I put together a new page about how the fusible link works. This comes up enough on mopar and fsj forums, I thought it was worth illustrating with diagrams. These are modifications of Nacho's diagrams. One day I'd like to make the images into animated gifs. Until then, these will have to do.
Fusible Link in Charging Systems It shows two examples of shorts at the opposite ends of the system. It also shows why using the battery for power distribution point can be a problem over time.
Trucks and jeeps with electric winches are an additional challenge. The winches have to be wired to the battery and the alternator will supply current only in the beginning, and then to recharge the battery. This is not an area I have worked in, but see posted plenty of examples of the stock circuit eventually getting overheated at weak points as the alternator sends max power it can through to the battery. Since the winch must be wired to the battery, reworking the charge circuit is probably the best strategy.
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