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Short Circuit After Installing New Alternator

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Old 05-18-23, 02:22 PM
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Exclamation Short Circuit After Installing New Alternator

Hello, my alternator recently went out, and when after I installed a new one I believe I caused a short somewhere. I believe I may have messed this up during the installation of the new alternator when I forgot to disconnect the negative terminal of the battery. When I tried to turn the car on, a fusible link blew in the engine compartment. After fixing the wires in the fusible link it seems the car gets no electricity anywhere. I will attach a photo of the fusible link that blew. The previous owner used this fusible link to create a kill switch which has caused many problems including my car catching on FIRE last year. But as of recent this has caused no problems when I rewired the kill switch with thicker wire. On the picture you'll see two wires in a loop and the space inbetween is the wire that melted through. I am at a loss here because I was needing to use this car this weekend to go on a road trip but now that doesn't look like it's going to happen. I am not the best with electrical things so I thought I would put this post out there for those of you who enjoy fixing electrical issues. Any help or advice would be much appreciated.

PS. I have also attached a photo of the wiring diagram of this circuit.

Wiring Diagram


Fusible Link that Blew
Old 05-19-23, 10:14 AM
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Originally Posted by Fizzpop
I am not the best with electrical things so I thought I would put this post out there for those of you who enjoy fixing electrical issues.
But as of recent this has caused no problems when I rewired the kill switch with thicker wire. On the picture you'll see two wires in a loop and the space inbetween is the wire that melted through. I am at a loss here because I was needing to use this car this weekend to go on a road trip but now that doesn't look like it's going to happen.
The previous owner used this fusible link to create a kill switch which has caused many problems including my car catching on FIRE last year.
i'm looking at these parts of your post and i think the only responsible (and conscionable) advice i could give would be to return the car to stock. remove whatever extra wiring you and the previous owner put in this circuit. if you're saying "you're not the best" with wiring, then this is probably not something you should be doing. whether it was your fault or not, you've now caught a glimpse of what a worst case scenario could mean for the car ... and you.

check these links:

https://www.rx7club.com/1st-generati...-fuse-1087516/

https://www.rx7club.com/1st-generati...stion-1134014/

https://www.rx7club.com/1st-generati...ement-1124923/

https://www.rx7club.com/1st-generati...-link-1138084/
Old 05-26-23, 09:51 AM
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Agree with the other posters who advised returning the wiring to its OEM stock configuration. What you had there with the added kill switch wiring as shown essentially bypasses the circuit protection the fusible link was intended to provide, WITHOUT providing any effective "kill switch" functionality - it's no surprise the car caught fire with that kind of electrical molestation!



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