First off, i'm new here and to F bodies so bear with me. I bought an '85 tpi trans am from my brother in law dirt cheap as a project car. The car sat in his garage since 02 when he parked it because it quit running. From what he told me it would start and idle and die when you gave it gas. Doing some searching one of the common issues I found was a bad TPS. This seemed pretty likely so I figured i'd try it. I bought a new TPS and a new battery. I went to start the car and the starter wouldn't turn the car over. I turned the engine over by hand so I knew it wasn't locked up. I bought an LT1 starter to replace the gigantic one I fought out of the car. I pulled the old one and waited about 4 weeks until the new one came in. Here is where the problems really started... Like an idiot I didn't pay close attention to where the wires had come from weeks earlier so needless to say I somehow managed to wire the positive lead to the engine block and the ground to the starter.... Yeah, I still feel like a dumbass for not paying attention on that one. So of course when I connected the battery I started smelling an electrical burning smell then the smoke started pouring out near the starter. As i was trying to disconnect the battery it got so hot it melted the lead terminal on the battery. After being disgusted with that and having other projects I let it sit until now. I got a new battery, corrected the wiring, checked the fuses under the dash and inspected the wiring where the fusible links appear to be and I still can't find anything that appears to be burned or melted however there is still no power to anything whatsoever. I gently tugged on them and nothing pulled apart either. Thoughts? Maybe you guys can have some pity and help a stupid Mopar guy out here. I guess if I don't know what else to do i'll have to pull out the multimeter and start probing things... Thanks in advance!

Ryan

 

The fusible links will rarely show that they're blown. Get a multimeter and check the continuity from the two sides of the fusible links. Almost all power to the car runs through those connections.

 

Ok well that makes me feel better then. I'll pull out the multimeter and start checking continuity then. Thank you for your help.

 

Until you cut back the insulation around the fusable link, or ohm it, you won't be able to know if it's good or bad. Most likely though, with as much smoke as you described, there's probably some good visible evidence as to what needs to be fixed.

 

Back from the dead... The car has been sitting in the garage untouched all winter since it's not heated. I'd like to get this fixed so I can pull the car out soon. I took a closer look and my best guess is the wiring that went up in smoke is for the ignition which seems to go up towards the firewall and then I cannot even see it anymore no matter how hard I try... I read somewhere there is also a short metal heatshield back there that it runs through. What's the best way to access this wiring short of removing the engine? I think the wiring will be an easy fix once I can actually see and access it... Any help would be appreciated.

 

It goes through the heat shield and up the back of the motor.

Jack the car way up in the front and pull the starter. Tou should be able to get to it from there. If not, drop your y-pipe and that should help also.

When mine cooked, I did it up on a lift. It was tight and I had to come in from behind and pull the wires through from the back and then up. Lowered the car and worked on the harness from the top. When I was done I played surgeon rerouting the wires to their original position.

 

The car is already on stands so that's not a problem. Removing the starter shouldn't be an issue now either since I replaced the huge original one with the smaller lt1 unit. I'll see if i can wrestle my arm up in there. If not i'll drop the exhaust. Thanks for the suggestion