov 2003
Posts: 36,040
Lincoln Nebraska
|
Was this (1) a direct (bypass) cable from the alt to the batt or (2) OE: alt to/thru bulkhead to the T then to/thru ammeter then to/thru bulkhead to the battery? You have a dead short in the large cable circuit (which you'll need to find/fix first). An alt could dead short internally but that is rare. EDIT Full fielding of the field circuit MAY have dont this but I'm thinking dead short as it pretty much takes a dead short (to ground) to produce that kind of fireworks which comes from ALOT of current flowing.
Last edited by RapidRobert; 08/03/13 12:56 AM.
live every 24 hour block of time like it's your last day on earth
|
|
|
Re: Battery wire from alternator to battery MELTED!!!
[Re: RapidRobert]
#1478531
08/03/13 08:18 AM
08/03/13 08:18 AM
|
Joined: Jul 2005
Posts: 1,499
Slidell, LA
Plum440
OP
pro stock
|
OP
pro stock
Joined: Jul 2005
Posts: 1,499
Slidell, LA
|
70 Dodge Challenger with a 440. It's all factory stock wiring and have had 0 problems for the last 5 years (since the car has been restored). The only recent update I made (6 months ago) was a quick disconnect at the battery. The voltage drop was noticed last weekend when my gauge lights started to flicker of and on and go dim...  Thanks for the help guys!!
Last edited by Mopar_Beach; 08/03/13 08:44 AM.
70 Challenger, 440, 4-speed, pLuM cRaZy
71 VW Super Beetle Convertible, Lemon Yellow
A couple of Jeeps…
|
|
|
Re: Battery wire from alternator to battery MELTED!!!
[Re: cjskotni]
#1478534
08/16/13 12:15 PM
08/16/13 12:15 PM
|
Joined: Jul 2005
Posts: 1,499
Slidell, LA
Plum440
OP
pro stock
|
OP
pro stock
Joined: Jul 2005
Posts: 1,499
Slidell, LA
|
Quote:
Oh yeah, and as an afterthought, you should add a fusible link (16 ga) or fuse (50 amp or so) on this wire to make sure this doesn't happen again!
Next time could be a fire and you may not be so lucky. 
Where is the best location to put an in-line fuse??
70 Challenger, 440, 4-speed, pLuM cRaZy
71 VW Super Beetle Convertible, Lemon Yellow
A couple of Jeeps…
|
|
|
Re: Battery wire from alternator to battery MELTED!!!
[Re: Plum440]
#1478535
08/16/13 03:07 PM
08/16/13 03:07 PM
|
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 21,065
Niles , Ohio
therocks
oh wait.but hey.lets see.oh yeah.
|
oh wait.but hey.lets see.oh yeah.
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 21,065
Niles , Ohio
|
I doubt a bad YR would melt the wire.Its for voltage not amps.Amps melt wires not volts unless you try to feed say 110 thru a 22 gauge then it probally wouldnt melt.Fuse depends where the wire melted.At the alt tells you it close to it.At the battery or connections there thats where the problem is.Wires typically burn the most where they short.Thats what cause them to melt.The amps go wild and they cant carry the load.When I wire I run circuit breakers.That way if you do pop one they reset.Fuse or fusiable link you are left in the cold. Rocky
Last edited by therocks; 08/16/13 03:08 PM.
Chrysler Firepower
|
|
|
Re: Battery wire from alternator to battery MELTED!!!
[Re: JohnRR]
#1478539
08/16/13 04:51 PM
08/16/13 04:51 PM
|
Joined: Jul 2005
Posts: 1,499
Slidell, LA
Plum440
OP
pro stock
|
OP
pro stock
Joined: Jul 2005
Posts: 1,499
Slidell, LA
|
No. The insulation is evenly burned off from the alternator terminal to the wire (spliced into the harness) coming off the battery pos. post. The bulkhead connector is not burned nor is the wiring to the ammeter under the dash. It's just very odd. The plastic on the alt batt. connection that keeps the post from grounding out on the housing is missing. It looks like this might have caused the path to ground but it could have melted away due to the heat.
70 Challenger, 440, 4-speed, pLuM cRaZy
71 VW Super Beetle Convertible, Lemon Yellow
A couple of Jeeps…
|
|
|
Re: Battery wire from alternator to battery MELTED!!!
[Re: Plum440]
#1478542
08/16/13 07:53 PM
08/16/13 07:53 PM
|
Joined: Jul 2007
Posts: 1,526
North Carolina
cjskotni
pro stock
|
pro stock
Joined: Jul 2007
Posts: 1,526
North Carolina
|
Quote:
No. The insulation is evenly burned off from the alternator terminal to the wire (spliced into the harness) coming off the battery pos. post. The bulkhead connector is not burned nor is the wiring to the ammeter under the dash. It's just very odd. The plastic on the alt batt. connection that keeps the post from grounding out on the housing is missing. It looks like this might have caused the path to ground but it could have melted away due to the heat.
It sounds like somebody in the past did a charging circuit bypass of the dash harness/ammeter. This was (is) a well-known issue with the Mopars and having a marginal charging circuit. This is a common mod to make where you take a wire directly from the alternator stud to the positive battery cable/terminal. However, this is not really safe unless you either splice in on the firewall side of the fusible link or insert another fusible link on this bypass wire. This would have helped prevent this exact issue you have now where the entire wire burns.
Is the original harness connector hooked up on the alternator stud? If so, you may just want to remove the bypass connection there and cut off the other end from the splice (wrap well) and see if the car will run/charge without the dimming lights, etc. Provided nothing else has been monkeyed with, this would be the original setup.
You can then pull a new wire from the alternator stud but I would terminate it on the starter relay with a loop connector instead of the splicing into the battery cable. Use a 8ga or better wire with a 16ga fusible link. You could go with a fuse but fusible links are better on charging circuits as they will "blow" much slower than a standard fuse if there is a consistent (as opposed to momentary spike) problem i.e. short to ground. This mod is commonly known here as the 'MAD electrical upgrade'.
I am willing to bet if you take a multimeter and measure resistance from ground to the alt stud, you will have little resistance. If you then pull off the bypass wire and measure again, probably open. This would confirm that this bypass link is indeed the problem.
|
|
|
Re: Battery wire from alternator to battery MELTED!!!
[Re: cjskotni]
#1478543
08/16/13 08:43 PM
08/16/13 08:43 PM
|
Joined: Oct 2005
Posts: 4,942
WI
Dcuda69
master
|
master
Joined: Oct 2005
Posts: 4,942
WI
|
Quote:
Quote:
No. The insulation is evenly burned off from the alternator terminal to the wire (spliced into the harness) coming off the battery pos. post. The bulkhead connector is not burned nor is the wiring to the ammeter under the dash. It's just very odd. The plastic on the alt batt. connection that keeps the post from grounding out on the housing is missing. It looks like this might have caused the path to ground but it could have melted away due to the heat.
You can then pull a new wire from the alternator stud but I would terminate it on the starter relay with a loop connector instead of the splicing into the battery cable. Use a 8ga or better wire with a 16ga fusible link. You could go with a fuse but fusible links are better on charging circuits as they will "blow" much slower than a standard fuse if there is a consistent (as opposed to momentary spike) problem i.e. short to ground. This mod is commonly known here as the 'MAD electrical upgrade'.
 This is what I did...8ga from the alt output with a 6" piece of 14ga fusible link goes to the pos. stud on the starter relay...been like this for years,coupled w/relays for the headlights takes a big load off the bulkhead.These are easy and inexpensive mods any driver Mopar should get  
P.S. I use a dual field 60(?)amp alt from a mid 80's Diplomat...make sure the original alt output wire in the harness is disconnected from the alt.
|
|
|
Re: Battery wire from alternator to battery MELTED!!!
[Re: Dcuda69]
#1478548
08/19/13 10:32 AM
08/19/13 10:32 AM
|
Joined: Jul 2005
Posts: 1,499
Slidell, LA
Plum440
OP
pro stock
|
OP
pro stock
Joined: Jul 2005
Posts: 1,499
Slidell, LA
|
Quote:
.make sure the original alt output wire in the harness is disconnected from the alt.
Is there ANYTHING else that needs to be disconnected to do this mod? Under dash, at start relay, etc... I am running a stock replacement alternator (65 amp) that is the externally regulated 3 wire. Thanks for your help!!
70 Challenger, 440, 4-speed, pLuM cRaZy
71 VW Super Beetle Convertible, Lemon Yellow
A couple of Jeeps…
|
|
|
|
|
