Fire from steering shaft/Ignition issues

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Zelly

Zelly

Tire Surgeon
Joined
Mar 8, 2015
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Rohnert Park
Went to go to work last week and turned the key and ... Poooof ... smoke .. then flames in my lap. Rolled out of the car like Robert De Niro in Casino ... by time i got back with the fire extinguisher the fire was out.

A black ground wire going from the steering shaft to the dash was the cause of the fire. Only damage was the under the shaft plastic piece has some burn marks on the back side of it and caused it to crack.

With all that said ... I replaced that black wire took apart the steering shaft to check the wires ... all is good.
I then put it all back together .. turned the key and the fusible link went. Now every time i turn the key to start the car the fusible link inside the engine bay just off the firewall near the throttle cable blows the 30amp fuses i try.

Wiring is my kryptonite and after about a week of ******* around with it .. im fed up completely ... so here i am asking the interwebs for some assistance.

Things I have done ...
- Ran my finger along every wire up under the dash looking for exposed wires
- Ran a new wire from the old wire from the solenoid by the battery to the Link that keeps popping
- Replaced the fusible link with a new one that i liked better
- Checked the fuses up under the dash behind the light switch
- Pulled the ignition switch (which broke as soon as i unscrewed it)
- Cussed more than I ever have in my life
- Managed to break my window wiper arms
- Un-installed all the wiring i have done in the year ive had her
- Pulled the cluster and tried ... still popped the fuse

So im gonna relax .. drink some beer and wait for one of you to send me some new ideas.

For the record .. I drive her every day to work ... have not messed or had to work on her in about 6 months .. last thing i did was replace the throttle cable that snapped on me.

scampb4.jpg
 
Zelly said:
Went to go to work last week and turned the key and ... Poooof ... smoke .. then flames in my lap. Rolled out of the car like Robert De Niro in Casino ... by time i got back with the fire extinguisher the fire was out.

A black ground wire going from the steering shaft to the dash was the cause of the fire. Only damage was the under the shaft plastic piece has some burn marks on the back side of it and caused it to crack.

With all that said ... I replaced that black wire took apart the steering shaft to check the wires ... all is good.
I then put it all back together .. turned the key and the fusible link went. Now every time i turn the key to start the car the fusible link inside the engine bay just off the firewall near the throttle cable blows the 30amp fuses i try.

Wiring is my kryptonite and after about a week of ******* around with it .. im fed up completely ... so here i am asking the interwebs for some assistance.

Things I have done ...
- Ran my finger along every wire up under the dash looking for exposed wires
- Ran a new wire from the old wire from the solenoid by the battery to the Link that keeps popping
- Replaced the fusible link with a new one that i liked better
- Checked the fuses up under the dash behind the light switch
- Pulled the ignition switch (which broke as soon as i unscrewed it)
- Cussed more than I ever have in my life
- Managed to break my window wiper arms
- Un-installed all the wiring i have done in the year ive had her
- Pulled the cluster and tried ... still popped the fuse

So im gonna relax .. drink some beer and wait for one of you to send me some new ideas.

For the record .. I drive her every day to work ... have not messed or had to work on her in about 6 months .. last thing i did was replace the throttle cable that snapped on me.

View attachment 1714947220
Click to expand...
Read this, maybe something...
Catalog
 
STOP BURNING THINGS UP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Learn to troubleshoot without smokin' stuff. Once you know there's a problem, STOP!!!

"How" to do this? Easy. You need something to protect the vehicle wiring, and which will help you find the trouble

Get an old stop/ tail lamp socket and bulb. If possible an old headlight. Wire them up with "clip" leads so you can use them.

You can wire a stop/ tail several ways to give you different ratings.

1....Heaviest. Connect to the shell for one conneciton, and for the remaining, twist the two wires together (stop and tail) and use them together. This will put both filaments in parallel, making "one big" lamp

2....A little less..........Connect to the shell and the stop filament. Leave the tail filament wire loose

2....Less yet. Connect to the shell and to the tail filament. Much less wattage

3....WAY less....Leave the shell unconnected. Connect one connection to the tail, the other to the stop. This puts the filaments in SERIES. I used to do this when using a 8--10A charger on a bike / lawnmower battery.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

WHAT DO YOU DO with all this? Easy. Connect the thing for max current, IE no1 above. Or use a head lamp. Unhook your battery ground. Connect the lamp in series with the battery ground. If the bulb lights, you have current draw. Go around the car and make certain everything is shut off. Don't forget dome / courtesy, trunk and underhood lamps.

NOW what you have is 'a kink of' a fuse. Current limiting. When you turn on the key, the lamp will light, showing current. More current will light the thing more brightly. It will NOT allow anything to blow up.

========================================

Next, start eliminating "stuff" one at a time. Determine under what conditions "things went bad." Disconnect "the most likely suspect" one at a time.

Let's say when key twisted to start is what "smoked." First try pulling the yellow "start" wire off the starter relay. No increase? Might or might not be there. Might be bad relay, bad starter. Hook the wire back up, unhook the solenoid wire going to the starter (example). If light still goes "crazy bright" with no starter, the relay might be shorted.

===========================================

Additional: If you get to the point with the series lamp, and you can't figure it out, then instead of risking your harness, and fuse link, TEMPORARILY replace the link with a fuse holder. Use increasing fuses up to 30A to try and chase things down. Buy at least two boxes of fuses, LOL

============================================

THE BAD: These old girls were POORLY fused and protected. The fuse link often does not blow, or fast enough, before SERIOUS harness "smokage" happens. The thermoplastic conductors.........the one with the short.....melts the insulation and gets real hot, and MELTS AND WELDS wiring nearby, causing cross connections and more smoke. Often after such a problem, you are going to have to tear apart what you need (the dash) and remove the harness, unwrap / untape it and inspect and repair or replace it.
 
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Put a 12 volt light in place of the fusible link. If it lights you still have a short. Keep checking/disconnecting things until the light goes out, when it does then you've found your short. This will save your having to buy fuseible links. I would be suspicious of the turn signal switch.

Good Luck
 
3 beers down ... 3 ideas to try ... perfect ...

65GT ... thank you for the link .. i feel I have half that "fix" done ... so maybe ill just finish it ... and this makes kinda supports my idea of the issue coming from the connection box at the firewall

67Dart ... thank you for the step by step ... i like the light Idea ... and i installed a fuse holder where the link is ... ive popped 2 30 amps already

Superdart ... the TS switch looks/seems great ...
 
FIXED

after reading 65GTs link ... it gave me an idea to check the connections at the firewall .... and the wire connecting part from the engine bay was exposed ... not touching anything but exposed ... i pulled it out .. heat shrink as far in as i could go ... and no more popping the fuse ... Yay!

But now i my car wont start ... i bypassed the starter relay and she fired right up ... on my way now to get a relay from the store. Lets hope this is it for now lol.
 
so now ignition switch doesn't signal starter relay. I have to suspect ignition switch. Manually operated switches are always suspect. And that is something you've messed with more than once every day.
 
^ good call my friend ... the new starter relay did nothing ... so it must be the ignition switch .... time to order one of those i guess
 
When a short circuit occurs the damage can be wide spread. good luck with it
 
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