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Melting ignition wire

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Old 04-20-2012, 11:22 AM
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Car: '92 RS
Engine: GM 350 swap
Transmission: T-5
Melting ignition wire

Don't we all wish our cars didn't have previous owners? So correct me if I'm wrong but the yellow wire is the ignition switch wire. I would assume so because it's coming from the top of the steering column where the switch is. I can't figure out why a previous owner would put in the wires that he did. He cut the yellow wire, spliced in a green wire, spliced in two wires, spliced those two to two different colors, spliced in a white wire, and spliced them back into the yellow wire... Well the green and white wires decided to melt on me yesterday. Does anyone know what the other end of the wire goes to and why it would be melting wires? Sorry, I'm not wiring savvy.



Old 04-20-2012, 12:21 PM
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Re: Melting ignition wire

I temp connected the 2 yellow wires back together and the car still wont crank over.
Old 04-24-2012, 09:37 AM
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Car: LOWERED ♦ CRIMSON METALFLAKE
Engine: ► 400 KUBES ◄
Transmission: 765R4
Axle/Gears: EATON POSI 4.56
Splice & Dice

Yup those are some ugly splice work the PO did.

Using a voltmeter or test light
(the type for testing for voltage, not a continuity tester) probe that yellow wire while trying to start.

Is there power there?


Happy Racing!



If Your Communications Antenna Is Not Shaking At Idle, Your Cam Is Too Mild

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Old 04-24-2012, 07:57 PM
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Re: Melting ignition wire

When I temp twisted a wire to both ends of the yellow it started smoking on one end so I'm assuming there is power still. Acording to the wiring diagram its a "Starter Enable Relay" wire coming from the ignition switch. You think the relay is blown? Shouldn't it blow a fuse or something instead of trying to burn down my car?
Old 04-25-2012, 12:54 PM
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Re: Melting ignition wire

Just fixed the wire and put a new relay in. Now when I turn the key the gauges go crazy again and it sounds like its cooking my brand new relay. Any ideas?
Old 04-25-2012, 04:36 PM
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Car: LOWERED ♦ CRIMSON METALFLAKE
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Transmission: 765R4
Axle/Gears: EATON POSI 4.56
Splice & Dice

Originally Posted by Horn0816
Shouldn't it blow a fuse or something instead of trying to burn down my car?
A fusible link should blow if a short lasts long enuff, bit as you know the PO made a mess of your wiring.

Originally Posted by Horn0816
…..when I turn the key the gauges go crazy again and it sounds like its cooking my new relay.
You’ll probably need to visually go from one end of that circuit to the other to remove any more mods the PO made.

You want to end up with nothing but that
yellow wire coming from the ignition switch, then going to the enable relay pins C and E, and the other side of the enable relay the tan wire with a
White stripe, which should go to any neutral “safety” switch, or clutch switch you might have, then to the purple wire on the bulkhead connector, which goes to the solenoid.


Happy Racing!



If Your Communications Antenna Is Not Shaking At Idle, Your Cam Is Too Mild

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Old 05-03-2016, 09:37 PM
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Re: Melting ignition wire

Well after letting it sit for 4 years because it pissed me off so bad I decided to start working on it again. I really want to drive it this summer. I figured the MSD ignition might have something to do with it since years ago they wouldn't send me a wiring diagram so I just had to wing it. I completely removed the MSD box wiring, and went back to a stock coil. I put everything back together under the dash and checked my wiring one last time. With the jumper cables hooked up I turned the key!... And got nothing. Well the lights came alive and the gauges moved so that was exciting enough for me after not seeing anything from it in years. Thinking it could be the starter, i took it out and it bench checked good, so i put it back in. I thought it might be the starter enable relay was fried so after searching around and finding they aren't made anymore i bypassed it by connecting the yellow ignition wire to the green wire that goes to the clutch switch. When I tuned the key the volts would drop, the tach would drop, the water temp would max out, and the dome light would dim. I would also get a click from the fuel pump relay. My friend that put the starter back in pulled one of the wires from the fusible link on the starter so today I just decided to replace them all and make sure all the connections were good and clean. After doing so I got the seatbelt chime and what sounded like the fuel pump. STILL NO CRANKING!!! Every once in a while when I click the ignition switch you can see a spark in it and it gets hit after a few clicks. It's the third ignition switch I've had in this whole troubleshooting escapade. Thoughts?
Old 05-03-2016, 10:00 PM
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Re: Melting ignition wire

What's the condition of the battery? Charged and holding it? How about a load test?

It's pretty hard to diagnose electrical issues with a bad battery. Don't guess at its condition.
Old 05-03-2016, 10:04 PM
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Re: Melting ignition wire

Originally Posted by paulo57509
What's the condition of the battery? Charged and holding it? How about a load test?

It's pretty hard to diagnose electrical issues with a bad battery. Don't guess at its condition.
The battery is super dead after sitting for years. I had jumper cables hooked up from my truck and the gauge was reading around 13 on the dash.
Old 05-04-2016, 02:48 AM
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Re: Melting ignition wire

If you need wiring diagrams you can use this.
Just find your car on the list and pin point the area your working on.
Just click the curser/with the magnifying glass to enlarge them.

Link = http://www.austinthirdgen.org/index.php?pid=19

If you have to run wire do yourself a favor and buy a few different color of wire and always draw the circuit you are working on to a sheet of paper for reference.

You need a new battery and at the very least a "Chilton's Manual" on your car, a "multi tester" and a "test light" are best to have for this kind of work.
Nothing fancy or expensive is necessary.

Last edited by Ron U.S.M.C.; 05-04-2016 at 02:52 AM.
Old 05-04-2016, 08:27 AM
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Re: Melting ignition wire

Originally Posted by Ron U.S.M.C.
If you need wiring diagrams you can use this.
Just find your car on the list and pin point the area your working on.
Just click the curser/with the magnifying glass to enlarge them.

Link = http://www.austinthirdgen.org/index.php?pid=19

If you have to run wire do yourself a favor and buy a few different color of wire and always draw the circuit you are working on to a sheet of paper for reference.

You need a new battery and at the very least a "Chilton's Manual" on your car, a "multi tester" and a "test light" are best to have for this kind of work.
Nothing fancy or expensive is necessary.
Will a new battery be different than jumper cables to my truck? I have a manual that I think might be Chilton's. We were using a multimeter to shoot wires. Some were difficult because we couldn't reach from starter to under the dash. I have a painless harness, but I really don't want to run wires for the whole system...
Old 05-04-2016, 01:56 PM
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Re: Melting ignition wire

Originally Posted by Horn0816
Will a new battery be different than jumper cables to my truck? I have a manual that I think might be Chilton's. We were using a multimeter to shoot wires. Some were difficult because we couldn't reach from starter to under the dash. I have a painless harness, but I really don't want to run wires for the whole system...
It has been my experience that with a really dead, fubar battery, jumper cables will not help.
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