As you know from wiggling the wiring near the Fusible link and the fusible link that the link is probably burnt. Replace it and see if you still have problems.
Can't get the gauges to work, think the voltage limiter on the back side of dash is fried. I wiggled and yanked on the starter relay wires to no avail to try and get the interior lights to shut off.
This makes me nervous. The last time I had lights not be able to be turned off the under dash harness had started to burn and wires were shorted.
Replace the Fusible link and see where you stand. Disconnect the light switch and if you still have lights on there is a short.
Also start pulling fuses to see if the lights go out. let us know which fuse it is.
Let me clarify. I had my driver side door open when I was working on the car on the side of the road so I would know if the power came back on. In my shop tonight I had the DS door open and was wiggling the wires to if I could get the power to turn back off. Trying to re-create the issue to pinpoint the problem. Sorry if I wasn't clear on this in my original post.
Okay Now I understand.
I think your fusible link may be frying. They will look good, but be bad. Flex and pull on it. If it crunches, stretches, feels crispy etc. its is bad. They are wires in a high temperature jacket that will burn inside but not burn through the jacket and are basically a slow blow fuse.
Two other people made good points. It may be an alternator problem since the only fuse in the circuit for both the main power and field wires. And if you are unsure as to where the problem is then you should not leave the battery hooked up.
I have used fuses and, even better, circuit breakers in place of the fusible link while diagnosing wiring problems. A Fuse or circuit breaker is quicker to burn/trip but cheaper to replace. After you get the problem resolved you can put a fusible link back in. If you are not interested in OEM appearance Napa sells fusible link by the roll that is a lot cheaper than the small pieces most places sell.
As for the wiring problem check the backside of the fuse block and the bulkhead connectors for scorching/bad wiring. It is real easy for the connectors to start to come loose but that doesn't usually leave a burning smell.
