Recently had an engine fire....due to an untigtened connection...think I should fire my mechanic except he is me and works for peanuts.

Anyway...have basically replaced everything under the hood that had rubber or wire, car cranks, getting fuel but no spark out of the coil?

Could it be the fuseable link under the dash? If so has anybody replaced one? How hard is it to get to? Any other words of wisdom?

Thanks for your help/advice

 

Hello Newbie, and welcome to the Classic section of MF. First, start with your starter relay (Solenoid) to see if you have power there. Get a pair of pliers, and use the handles to short across it to see if the engine cranks. If not, then go to your starter switch and see if you have power there on the big yellow wire. If not, then work toward the fuse box to see where you may have fried a wire.
We had a conversation sort of like this a few days ago. Here is that, plus some wiring diagrams, etc.
https://mustangforums.com/m_1435116/tm.htm

 

Could be the fusible link.. The traditional fusible link is a short section of wire that has a smaller diameter than the rest of the circuit. When current flow in the circuit exceeds that of the fusible link, the wire melts and interrupts the circuit. This type of fusible link is for the most part obsolete, as many car makers have opted for newer technologies such as the cartridge style fuse element or maxi fuse. When a fuse link ?blows?, it must be replaced.

The wire style of link is usually located in a wiring harness near a main harness connection just behind the dash cluster. This type of link can be changed to the cartridge style fuse element or maxi fuse. These types of fusible links are located in fuse panels on all the newer cars or other fuse panel under the hood.

Hope this helps..

 

I keep a fire extinguisher in both my 66' Mustang and my 69' Charger R/T SE for just such emergencies. These cars are just too valuable these days NOT to keep an extinguisher in them!

Tom
Bryson City, NC

 

ooh 69 Charger.. My dad has a 69 and a 70.. brother has a 70 Challenger.. I am not fond of most moaprs, but I like chargers and Challengers.. maybe a 440 dart occasionally..


Might wanna check the coil, if you didnt replace it. Run the diagrams and make sure everything is wired up right. Did you replace the points and condesor as well? Best to change them before they dont work..

Shouldnt be tough getting to the fusible links, well unless you are like me and cant fit under the dash. Try removing the seat if you are like I am. Large.

Two things you should invest in if you dont have them. 1: Multi tester. 2: Continuity light. Both are indespensable when workin on the electrical systems.

 

Have replaced coil, solenoid, harness, cap, rotor, all fuel lines, spark plugs, battery cables, ignition switch. about all I have left is the link. The fire was brief! Car stalled and I went to flip the emer flashers looked up to see my two week old paint job begin to bubble, grabbed the fire extinguisher I keep in the back seat and one blast it was out, but the damage was done.

If anybody has any other ideas or pics of the fuseable link and or how to remove it from the firewall plug and replace I would greatly appreciate it.

Thanks,

Dave

 

What fuseable link?
Are you talking about the pink resistor wire that goes to the coil?

Any chance you might have a Volt/Ohm meter handy?

 

Yes...sorry. The pink wire that is part of the wiring harness is a form of fuseable link...very hard to reach on a 66, looks like if that is the problem I will have to unwrap the harness to get it out.

I do have a multimeter that measures voltage and Ohms

 

Have you tried running a jumper wire from B+ to the positive coil post? If it still doesn't start you've got more issues. If it does start, then do the below checks:

Set your multimeter to DC volts, low scale that will read up to battery volts. Put the negative on the negative battery terminal and the positive on the positive coil stud. Turn the engine over by hand until the points are open. Turn the key to "run" you should read ~ 9V with a fully charged battery.
If this is correct, turn the key back off and turn the engine over until the points close. Turn the key back on and recheck voltage. It should be the same as before. If it drops by more than a volt, check where the pink wire plugs into the ignition switch. That red wire should be battery volts. If it is. replace the pink resistor wire.
If the resistor wire is cooked, this would be a great oportunity to eliminate it and run a non-resistor wire out to an internally resisted coil and electronic ignition module.

Does everything else (lights, turn signals, heater fan, etc) work correctly?

***********edit***********

Almost forgot, Disconnect the wire at the "S" terminal of the starter solenoid. Turn the key to Start and you should read battery voltage at the coil. That's the brown wire that is spliced into the red-green wire that goes to the coil. Some cars can be dificult to start and require this wire to work correctly.

HTH,

Godd luck,

 

Scott - thanks for the help...wanted to follow up on this. I feel pretty stupid but several good lessons learned by me last weekend.

1. The wire to the coil is same color as the Oil Pressure extension.
2. Oil Pressure extension lead is just that an extension, not part of the "wired" harness.
3. The wire that goes to the coil goes on the + of the coil, not the oil pressure gauge.
4. The wire that goes to the oil pressure gauge goes on the oil pressure gauge, not the coil.

OOPS....OK...did I say I felt stupid.

OH well I became much more interested in my main wiring harness and now know where everything goes and even took the opportunity to clean up the mess behind the gauge cluster.

Thanks again for who helped.