Electrical Fire....sort of???

[rumbat151]

Ok I got a '80 CJ5 and I just droped a '78 360 into it used to have a 258 in Jeepenstine (made from the parts of other dead Jeeps) anyways had it running just fine then I put the fenders back on, put the hood in place and hooked up the wiring for the starter and off-road lights fired it up to adjust the carb everything going good.....Jeep dies?? try to restart and I smell wires burning, look up got smoke, turn key off, disconnect pos. side of battery all is good right stopped it dead in its tracks. Anyway I start looking and the wire that goes to the Pos. side of coil is melted, follow it back find the splice and go the other way. End up at the solenoid, now from the splice it goes to the coil and is spliced again for the resistor and ends up at the solenoid, hard to tell if there was damage prior because now several wires are burned slightly but WTF?? How is it that that is the only wire effected?? is it a bad solenoid, or failed resistor, or coil?? The wire is burned up to the resistor and it is the metal type. This motor is set up for electronic ignition, new everything...could it just be a bad wire?? I am lost some one help I am looking forward to get this beast back on the road.

Thanks:beer:

Thanks

 

[dandoc]

A melted wire like you've experienced can be caused by an over-current situation. This occurs when too much electrical current is passed through the wire, and results in over-heating, and eventually melted wire insulation and melted wire. Amperage comes into play with this. Not knowing the wire size and the electrical current that is supposed to flow to the components (solenoid, resistor, coil, etc.), it is difficult to say right now what caused your event.

Some possibilities: There may be an incorrect amperage fuse installed for that particular electrical circuit. There may be a pinched wire. That particular wire may have been a bad/broken/corroded wire. A component may have caused the wire to melt by allowing too much current. A component contact may be stuck in the "open" or "closed" position, allowing extra electrical current to pass through.

You've already found your area of origin, now you'll need to look for a point of origin and a cause. I'd start by tracing your wires again and checking the connections. Good luck on your search. Congratualtions on catching the smell in the air and taking the appropriate steps to stop a potential engine fire.

If you can post pictures of the wires and components in question, that'll help to better understand your description of the splices and the circuit in general.