I just rebuilt my 22re, haven't even started it yet. The first time I hooked up my battery, the white/black stripe wire coming off of the alternator melted and then the fuse blew. I followed the harness back to the fuse box to assess the damage. It only melted on the driver's side. I replaced the damaged wire with a thicker gauge wire from the alternator to the fender wall and replaced the 80 amp fuse. I hooked up the battery and the fuse blew again, but I left it hooked up for a minute and the new wire did not melt. What is the most logical way to troubleshoot this problem?

 

verify the polarity of the battery is correct and that there are no shorts in the wiring

 

The white wire with a black stripe is a ground. Hopefully someone else can learn from my mistake. I was going by a rather misleading picture. I will report on the damage tomorrow. I'm hoping that it was only that fuse.