Ok, I have a story to tell you guys. My car was having a problem overheating so I decided my thermostat was probably shot. SO I go to replace it. I get a wrench and go to unscrew the radiator hose. I put the wrench on the bolt and pull it back to loosen it and the other side of the wrench come in contact with the positive terminal on my alternator and it isntantly flows current through the wrench. It was sparking and i coudn't get it off and it was smoking. Then my battery started to smoke. And I coudn't find the a wrench to unhook the battery so I tried to rip of the cabels form teh battery. This didn't work and finally the cabel melted it self of teh battery destroying the input for the positive on the battery. After I got the battery out I surveyed the damage and saw taht the cabels look ok, So I changed the thermostat and replaced the battery and now there is no power to the car. Nothing, I know it is a good battery and I know the cabels are hooked up properly. A friend suggested that it was the fusable link. But I have no clues. What do you guys think. I really need some help.
From now on you can guess what I will be disconnecting every time I work on my car.
Jason
PS. I have an 88 GTA 350
Thanks

 

Fusible link is a good guess. There's 2 of them, they're down at the starter, hooked to the big terminal where the batt cablae goes. They're about 14 gauge.

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"So many Mustangs, so little time..."
ICON Motorsports

 

Your car may hate you. Possibly because it is a bird of death.

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--Steve S--
1984 Trans Am 305 LG4, 5 speed
RPO codes point to Recaro version
Daily Driver, Flowmaster 80 Series

 

Actually the car I have now, isn't the bird of death. My 86 firebird was which I sold. I just kept this username.
Any ways. I was just wondering is it possible that i could have fried all of the electronics in my car such as the digital dash and things like that. Also I had my radar detector hooked in and i took it out and it still works. I hope my dash isn't toast.
Jason

 

Im sure your dash is fine dude....the factory trys to make it so idiots like us cant totally F * * K up our cars with one fell swoop, there's always a weakest link
(fuseable one )

[This message has been edited by Vader (edited January 22, 2001).]

 

Nope, your dash is fine and not because of GM preventive designs. (Is there even one besides the fuse box?). In order to fry a whole car's wiring you'd have to go put a non-fused short on each circuit and have one masssive wire feeding the circuits thus melting each source wire to the short. I don't think it'd be a fuseable link. It has to be somewhere between the back of the alt where you grounded it and the battery. I'm guessing you did a little job somewhere between the wire that goes from the bat cable to the back of the alt. If you have any aftermarket features not hooked up normally then it is possible you had a second backfeed that could of fried a wire further up. Just for future reference and anyone that will read this. It's much easier to remove a wrench making a short than to attempt to disconnect a battery. Just make sure you aren't touching ground or you'll start completeing the circuit. What you expierenced was basically an arc weld. If you spend your time over the battery it's very likely you'll take an SO4 bath (sulfuric acid) which east through clothes, skin and very dangerous to eyes.

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1984 WS6 Trans Am Hartop
Former L69 Car under restoration
1984 WS6 Trans Am T-tops
4-bolt main 350, headers, Holley 650, T-5, dual elec. fans and 3.23's.
Daily driver and restoration
13.98 @ 101

 

check your fuses

 

Unless later models are different, '86 f-bodies also had some fusable links located on the positive junction block (on the passenger side of the radiator support, follow the red wires).


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-Tom P (Hot rodded 1986 Firebird 2.8l) from http://www.f-body.net/mailbag/3rd/3rd_mailbag.html message boards
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