i just dropped in a rebuilt motor in my 94 runner 3.0.... got it started on the first try but the idle was very high.... went to make some adjustments and now every time i crank the engine it doesnt turn over... suddenly the ground wire from the negative battery terminal started to burn out.. luckily i had new terminal wire laying around. hooked the new battery cable up and same thing happened to that one, burn out. did i overlook something? any help is appreciated.

 

when u are saying it burned out what size wire are u using? did u get all the grounds put back on when u installed the motor, one on the back firewall to motor and one on driver side fender to heads, and the ground from battery to fender wall and frame.

 

both wires are the same. the first one that burnt out was the one i used before i put in the rebuilt motor. as far as grounds,... I'm gonna do a double check making sure i got all of them...

 

Well what size cable are you using for the grounds.

You mean to say it got so hot it melted the insulation off!! The whole length of the ground cable. Loose connections can cause heat.

Something for sure is not correct .

If this happened best to look at the ground for the ECU that could also be cooked.

Pictures would be a big help

 

I suspect its a bad connection. Remove the ground cable from the chassis/frame and use a wire brush to clean the surface area for bonding. Both surfaces should be clean and paint/rust free.

 

Cleaned all the grounds and put in a new cable. Works perfect now