69 Dead Short
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Heel & Toe
Joined: Aug 2022
Posts: 15
Likes: 2
69 Dead Short
I have a fully nut and bolt restored 69 435 that has a dead short. I tried to start it after six months due to a health issue and when i connected the battery the fuseable link at the starter melted down. I replaced the starter solenoid put in a new harness and the same thing happened. Yes I should have tested the gap to the battery and the negative cable but like I said I’ve been sick and bad judgement prevailed. Since then, I fixed the fuseable link, and noticed that when I disconnected the alternator, the dead short was gone, so I had a newly restored alternator from Ken Bruno (who did a fantastic job), but that in, same condition the dead short is still there even with a new alternator. At this point, I’m thinking the horn relay, which i have continuity between the two screws, or maybe inside the actual starter itself. Thoughts?
Last edited by Rgrant1508; Sep 24, 2025 at 04:50 PM.
Melting Slicks
Joined: Feb 2018
Posts: 2,327
Likes: 721
From: Marietta GA
I would look at disconnecting the horn relay. My uneducated guess is that the relay is not wired correctly. Here’s a Good story on my 73. The plastic horn button retainer broke, and the horn would not shut off. Stupid me, with only one horn, I removed the positive wire at the horn. You probably guess what happened, when I installed the new plastic retainer, the horn relay was FRIED. It was like the horn button was pushed down / engaged for a good week. After that incident, I purchased a disconnect at the battery.
Burning Brakes
Joined: Dec 2017
Posts: 1,043
Likes: 414
2023 C3 of the Year Finalist - Modified
You can troubleshoot a short with a multimeter and wiring schematics. All with the battery disconnected so there’s no chance of damaging anything else.
Im pretty sure doc rebuilds makes a wiring diagram for your year, his stuff is great.
however since its been restored its hard to say how well it was wired, or if a factory diagram would be useful at all.
but, yeah, ohm meter from positive cable(the one that goes to the battery, disconnected obviously) the other to the negative cable and start disconnecting things, once the short clears, you found the issue.
Im pretty sure doc rebuilds makes a wiring diagram for your year, his stuff is great.
however since its been restored its hard to say how well it was wired, or if a factory diagram would be useful at all.
but, yeah, ohm meter from positive cable(the one that goes to the battery, disconnected obviously) the other to the negative cable and start disconnecting things, once the short clears, you found the issue.
