Smoke...yipes!!!

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Marlabuck

Marlabuck

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Anyway was putting in some new LED's for the dash lights and when we put the dash back and put the battery cable on we had smoke coming from the wiring harness on the firewall...now we have no power to the lights and the ignition...we have some power to the fuse box but not the ignition or lights fuses...we have the dome light but as I said no ignition power...would really appreciate some thoughts on this...Marla
 

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Look for a burnt wire is one way another is to check for continuity of a wire before and after the bulkhead.
 
The smoke is the link disappearing inside the wire insulation. You might not find it by looking, but the insulation will feel limp, and checking continuity will reveal an open.
 
Grab some of those wires one at a time and gently pull them apart with both hands. When you get to the wire that pulls apart like a rubber band, you found the bad fusible link. It will probably be a large gauge wire. Should not be hard o find.
 
Is there more than one fuseable link to the firewall???...isn't there two and the square blocks say fuseable link?...what wire is the one to the right of the photo that is incased in white plastic...is that also a fuseable link?...Marla
 
Hi,

What model and year car are we talking about here? Most Chrysler products of the 60's and early 70's have one fusible link. It should be a #16 gauge dark blue wire that often had a small tag on it reading "link" or "fuse".
 
Pete in NH said:
Hi,

What model and year car are we talking about here? Most Chrysler products of the 60's and early 70's have one fusible link. It should be a #16 gauge dark blue wire that often had a small tag on it reading "link" or "fuse".
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Sorry Pete...it is a 1975 Scamp...was replacing dash bulbs and when I turned the key on,smoke came from my firewall...some of the guys suggested fuseable link and they are probably correct...I have had the dash out before and never had any problems...could the positive cable that attaches to the back of the dash maybe shorted if it made contact with metal???...Marla
 
The round white connector near the bulkhead connection is a service disconnect. Fusible link begins at that disconnect and goes into the bulkhead connection.
 
So thanks to the great ideas on this subject, I found the burned fuseable link...now can somebody tell me where it goes and comes from and how to replace it?....Marla


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It is replaceable.

Most auto stores have them.

Squeeze the tabs and remove that section of the bulkhead connector. Use a thin tool to release the tab for the packard connector from the housing, pop it out and replace it.

The question is why did it pop? You removed the cluster to put leds in, is something pinched and grounded? Re-check what you did!
 
1969383S said:
It is replaceable.

Most auto stores have them.

Squeeze the tabs and remove that section of the bulkhead connector. Use a thin tool to release the tab for the packard connector from the housing, pop it out and replace it.

The question is why did it pop? You removed the cluster to put leds in, is something pinched and grounded? Re-check what you did!
Click to expand...

Gotcha!!!...Sweet of you to reply to this post...thank you...could the pop have happened if the positive cable connection on the back of the dash came into contact with metal while I positioned it?...I will certainly pull the dash cluster to check for a pinched wire...Marla
 
Marlabuck said:
Gotcha!!!...Sweet of you to reply to this post...thank you...could the pop have happened if the positive cable connection on the back of the dash came into contact with metal while I positioned it?...I will certainly pull the dash cluster to check for a pinched wire...Marla
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Absolutely yes!
 
Okay...so is the Packard connector part of the bulkhead connector???...so the wire will go into the bulkhead connector how does it connect to the black bulb thingy?...the wire above the black bulb is ok, right?...Marla
 
Marlabuck said:
Okay...so is the Packard connector part of the bulkhead connector???...so the wire will go into the bulkhead connector how does it connect to the black bulb thingy?...the wire above the black bulb is ok, right?...Marla
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Yes you can call it a spade type connector. The type is called packard.

The older cars have another plug connector instead of the bulb you are reffering to. Not sure but I assume you will have to cut that end off at the "bulb" and do a butt splice. Maybe the connector is further up the feed wire than your pictures show or someone else may chime in.
 
Is that fusible link not on the red wire in the pic? The other wire with the bulb may not be the one you need to fix.
 
1969383S said:
Is that fusible link not on the red wire in the pic? The other wire with the bulb may not be the one you need to fix.
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The burned wire runs into that black connector...so I am thinking hit the auto parts store after removing this burned link and get another fuseable link...put it back into the square black bulkhead main connector and splicing it ...M.
 
1969383S said:
It is replaceable.

Most auto stores have them.

Squeeze the tabs and remove that section of the bulkhead connector. Use a thin tool to release the tab for the packard connector from the housing, pop it out and replace it.

The question is why did it pop? You removed the cluster to put leds in, is something pinched and grounded? Re-check what you did!
Click to expand...

When I've removed the fuseable link wire from the bulkhead connector how do I get the new one in the Packard connector?
 
1969383S said:
It is replaceable.

Most auto stores have them.

Squeeze the tabs and remove that section of the bulkhead connector. Use a thin tool to release the tab for the packard connector from the housing, pop it out and replace it.

The question is why did it pop? You removed the cluster to put leds in, is something pinched and grounded? Re-check what you did!
Click to expand...

Just trying to get this straight in my head...I think there are 3 square black plastic connectors? I guess they are ,that attach to the bulkhead...okay so squeeze the tabs together to remove the square black connector that houses the burned link wire...then I need to release the burned wire from this black connector by using a thin blade...okay so far...then the new wire will just slip right into the black square connector...then put the black square connector back on the bulkhead...splice the opposite end of the new wire to the good part of the original wire above the black bulb???...been up practically all night with this going thru my head and really just would like to move on...get the burned wire replaced and carry on from there...Marla
 
Hi,

When you had the dash out, did you have the negative battery cable disconnected? If the battery was still connected and you moved the dash around that may have caused your problem. Always disconnect the battery before doing anything in the electrical system, even if you think you don't really need to.

Most auto parts store replacement fusible links will usually just be the plain link wire. It comes in different gauges and most stock links on these cars were #16 gauge. You will most likely need to replace the Packard pin connector on the new piece of link wire. They are called Packard 56 type terminals and the parts place may have them. Another option is to replace the link with a more modern blade type fuse called a Maxi-Fuse as used in newer cars. That way if something like this ever happens again, the fuse is easily replaced. Replacing fusible links is a bit of a project. With a stock alternator a 50 amp Maxi-Fuse is about the right value. I use a NAPA NW 784482 Maxi-Fuse holder and a RED 50 Amp fuse.
 
Pete in NH said:
Hi,

When you had the dash out, did you have the negative battery cable disconnected? If the battery was still connected and you moved the dash around that may have caused your problem. Always disconnect the battery before doing anything in the electrical system, even if you think you don't really need to.

Most auto parts store replacement fusible links will usually just be the plain link wire. It comes in different gauges and most stock links on these cars were #16 gauge. You will most likely need to replace the Packard pin connector on the new piece of link wire. They are called Packard 56 type terminals and the parts place may have them. Another option is to replace the link with a more modern blade type fuse called a Maxi-Fuse as used in newer cars. That way if something like this ever happens again, the fuse is easily replaced. Replacing fusible links is a bit of a project. With a stock alternator a 50 amp Maxi-Fuse is about the right value. I use a NAPA NW 784482 Maxi-Fuse holder and a RED 50 Amp fuse.
Click to expand...
Thanks for responding...yes we had the battery disconnected but when we were testing the new LED's for the dash lights I think I might have moved the cluster so the positive connection on the back of the cluster may have contacted metal and caused the burn...anyway, this Packard pin connector is inside the bulkhead black square connector right?, squeeze the tabs on the square black firewall connector and pull it from the bulkhead and use a thin blade to remove this Packard connector and the burned wire will be free of the square black bulkhead connector right???wrong???...kinda spinning here as I could not sleep last night with this problem percolating in my head...Marla
 
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