zmorris

Hi I was having the problem where the small wire from fusebox to + terminal kept coming out, so I inserted a small piece of copper wire to hold the frayed end under the connector. Unfortunately I don't think I seated the main + cable connector tight enough. The charge light came on a half hour later and now I don't have gas gauge, headlights etc. Had the alternator replaced a year or two ago but worry that the resistance in the main cable was too high and maybe I blew the alternator or a fuse or a connector failed somewhere. The fuses in the fusebox all look good (not sure if they can fail without a visible burn mark though).

The strange thing is that I can start the truck and run with the main cable completely disconnected, so all of the current is going through that small fusebox wire and I worry that it's going to melt. I keep the battery on the charger overnight to stay at 12 V because I'm too broke to take it to the shop.

Is there a simple test I can do to find the failure along the main cable somewhere? My gut is telling me that possibly it's a coincidence, or that maybe a wire fatigued since not all of them are tied down and this was the last straw. I have the 85 and 87 22r wiring diagrams in Chilton and they look very similar. I have a multimeter and know a lot about electronics but there are a lot of wires. Thanks in advance for any help you can provide.

Zack

zmorris

Never mind, it was the ENGINE 15 amp fuse in the driver's side fusebox (obvious, burned black). I also lightly filed the unevenness of the + terminal's cable mount and brushed the battery post and connector clean. I ended up putting the piece of copper back in but flattened it a bit to make sure everything fits snugly.

Funny how posting a question in a forum triggers the answer. Hopefully this will help someone in the future.

P.S. the brake light was never on. Also getting 14.5 V now on terminals. So if you are getting no current on a wire, always start by checking ALL fuse boxes.

Zack