Burning Corvette Wiring
Thread Starter
Racer
Joined: Jul 2004
Posts: 400
Likes: 1
From: California
Burning Corvette Wiring
Well i went to give the vette a start after a week of sitting and let it idle for a few minutes...then shut it off. when i popped the hood to take a peek at my shiny valve covers i noticed that the ground wire on the Alternator was fried like chicken from KFC....really bad looking, the insulation was melted off and the melted insulation only extended up to where the wire loom for the ground wire went, then the wire was fine from there on, all the way to the grounding point. now ive replaced the alternator and battery at the same time, and someone at Napa told me that maybe that something in the alternator might be casuing it to overcharge causing the ground to melt?...now i checked the bolts that hold the ground tot he frame and everything is good to go. anyone know why this might happen and any solution? Another intersting thing i found is that i have a ground strap going from a bolt on the Transducer to my frame, what might the point of that be? doesnt the transducer only work the Cruise Control? why would it need a ground to the frame? would that affect anything as far as my lights are concerned? my speedo and tach work fine but those run through a fuse... 
Drifting
Joined: Nov 2002
Posts: 1,665
Likes: 1
From: Ontario
Check all your grounds, maybe one is loose or rusty/dirty. One possibility is the wire melted because it had more current running through it than was meant for it. If you have a bad ground somewhere else on the car then excess current could flow to this ground.
Another possibility is a short from your alternator output/battery positive to ground???
Another possibility is a short from your alternator output/battery positive to ground???
Drifting
Joined: Nov 2002
Posts: 1,665
Likes: 1
From: Ontario
As for the transducer this is just a guess but it probably just needs to have an electrical ground for the 'circuitry' inside of it. Can't see how it would affect headlights. I think it shares a fuse with back up lights or something so if that fuse goes you lose cruise control and whatever other lights run off that fuse.
Pro
Joined: Nov 2004
Posts: 529
Likes: 113
From: Atlanta area
The large ground cable from your battery is not properly grounded. Look for corrosion or a loose connection where it ties to the frame or somewhere between there and the battery. When you engage the starter, it is trying to pull huge amounts of current through the smaller ground wires, since the large ground wire is ineffective.
Often, when a car sits without being started, corrosion will fill the gap between two metal parts, like the ground terminal and the frame, or the ground terminal and the strands of wire it is supposed to be crimped to. Current won't flow thru the corrosion.
Often, when a car sits without being started, corrosion will fill the gap between two metal parts, like the ground terminal and the frame, or the ground terminal and the strands of wire it is supposed to be crimped to. Current won't flow thru the corrosion.
