Smoke isnt a good thing...

[Wicked86]

OK so heres a neat one. Getting ready to put the truck away for the winter, battery was dead so grabbed the charger, hooked it up and within 5 seconds the wire that runs to that little black block on the firewall goes up in smoke. Checked the rate on the charger and it was set on low...Now then my question is, what else did I fry? Engine ran about 2 weeks ago and now she just cranks but wont fire. Still have spark but maybe it took care of the pickup in the dist.? Please tell me not to give up...

 

[GsxrMike]

Don't give up!

 

[Wicked86]

That helps...It was an optima battery and I haVe heard from a few people that you have to be careful charging them...Man I know Ive been bad but, dodnt think I was THAT bad.

 

[dremu]

OK so heres a neat one. Getting ready to put the truck away for the winter, battery was dead so grabbed the charger, hooked it up and within 5 seconds the wire that runs to that little black block on the firewall goes up in smoke. Checked the rate on the charger and it was set on low...Now then my question is, what else did I fry? Engine ran about 2 weeks ago and now she just cranks but wont fire. Still have spark but maybe it took care of the pickup in the dist.? Please tell me not to give up...

Carnac The Invincible says ... "FUSIBLE LINK."

IIRC, there's a couple of them, at least one going from the starter (which is used as a distribution point for the hot) to that black post on the firewall.

Did you have the key on when you charged or something?

Especially if you had the key on, the dizzy module could well have seen more than 12V (as in like 16 or 18) and as I recall, they're sensitive to that. You should have a spare module, anyway, and use the same heatsink goop that the computer guys use for their CPU heatsinks (should come with a new module, or you can get it at Radio Shack.)

Besides voltage spikes, the other killer of ignition modules is heat, so gooping the metal side to the dizzy case will help it live a long and production life.

-- A

 

[Wicked86]

Very informative..Guess we are off to grab a new module. Key was off when I tried charging it, I taped up the cooked wire with shrink tube...unless I hear otherwise I w leave it be. Running out of time..this thing has to get put to bed this week...Thanks again for the info, keep you posted.......

 

[bp71k5]

If a fusible link melted, you probably need to find out what caused it. Sounds like a short somewhere in there.

 

[Wicked86]

Thats just it, the wire that bought it runs from the starter to that black post..the only other wire there is a hot from the ignition. Even went as far as cleaning up my grounds and starter connection. Can never happen when its warm outside..Thanks for the input.. ---Jesse

 

[dremu]

the wire that bought it runs from the starter to that black post

Umm, is there a length of that that's crimped on with plastic connectors? I do believe that's your fusible link and it's SUPPOSED to smoke (and disconnect, like a fuse) that when Bad Things happen.

-- A

 

[Wicked86]

Bingo! The wire is exactly that..it has a black plastic cover over it. So as of today I have put the new module in, the old one was nasty lookin so thats my spare. Next is replacing the link, I thought I would get smarter with age..anything I need to know? Looks like its pretty straight forward. Thanks

 

[dremu]

Bingo! The wire is exactly that..it has a black plastic cover over it. So as of today I have put the new module in, the old one was nasty lookin so thats my spare. Next is replacing the link, I thought I would get smarter with age..anything I need to know? Looks like its pretty straight forward. Thanks

The "wire" part of the fusible link is color coded for its amperage rating. It's like a fuse, only IIRC it takes longer to pop than a regular fuse, so you can abuse it a little with the starter or whatever ... but if the battery gets hooked up backwards, POOF, it goes.

(The latter, by the way, I have seen and WAS NOT ME... was another member here. We were wrenching on his truck, I turn around for just a second and he forgets black from red... )

Anyway, it should be orange or green or something, and you go to the parts house and get one that says "GM Green" on it (and it'll be green, too) and you're good. Crimp it in place of the old one and off you go.

-- A

 

[Wicked86]

Perfect! The old one is red..but heard from the parts place that green does in fact mean go. I really appreciate the help, off to work,but by tomorrow we will have ignition. --------Jesse

 

[Wicked86]

Its alive! Replaced my fusible link and fired right up. Theres nothing more satisfying than that. Fluid topped off, stabil in and ready for a good winters rest. Thank you to all.. Weekend is looking terrible weatherwise, but now on to pulling the trans and getting the diffs set up with new gears. The K5 says thanks too.

 

[dremu]

Its alive! Replaced my fusible link and fired right up. Theres nothing more satisfying than that. Fluid topped off, stabil in and ready for a good winters rest. Thank you to all.. Weekend is looking terrible weatherwise, but now on to pulling the trans and getting the diffs set up with new gears. The K5 says thanks too.

Woot! Always good when it works, right?

And hey, my advice, anyway, is worth at least what you pay for it, if not less

-- A

 

[Wicked86]

Yeah that too! Next is pulling the trans(700R) and upgrading the 10b fpr a winter project. Anything I can help ya with just holler. ---- Jesse

 

[MTChevy]

ive burned up that same link by hooking the battery up backwards... then i wondered what the hell i did haha

 

[Wicked86]

The hardest part is when the light comes on and you go...Oh F**k. Ah well best not to dwell on these things...repeat that enough times and maybe it will go away! Duh