It burned the wire in two

[70' GMC]

It hooks to the battery and to the metal on the side of the truck. I just dont know whats the problem. the truck was going from half charged to charge and then quit in the middle of the road and lights went slam out

[Texasbigblock]

how big is that ground wire?

[70' GMC]

Originally Posted by Texasbigblock

how big is that ground wire?

was small it also melted it. It almost cranked you could hear the starter but no fire or could the battery got weak to cause it. Also are you supposed to put distilled water into a batttery?

[streetstar]

wow

[Longhorn Man]

my god.... your typing is getting worse... try to put a complete thought down... once you can do that, we'll work on a semi-correct sentence.

However, if I am reading this right... you need to check your ground cable... the large one on the neg side of the battery, there should be a large cable going tothe engine, and possibly a small one going to the body.
Clean, tighten or even replace these, and let us know what it does.





Again... we are assuming that I am able to tell what it is you are trying to say.

[Texasbigblock]

that's what i'm getting out of this as well. sounds to me like a bad ground. when i bought my 64 i got a heck of a deal because it "just won't start." I took off the 12 ga ground cable and put the right one back on it. worked great

[cdowns]

i wonder how many times he was told to clean and make sure he had a bad ground connection?? doubt the skill is there to understand and correct it this time either

[Longhorn Man]

the skill isn't there to transmit complete thoughts... so you are probably right.

[ChevLoRay]

If you mean the wire I'm thinking about, it is a positive link from the battery, to a terminal on the right side of the fender, across the radiator support and connects to the alternator.

Mine melted one morning.....when the unrestrained wire got against the header on the driver's side and shorted out. If you don't have anything else to use and your mind is racing about how much of your truck is going to remain after all of it starts to burn....you'll pull the glowing wire apart. After some time, the wounds will heal and your hand won't be as tender any more.

[special-K]

Travis,what is burnt?
Which side of the battery is the wire on,+ or -?
Does the smaller wire go to a square plastic thing with a nut in the middle on the fender?
Does the bigger wire from the same battery post go to the starter or the front of the engine?
Are you with me?

[WIDESIDE72]

Real nice of some guys to help while others attack his typing/ grammar skills.

[nyncompute]

Do first what I was to if see ground but fuse circuit but that after...who knows. But thats me just.

[john]

Travis look at the diagram and tell us which wire.

[Longhorn Man]

Tim... good point, he may well be talking about the positive side. When he said

It hooks to the battery and to the metal on the side of the truck

I thought we were looking at a body ground that was being overworked by a bad main cable ground.

As far as raggin on him for typing/grammer.... did you READ that? Have you seen his other posts?
I know my grammer/spelling/typing is FAR from perfect... but he isn't even putting complete thoughts down.
He can do it, we've all seen a huge improvement on his posting.... but this looks like his early stuff where no one could figure out what the hell he was talking about.

[c10addict]

Hey 70 GMC did you get the truck fixed since the tractor trailer hit it? If so look for pinced wires if you hung new steel on it... I think that thread ended up locked like many others you started.. lol

[WIDESIDE72]

It is called "tact".

[cparman]

Electrical systems in our trucks, like ALL cars and trucks from this era will seek the least path of resistance. NOW, IF you are talking about the ground side of the system, you need two things. ONE is a good clean connection to the battery, and a good clean connection at the other end of the cable to the engine. Shiny clean metal is good. I would also suggest that you make up a small wire 12-14 gauge to connect to the engine and the body. BODY TO ENGINE GROUND. If you wanted to be like me, you would also have an ENGINE TO CHASSIS ground of the same size small wire. Smoke is bad around a battery, and usually it is from a bad connection, or too much electrical load IE bad connections or a starter with a high amperage draw. OH and Andy I have seen you spell!!! HA HA

[70' GMC]

Originally Posted by cparman

Electrical systems in our trucks, like ALL cars and trucks from this era will seek the least path of resistance. NOW, IF you are talking about the ground side of the system, you need two things. ONE is a good clean connection to the battery, and a good clean connection at the other end of the cable to the engine. Shiny clean metal is good. I would also suggest that you make up a small wire 12-14 gauge to connect to the engine and the body. BODY TO ENGINE GROUND. If you wanted to be like me, you would also have an ENGINE TO CHASSIS ground of the same size small wire. Smoke is bad around a battery, and usually it is from a bad connection, or too much electrical load IE bad connections or a starter with a high amperage draw. OH and Andy I have seen you spell!!! HA HA

Somebody earlier today at work told me 2 gauge and I have no kind of clue of what he meant by it? Im guessin the higher the number the better?

[70' GMC]

Originally Posted by special-K

Travis,what is burnt?
Which side of the battery is the wire on,+ or -?
Does the smaller wire go to a square plastic thing with a nut in the middle on the fender?
Does the bigger wire from the same battery post go to the starter or the front of the engine?
Are you with me?

1st Q: The wire that went to battery and then to that black thing on the side of the truck.
2nd Q: +
3rd Q: YES!!!!
4th Q: I have no clue.
5th Q: I was till the 4th Question

[70' GMC]

Originally Posted by c10addict

Hey 70 GMC did you get the truck fixed since the tractor trailer hit it? If so look for pinced wires if you hung new steel on it... I think that thread ended up locked like many others you started.. lol

Never got the moolah or any time to do any thing to it.

[1972CheyenneSuper]

Originally Posted by 70' GMC

Somebody earlier today at work told me 2 gauge and I have no kind of clue of what he meant by it? Im guessin the higher the number the better?

The lower the number, the bigger the wire. The higher the number, the smaller the wire.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_wire_gauge

[ERASER5]

The big honk'n wires on the battery terminals are closer to 2 gauge (probably 4 or 6gauge). The normal size wires are the 10 or 12 gauge wires.

You should have at least 4 wires coming from your battery terminals. Two wires from each terminal. You could have more wires on the positive side depending on how much extra electrical stuff has been added to your truck

Apparently we (meaning you) are concerned with the Positive wires. So, the big honk'n positive wire goes to the starter motor and nothing else. The small positive wire feeds everything else in the truck.

You must have a wire pinched, or worn and touching the metal to cause such a burn out.

Since we know that your truck has taken some hits, I would suggest you start by looking at the bent up sheet metal against any wires.

Inspecting your truck closely costs nothing. Taking a guess and being wrong does. Go slow. Take your time. Ask more questions as you go. Be clear. We will help.

[powerbench]

i assume the the black thing thing travis is talking about,is the junction block and the wires being broken apart is the fuseable link...ie the voltage regulator stuck and tried to overcharge and poppe the fuse or a short that grounded out

[70' GMC]

This is the thing that is hooked up to or grounded. Then the next day wham 18 wheeler beat on its fender

[MDC]

Originally Posted by 70' GMC

5th Q: I was till the 4th Question

It sounds like the fusible link burnt to me