BeatUpTransAm

I just did an engine swap in my 85 trans am. Old 267 out of a g body got replaced with a nice 350 from an old plow truck. Anyways i have my electric choke positive wire hooked up with the wire going to my coil. The wire came off and shorted out on my intake and now i cannot get the car to crank over. No dash lights, door chime, ign, or acc. There is a light under my dash that still comes on so i have power still. I checked what was there for fuses and they all seem ok. Not sure where the relay would be or even which one. A few of the fuse holders just have pieces of metal jammed in there so its had plenty of problems before. If anyone could give me some ideas to check out it would help a lot. Thanks

Drew

iTrader: (58)

Positive post on the starter should have a bunch of fusible links on it.

Alternatively get a wiring diagram and trace the circuit you shorted back to it's origin.

BeatUpTransAm

I will try and trace those starter wires back tomorrow to see what fuses you are talking about. I couldnt trace the coil wire through the harness and have no manual or diagram. Just wondering if anybody know which fuse or relay the positive for the coil is. Its the tan plug at the end of my coil.

sofakingdom

iTrader: (1)

There is no "fuse" or "relay" for the coil.

Your problem is a fusible link. It is a piece of special wire, specifically intended to melt ("fuse") when excessive current it passed through it. However it has a MAJOR advantage over a typical "fuse", in that it introduces NO MECHANICAL CONNECTIONS to the system, and thereby doesn't develop intermittents the way fuses inevitably do. They are used in places with very high current levels like the big red wires that feed battery to the entire rest of the car, where high reliability (freedom from intermittents) is desired. There are 2 or 3 of them at the post on the starter where the batt cable also goes. Each one feeds about half of the car: one might feed for example the ign sw (starter, coil, radio, HVAC, etc. - EVERYTHING downstream of the ign sw will be out), another might feed the headlight sw (headlights, tail lights, dash lights, etc. - EVERYTHING downstream of the HL sw will be out), another might feed various other lights and accessories such as the "ctsy lt" circuit (dome lights, cig ltr, etc.), and so forth. All of those major load clusters are split up and powered separately. Which is why certain things are completely dead but certain others are unaffected.

The one that has failed is probably now stretchy, unlike normal wire; this being because the metal inside has melted.

You can get new FLs at the parts store. They are color-coded to their current level. A common color for example is "rust", a sort of dark orange. Whatever your failed one's color is, just match it. Install it CAREFULLY by twisting, soldering, and heat-shrinking, onto the big red wire it protects, followed by a thick layer of tape. DO NOT rely on a crimp butt splice: you will find yourself sitting by the side of the road with the car in the exact same state it is in now, sooner or later, but most likely sometime after you've forgotten all about it, and at the worst possible moment such as late at night while you're in nice clothes after a date with your significant other sitting in the car in a bad neighborhood. Intermittents seem to have intelligence, and wait to expose themselves until they can cause YOU the greatest possible havoc.

BeatUpTransAm

Thank you for all the info, never dealt with fusible links before. I will go ahead and check those tomorrow. Will i be able to tell which one is bad by looking at it or do i need to test it with a meter?

sofakingdom

iTrader: (1)

I believe someone mentioned this:

Yes you can test them with a meter, but you probably won't have to. Most likely you'll be able to tell by other means.

BeatUpTransAm

Found the burnt wire coming off the starter. Connected it back together and all is working for now. I will have to follow the wire up the harness more so i can replace the whole thing.

sofakingdom

iTrader: (1)

Probably nothing the matter with the rest of it... if the fusible link had failed and you repaired it properly and did a good job like I described and now it's working, I'd suggest leaving well enough alone for the time being. You're more likely to just open a can of worms messing around further than you are to actually accomplish anything useful.

BeatUpTransAm

There wasnt enough room to properly replace the fusible link as it was above the starter behind the engine block. I barely was able to peel some of the burnt casing off exposing bare wires and got a connector on it. So it will have to be done right so im not stuck one day. This was just a quick fix to get me going so i can tune it.