When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
hi guys thanks for the help....
back story (sorry)...
i replaced all wires on car except for air condition area (not in use) including battery cables & all harnesses and i connected the starter following the old one after engine rebuild. the starter is not original. i had it replaced couple years back b4 engine rebuild (not sure of name brand or capacity). i also bought the 77 electrical troubleshooting guide (huge long book).
current story...
i finally got the car in what i thought working order.
on sun 11/4/18 i finally started it "no problems" cranked over like a champ. bout 20 mins later i shut it off, cranked it over again & i hear a sort of grinding noise but finally cranked over. so tues after work i started it with no prob i shut it off till last night...... 🤬🤬🙄 the battery is dead so i took advantage & replaced my gauge cluster circuit board (see pic 1) because something is wrong & burned it out. i replaced the battery & proceeded to fire it up almost immediately the stupid circuit burned out again in the same spot. so i gave up & fired it up no prob. it ran for like 30 mins. turned it off then fired it back up grinding noise again. after sort of bump starting it it fires up so like another 20 i shut it off for like 15 mins. again i go to start it grinding for a few mins but this time to no avail while grinding i see smoke cracking & orange flicker from pass side, i look & its on fire ♨️ so in a panic i pour water put it out, shut off ignition, still have electric & disconnect negative cable i have not touched it since.... i dont know what to do. when it comes to electric i know absolutely barely nothing i dont even know how to work a meter
please help..... pic 1
I would disconnect the positive battery cable as well. This could be a solenoid that got hot but could also of been extremely high current at the battery wire on starter. If you do not know how to use a meter take it into an automotive electrical shop! The circuit board you show is a seperate problem and did not cause this.
And do not put water on an electrical fire. Suggest you use a ABC fire extinguisher which every garage should have.
It looks like you have a early build 77? Where is that #14 black wire connected, it is unclear. My input is it should be secured by the lower right side bell housing 3/8" bolt and serve as a ground.
i forgot to mention i have an (AGM) battery on the car now.
And about the wire i forgot how i wired it, I'll take a better picture of it tomorrow afternoon or as soon as possible & post it up thanks again
I also have a 77 that burned up starter wires. I bought the car not running with burned up positive lead to stater. I replaced the wiring with a complete harness, no problems since.
I never pin pointed what caused the wiring melt down for the previous owner but found the fusible
links missing on the old harness.
I also installed a 250a breaker very close to the battery just in case another short appears.
sorry for the delay work & weather...
yes it's 77early build alarm fender not in use.
That black wire is part of the new engine harness
& i think its connected to the starter solenoid & belive it should be connected there (upper small part on starter) the engine harness is from lectric limited. i gonna call them up so they can send me the harness diagram.
please see new pics
thanks for current and future
inputs
Lectric Limited Harness: https://www.lectriclimited.com/engine-harness-131420
Auto or Manual Transmission, check connects to link middle of the page.
I think that BLACK #14 is a ground wire and should go to Bell Housing bolt.
Is there more than 1 Purple Wire? The Purple wire is the start circuit (S) Lug at solenoid, The #10 Red wire with fusible link lands with the positive Battery cable lug, that's all you should have at the solenoid.
Last edited by bmotojoe; Nov 10, 2018 at 06:18 PM.
Agree with the others: you have the ground wire for the fan, wiper, etc attached to the +12 positive post on the solenoid = dead short across the battery = instant fire.
That ground wire is supposed to be attached to the starter mounting bolt near the bell housing.
You starter is likely ok, you might be able to get away with just replacing the solenoid.
Agree with the others: you have the ground wire for the fan, wiper, etc attached to the +12 positive post on the solenoid = dead short across the battery = instant fire.
That ground wire is supposed to be attached to the starter mounting bolt near the bell housing.
You starter is likely ok, you might be able to get away with just replacing the solenoid.
I have installed a few of these and the black wire is a ground. Dead short which is probably why some other things like your gauge cluster circuit board blew out. You will be lucky if that's the only thing that went, besides another new harness.
Last edited by CanadaGrant; Nov 10, 2018 at 08:12 PM.
It's not a dead short...a dead short would have burned the black wire in a second.
The black wire is NOT connected to a ground- but rather +12 via the ignition through the wiper/fan.
The black wire is back feeding through the fan/wipers to the starter solenoid when the ignition is on..
It looks and sounds (the starter grinding) like the solenoid was being continuously engaged causing the high current draw on the solenoid when the starter stopped turning.
And yes- the circuit board would burn out thanks to the backfeed.
Replace the battery wire- and check the black wire-if it's crispy replace it.
Here's a better way to protect the battery-
Last edited by Richard454; Nov 10, 2018 at 08:58 PM.
It's not a dead short...a dead short would have burned the black wire in a second.
The black wire is NOT connected to a ground- but rather +12 via the ignition through the wiper/fan.
The black wire is back feeding through the fan/wipers to the starter solenoid when the ignition is on..
It looks and sounds (the starter grinding) like the solenoid was being continuously engaged causing the high current draw on the solenoid when the starter stopped turning.
And yes- the circuit board would burn out thanks to the backfeed.
Replace the battery wire- and check the black wire-if it's crispy replace it.
Here's a better way to protect the battery-
thats a cool fuse product. Where is that sold? Is there a side post version?
If one of the smaller wires was causing a short bad enough to melt that main power wire to the solenoid then it would be completely burnt from end to end. None of those smaller wires show any damage once away from the solenoid an inch or two so they are not the cause.
The black wire ground parts when it's connected to the engine block. So without it connected to the block it's not shorting anything.
That happening while trying to start it could simply mean that cable had a bad connection at the solenoid and it overheated while you were trying to get the engine to crank. The "right" bad connection can get smoking hot quickly at the current levels a starter draws.
i have extra pictures of me following the engine harness to the bulkhead (behind the fusebox)
i have a feeling i connected something wrong somehow somewhere but thanks guys for pointing me the right direction .... 😎
p.s. i checked the battery and the battery seems fine (no melted terminals on battery) and posi cable on battery side looks normal. everything on battery side (all terminals,cables posi ,negative) looks normal and i still have power to speedo & tach and all lights interior and exterior.... this is between wiper motor and distributor this is the bulkhead
Last edited by hardmansonfan; Nov 12, 2018 at 08:04 AM.
please help "starter motor fire" 77 vette
I have installed a few of these and the black wire is a ground. Dead short which is probably why some other things like your gauge cluster circuit board blew out. You will be lucky if that's the only thing that went, besides another new harness.
