Allrighty, on this lovely July 4th, I just happened to be cruiseing around in my Z28 checking out fireworks and the lot. When low and behold I smell a funky smell after hearing a belt screech, the screeching then went away and then I smell this nasty smell.... not sure what it is exactly I go into a turn off to enter a shoping market area. Well, while in this turn off the smell gets even worse.... when suddenly I notice smoke coming from the passengers side of my hood. Hopeing to make the jet across heavy traffic and into the shopping area I just wait (As the wave of traffic was trickleing off) anxiously so that I can at least get in a safe area. Welp, while waiting I watch the lights in my control cluster and the Volt meter drop right out, voltmeter drops off the charts and the lights go out, as does my car. So In panic I pop the hood and get out.... as I approach the front of the car I notice bad smoke and hurry up and pop the hood open. WOAH! Flames are coming out of the back of my heater motor!! So I rush up and put the flames out. After doing do I relize that its the two wires that come out the back of it... So as I sit there and try to figure out WHY it would have done this I come to a time around a day or so ago when I had taken my car to my friend at the body shop... We were trying to find out where the holes were in the welding job he had just done because water kept getting in.... So he had said he found it, took the hood off, pulled the fender aside and then got some 'Great Stuff' and filled up the area inside that weld there with it. Well aparently when that stuff expanded it clogged up the blades on the heater fan, which in turned burned out the motor that I had just turned on to get some fresh air in the car.

So, after figureing that out I figure its gonna be ok, fires out, wires are moved aside and are safe for the time being. Shut the hood and jump in the car..... try to crank it, NOTHING. The headlights turn on, look bright as all hell... lights inside the car come on.... head unit came on for a second..... but no crank, no buss, no beeping no nothing. So here comes my excersise for tonight, pushing my unpowered car across 2 lanes of heavy traffic, and then have it roll into a local banks parking lot. So there I park it for the time being, as I go to look for a Pay Phone. Finally getting someone to come and give me a jump, I head back and wait. After they finally get there, we go ahead and try to jump the car... NOTHING, still no cranking heard, no buzzing, no beeping, nothing. Still got the lights and all though. So then I go to check out the fuses... there all fine. Out of ideas and hot as hell, as well as tired. I decide the best thing to do is come here and ask you guys. So the basic question out of all of this is: Why in the hell won't she crank? Shes Carb'ed, no FI or TBI. Please, I need help BAD. Dunno if I have the cash to have her towed back to my house, and I'm sure the bank is going to have a fit.

Welp, I'm off do some reading to see if I can't find out what it might be... I'll check back in a little bit and see if anyone has any ideas.

Thanks in advance
Adam

 

TTT

Adam

 

Sounds like your heater motor took a dump on you, which is bad enough by itsself... but it also took out one of the fusible links. They are pieces of special wire that act as fuses for the heaviest-current parts of the electrical system. They are at the big post on the starter, where the battery cable also attaches. There are 2 of them: each one feeds power to about half of the car, so if one goes, some things will still work but others won't. I happen to recall from once when it happened to me that the headlights and the ignition are fed from different ones. I had same combination of things that do & don't work as yours; I was driving down the road one night, and out of the clear blue, the car just died... headlights but no start. Easy to fix.

 

Hehe, yeah, its NO fun. Had to call the bank this morning to let them know that the vacant car in there parking lot was mine The lady said to me that people do it all the time aparently.

So what exactly am I looking to do? What should I pick up on my way home from work today, and what should I be replaceing?

Just gotta check so I know exactly what I'm doing since it will be getting fixed in the parking lot of Suntrust Bank

Thanks Much!
Adam

 

Should be a piece of about #16 wire about 10" long that looks like it's spliced to the end of a piece of #12 or #10 red wire... it will be burned in half, maybe not all the way through but you can usually tell, just replace it. It's sometimes possible to get actual "fusible link wire", sometimes not; you'll probably want a ring terminal for 3/8" stud, to go on the end of it.

Just take a look at the wires, it should be pretty obvious what you'll need to do... I'd take along a pice of wire with a ring terminal at one end as described, and the other end stripped about 1" back and doubled back a couple of times and crimped into a yellow butt splice, and a pair of wire cutters, and a crimp tool, and a 5/16" wrench for the battery cable.

 

Just out of curiosty, the only wire I noticed fried off hand was a red wire that went into this little black circut breaker box thing whose top can be removed (?), now that smelled REAL bad, and was melted to the female side.... I managed to get it off and all, but, is THAT what I'm going to need another of? I'm going to check it out more throughly tonight. But in the mean time, thats what I know

Adam

 

So am I on the right track? Anyone?

Adam