Burnt Wire

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yes, i did that and i am now looking for shorts or anything else with my test light starting at the igniton switch connector.
 
Ok. Good.

One approach would be to disconnect the S2 wire from the relay and the Ignition 2 wires from the ballast resistor and coil.
Turn the key to Start.
If the lamp glows, then fault is further back. If it doesn't glow then its one of the devices you disconnected.
upload_2021-2-26_18-19-57.png


I'll be back in a few hours. If 67Dart273 stops in, he can help if you need.
 
i put the test light on the yellow starter wire coming out of the bulkhead connector and the engine spun over.
 
i am going to clean out that connection then test the key again. if nothing happens still, i am just going to replace the wire.
 
thank you all so much, mattax and dart273, thank you for sticking around so long to help me figure this **** out.
 
So what was the problem? Does not sound like you found a short? The high amp discharge is troubling
 
oh, yes the yellow start wire was burnt out from someone else probably doing the same thing I did. probably why it was sent to the junkyard.
 
when I put the test light needle on the bulkhead connector, which gave the wire power, the starter well, started. so i just need to take the bulkhead out, to get to the wire, so I can replace that bad connection and wire.
 
67Dart273 said:
So what was the problem? Does not sound like you found a short? The high amp discharge is troubling
Click to expand...

I Agree.

shittyslant6 said:
when I put the test light needle on the bulkhead connector, which gave the wire power, the starter well, started. so i just need to take the bulkhead out, to get to the wire, so I can replace that bad connection and wire.
Click to expand...

Don't follow what you did or tested.

Are you saying you removed the lamp the battery feed line and put it in another line?
Why?
 
No, with the light still in the circuit, i took my test light to see if any of the ignition wires were dead. if all of them were good, I would have gone inside and tested the ignition switch and looked any place that the wire could have been shorting out. But, when i touched the yellow start wire connection, the car spun over. yesterday i thought it was a bad connection at the bulkhead, but after I thought about it, the wire may still be shorting out somewhere in the car.
 
shittyslant6 said:
No, with the light still in the circuit, i took my test light to see if any of the ignition wires were dead. if all of them were good, I would have gone inside and tested the ignition switch and looked any place that the wire could have been shorting out. But, when i touched the yellow start wire connection, the car spun over. yesterday i thought it was a bad connection at the bulkhead, but after I thought about it, the wire may still be shorting out somewhere in the car.
Click to expand...

That helps a bit.
It sounds like you may have simple jumped power to the starter relay.

I think what you're saying is this:
With the safety light in the circuit, a non-powered test lamp was connected between the S2 wire at the bulkhead and some other point.
Yes?

If so, it looked like this sequence.
Key off there should be no power available in J3 or S2.
upload_2021-2-27_14-36-30.png


Then did you do something like this? Key off, connect the test lamp to somewhere on the battery feed and then probe into the bulkhead cavity for S2?
upload_2021-2-27_14-42-28.png
 
yes, sort of. The key was on, non powered test lamp connected to positive batt. post and probed into the bulkhead cavity. (the key is a little sticky so I just turn it to start position and leave it.)
 
OK. What you did was power the starter relay with your test probe connection.
upload_2021-2-27_15-25-34.png


Time to go back to post 77
Don't use your portable test lamp. Leave what I'm calling the safety lamp in the battery line. Disconnect the J3 from the coil and the resistor and S2 from the starter.
Get in and turn the key to start. See if the safety lamp lights up and the ammeter moves.
 
Ok, I did everything you said and the saftey light turns on and the ammeter moves a tiny bit.
 
shittyslant6 said:
Ok, I did everything you said and the saftey light turns on and the ammeter moves a tiny bit.
Click to expand...
OK. So think about it.
The S2 and J3 wires are disconnected from everything in the engine compartment.
When the key is turned to start, the light turns on.
Therefore somewhere at or after the key switch current is getting back to ground.
upload_2021-2-28_16-31-0.png


If the J3 and S2 wires aren't touching anything in the engine bay, then the pground is somewhere between the bulkhead connector and the key switch.
Does that make sense?
 
Yes, thats what i initially thought it was when the test light started it but i was not sure.
 
Great!
We could sketch the flow like this.
upload_2021-2-28_16-38-2.png


But we don't know which wire yet.

Since you have a portable test light, might be able to narrow it down without taking apart the bulkhead connector.

With the key off, connect the portable test lamp between the battery positive and S2. Then try J3.
If it lights up, then thats the wire to investigate.
upload_2021-2-28_16-47-50.png

If it doesn't light up on either, then maybe its the switch

If it does light up, if you want to double check that its between the bulkhead and the steering column, remove the bulkhead connector. Put the probe into the matching cavity for whichever one turned on the lamp. Then you'll know.

If you've never taken off one of those bulkhead connectors, there's several posts here on FABO about how to do that. A search should turn them up pretty easily.
 
shittyslant6 said:
light did not light up on either. do i reconnect everything though?
Click to expand...

OK. so key off, neither wire shows a connection to ground.
Key in start. there is a connection.
When the switch is in start, something else must be connecting to ground.

One more test. Might need a second person.
Leave J3 and S2 disconnected.
Also disconnect the battery feed. to the key switch.
Now connect the portable test light between the battery positive and the S2.
Turn the key to start.

Do the same but with the J3 line..

Other than that maybe @67Dart273 has some more ideas how to track this down or sees something I messed up.
 
Mattax said:
Leave J3 and S2 disconnected.
Also disconnect the battery feed. to the key switch.
Now connect the portable test light between the battery positive and the S2.
Click to expand...
upload_2021-2-28_18-43-52.png
 
Sounds like my experience with my 1985 M-B diesel car. I happened to crank the engine while I had the dash cluster pulled out and saw smoke coming from the speedometer cable. That ain't right since the starter's return current should go thru the engine block to the frame and then the battery (BAT- cable goes to frame). That path is thru a thick aluminum cable from transmission bolt to frame at the bottom. That recalled stories of 1960's homes built with cheaper aluminum wiring catching fire from corroded connections and resulting heat. I removed that ground cable which looked pristine, sanded both ends, coated with Si grease, and bolted tight. No more smoking speedo cable. Similarly, when my 1969 slant alternator wouldn't charge, nor would a new one, I found the problem was the case to block bracket electrical interface (a ground wire from case is better). Aluminum oxide is that white powder and quickly forms almost invisibly on fresh aluminum. Also known as "beach sand" it is a non-conductor as are all ceramics, but does make a good sandpaper (sapphire as a pure crystal, 2nd hardest to diamond).
 
ok, so there is something grounding in the column somewhere. i did the test and neither wire lit up the test light. so i reconnect the ballast resistor though?

After i reconnected the ballast and the starter ground wire, j3 lit up the test light. s2 is still dead though.
 
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