hey there guys, I got a question and I hope you can answer because I have no clue. I have three red wires that are close to the battery and one of them has this black cylinder looking thing on it. I dont know where they go. so if anyone with an 88 maro can help me out i woul really appreciate it. Thanks in advance guys.

 

Do they look factory?
Or hokey add on?
Do they have plugs at/on ends?

 

they look factory and when i got the car they were hooked up to the wire coming of the alternator. And No they didnt have connections on the end. I didnt think much of it so now I want to know where the hell they belong.

 

Black cylinder looking thing by the battery? That sounds like one f the fuses that goes over there by the battery, there will be one for the MAF and one for the Computer (i think its the MAF)

 

I gots a 85, but will look tonight & let you know if I's gots them toos'

 

By my Battery on my 1985, I do not have any hokey wires.
All mine are in the proper location.
Where do these wires end up?
A junction box or?

 

The black cylinder-looking thing is a fuseable link wire. A fuseable link is like a fuse; it's a smaller gauge wire that will melt if the current is too much- it's like a slow-acting fuse.

The wires could have come from two spots- the junction block on the passenger side (outer) of the radiator support, or the starter. Are there any fuseable links down at your starter? They'd be off the "big" terminal, the one coming from the positive cable from the battery.

Trace one (or all of them) back... that might help in deciding their proper location. I'm guessing they might've come off the junction block- the nut on the block usually rusts to the stud, so if any work had to be performed at the junction block, a mechanic might've cut all the wires off, and led them to the alternator.

Hey- where's the red wire on your alternator go? It's supposed to lead back to the junction block. The wiring from the positive cable of the battery should go something like this... remember the positive cable from the batt consists of two wires- one large thick red sucker (alternator) and one thinner red one.

Battery -> thin red positive cable -> junction block
junction block -> another thin red cable -> alternator
junction block -> thinner red cable -> MAF fuse power
junction block -> thinner red cable -> fuel pump fuse holder
junction block -> very thin red cable w/fuseable link -> I forget

If the mech eliminated the junction block from the car, he might've lead the thin red positive cable (from the batt) directly to the alternator, and used the alternator terminal as a junction block. It would certainly make sense, and I dont' see it affecting anything, but if the factory didn't do it that way, we probably shouldn't, either...

Let me know!

Oooh- I can attach VB code? Hehe, that's kind of cool...

 

I have a black with red strip wire coming off the alternator and that is where all the three red wires come together and the lead somewhere on the passangerside close to the firewall fo the car. I dont know if i have a junction block or not. Not sure what it looks like? but the wires aren't doing anything bad to the car I just want to know the proper place to put them. Also my alternator wire is hooked up to the smaller wire going off the positive battery cable and then the three red wires are hooked up to that as well. Thank for the info guys.

 

Yeah; that's what I'm saying; I think your junction block has been removed from the "circuit". Look on the passenger side of the radiator support for the junction block. There should be a relay in that area for your MAF sensor.

You might need to use a mirror to look at the area between your battery and radiator support. The junction block looks like a black piece of plastic; it has a bolt in the center that the wires go to. (The missing terminals from the red wires at your alternator might still be on this bolt.) The block is held to the rad support by two 9/32" (7mm) screws.

The junction block would be below your MAF relay (rectangular plastic block with 6 wires coming from it). You can nab 'em from a junkyard for $0... nobody ever takes 'em, so why pay for it? Just make sure on the junkyard one that the center terminal bolt isn't rusted to the nut. The block is supposed to hold all the wires that are on your alternator (as in the wiring diagram I wrote about)... so yeah, I don't think it's hurting anything, I just think the junction block's nut rusted solid, and this was a mechanic's fix. I don't see anything wrong with the fix... but it makes me wonder why the factory didn't wire the car like this. Maybe it was just to look neater?

 

Ok I'll try to snag one from the pick a part this weekend. Oh and thanks for the help You guys I really am thankfull.