Hello all! Newbie here, 1st post. Learned a ton from this forum already!
1990 Chevy C2500 350TBI
Original owner; literally bought it 32 years ago today!
Was in a wreck in 2008 that damaged front end. The body shop asked what level of repair I wanted (insurance company totaled it) and I responded "lowest cost" and they went heavy on "cheap"! Repaired & drove home and it's sat up ever since. Now I'm getting my hands dirty to get her back in good condition. My latest project was a complete coolant flush & hose replacement. I cranked it up and turned the heater blower on high to top off the coolant level etc. All was good for 10-minutes then the engine bogged & died. At the same time there was severe arcing from the alternator terminal. The smaller wire, from the +battery post to the junction box, caught on fire and melted in two.
After my heart settled I began to inspect. It's my fault for not noticing they didn't replace the fusible link from the +battery to junction block (lots of the front end needed replacing after wreck). But I also noticed corrosion & breakage in the ground wire to the fender. The ground from the battery to the intake manifold appears to be good and the ground straps are good (frame to body & frame to engine).
It's been too many moons since my physics classes. Would/could this failed ground wire be the cause of the problem? I did have to brush the negative cable to make a connection prior to starting. I did notice the corrosion, but replacing the cables was certainly on the to-do list, but wasn't a priority since the truck hasn't left the driveway. I suspect if the fusible link was installed it would have simply done its job and burned out. But I'm not qualified to understand this properly and hoping more experienced folks might be willing to clarify the situation. Initially I suspected the 25+ year old re-man alternator suddenly failed and sent a surge of voltage. I suppose that's a possibility. I haven't had problems with the dash volt gauge showing unusual voltage or unusual behavior and it's been able to keep the battery charged. The battery is a 3 month old Duralast that I bought while working on the truck and later planned to upgrade when I replaced the cables.
I traced the wires to the junction box and to the alternator and down the frame to the starter and found nothing noticeable regarding possible shorts. I did not use a multi-meter (yet). I appreciate any and all assistance in narrowing the cause of this problem. Thanks!
1990 Chevy C2500 350TBI
Original owner; literally bought it 32 years ago today!
Was in a wreck in 2008 that damaged front end. The body shop asked what level of repair I wanted (insurance company totaled it) and I responded "lowest cost" and they went heavy on "cheap"! Repaired & drove home and it's sat up ever since. Now I'm getting my hands dirty to get her back in good condition. My latest project was a complete coolant flush & hose replacement. I cranked it up and turned the heater blower on high to top off the coolant level etc. All was good for 10-minutes then the engine bogged & died. At the same time there was severe arcing from the alternator terminal. The smaller wire, from the +battery post to the junction box, caught on fire and melted in two.
After my heart settled I began to inspect. It's my fault for not noticing they didn't replace the fusible link from the +battery to junction block (lots of the front end needed replacing after wreck). But I also noticed corrosion & breakage in the ground wire to the fender. The ground from the battery to the intake manifold appears to be good and the ground straps are good (frame to body & frame to engine).
It's been too many moons since my physics classes. Would/could this failed ground wire be the cause of the problem? I did have to brush the negative cable to make a connection prior to starting. I did notice the corrosion, but replacing the cables was certainly on the to-do list, but wasn't a priority since the truck hasn't left the driveway. I suspect if the fusible link was installed it would have simply done its job and burned out. But I'm not qualified to understand this properly and hoping more experienced folks might be willing to clarify the situation. Initially I suspected the 25+ year old re-man alternator suddenly failed and sent a surge of voltage. I suppose that's a possibility. I haven't had problems with the dash volt gauge showing unusual voltage or unusual behavior and it's been able to keep the battery charged. The battery is a 3 month old Duralast that I bought while working on the truck and later planned to upgrade when I replaced the cables.
I traced the wires to the junction box and to the alternator and down the frame to the starter and found nothing noticeable regarding possible shorts. I did not use a multi-meter (yet). I appreciate any and all assistance in narrowing the cause of this problem. Thanks!
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