First Time Start....Melted Wire....Help
318 LA engine, new electronic ignition system, alternator, coil, plugs, wires, also a completely new under hood wiring harness intended for use with a electronic ignition...Turned the key and started the car for the first time in over 2 years. After priming the carb a little, engine started to run! Victory! My satisfaction was short lived. Once the engine started to run on its own, I started to see some smoke from the battery area. The secondary power wire from the battery started to melt from the battery post backwards towards the firewall. Luckily, I was able to quickly pull off the terminal and prevent any really significant visible damage. Only a couple of inches of insulation was melted away from the wire. I also noticed from the corner of my eye, when the car was starting, I thought that I saw some sort of spark coming from the general vicinity of the new alternator. I am using a new alternator with a 2 wire connection and the external voltage regulator. The electronic ignition system has 2 small wires for the alternator as well as the primary feed, blue and green. I used the blue wire, wrapped up the green. I am pretty sure my wiring to the bulkhead is correct. My thought is that I might have plugged in my ballast resistor backwards. I understand that there is a "run" and "start" position. There are 2 wires going into each side of the ballast resistor with a connector that could be installed opposite of what I have done. Is this a likely issue or can anyone give me some thoughts about tracking down my problem. I have included some images of the bulkhead wiring, ballast resistor and battery. Thanks in advance, I'm getting close here!
318 LA engine, new electronic ignition system, alternator, coil, plugs, wires, also a completely new under hood wiring harness intended for use with a electronic ignition...Turned the key and started the car for the first time in over 2 years. After priming the carb a little, engine started to run! Victory! My satisfaction was short lived. Once the engine started to run on its own, I started to see some smoke from the battery area. The secondary power wire from the battery started to melt from the battery post backwards towards the firewall. Luckily, I was able to quickly pull off the terminal and prevent any really significant visible damage. Only a couple of inches of insulation was melted away from the wire. I also noticed from the corner of my eye, when the car was starting, I thought that I saw some sort of spark coming from the general vicinity of the new alternator. I am using a new alternator with a 2 wire connection and the external voltage regulator. The electronic ignition system has 2 small wires for the alternator as well as the primary feed, blue and green. I used the blue wire, wrapped up the green. I am pretty sure my wiring to the bulkhead is correct. My thought is that I might have plugged in my ballast resistor backwards. I understand that there is a "run" and "start" position. There are 2 wires going into each side of the ballast resistor with a connector that could be installed opposite of what I have done. Is this a likely issue or can anyone give me some thoughts about tracking down my problem. I have included some images of the bulkhead wiring, ballast resistor and battery. Thanks in advance, I'm getting close here!
