car dead!

[86grandnat.]

I was tightening the belt on my 83 hurst when I managed to short out the wires goin into the alternator (the 2 wires that plug in underneath). Now, the car is completely dead, the wires off the alternator look fine to me, but the headlights still work and the dinger for the door/headlights still works too. How can that be??? Oh, and there is a red wire running off the starter that isn't connected to anything right now, looks like its come apart from somewhere, but I can't find out where it goes, looked everywhere! I hooked another wire up to it and touched the positive post of the battery and it started to crank the car over so I assume that that wire is an important piece of my puzzle, lol. If you guys have any suggestions of what is wrong please let me know cause I am willing to try anything at this point! Is there a main fuse to these cars cause i checked most of the fuses in the fuse box and they all seem fine, thanks in advance!

 

[MaxVO2]

It sounds like you burnt the fusible link out to the starter. You can get a replacement at most auto parts stores. It acts like a fuse. You can splice or solder the new one in and be back out on the road in no time. There are other fusible links on the car as well, but given what you wrote and how this seems to have happened, you simply popped the starter link. It's no big deal.

Good luck

Billy
Montgomery Village, MD

 

[86grandnat.]

Yep, thats what it seems to be. Took the starter out and replaced every fusible link and it seems to have power now. Now all I have to do is get the stupid starter back in place. Gonna finish it today but got to fed up with it. Too bad I had to do this before the car show. Thanks for the help!