Red and green striped ignition wire getting to hot

[gungfudan]

Red and green striped ignition wire getting to hot. I got it home from the mechanic and this wire was smoking and the vehicle keeps shutting off because of it. What could be causing the wire to be getting hot? To much current?

 

[Mark_88]

Could be a short somewhere, or your alternator regulator is putting out too much power. Follow the wire out into the firewall and see if there are any breaks in it or if it has been spliced in with something else (like someone wired a radio or something into it). It should run right to the solenoid or directly to the battery.

Test the output of the alternator using a voltmeter on the battery while the truck is running. It should be 12.5 after running for a few seconds...if higher, your alternator or the regulator (usually built into the alternator) is not working properly.

 

[RonD]

Wiring diagram for '88 2.3l here:
http://www.therangerstation.com/tech_library/EDiagrams/files/Diagrams_StartIgnition83to88_2_3.JPG

Red/Light Green(R/LG) wire is used to power several devices when ignition switch is turned to RUN(on).
The TFI module and the Coil
Also the EEC relay and voltage meter

I would unplug each, one at a time, then turn on key and see if wire heats up.

 

[ricardo93]

Since were on the topic, i have an 86 2.3, what would be the best spot to wire in a kill switch for the ignition? I was thinking of just using a toggle switch to do it

 

[Mark_88]

Is your truck still carbed Dan? I was thinking of the wiring diagrams too but they don't show the carb version...I know Haynes has one for the 88 2.0 but it's not in the diagrams on here from what I recall...maybe check the on-line manual if you haven't figured it out yet.

 

[RonD]

Since were on the topic, i have an 86 2.3, what would be the best spot to wire in a kill switch for the ignition? I was thinking of just using a toggle switch to do it

The "+" wire on the coil, although I would use a relay so you only need 1 wire inside the cab, use the ground to turn on and off the relay so less "short" potential.

Or use the inertia switch if you have fuel injection, it is located inside the cab in passenger foot well or kick panel.
This would cut power to the fuel pump which will shut off engine within a few seconds.
Again I would use a relay, or find the fuel pump Ground wire and use it.

 

[ricardo93]

Could i just remove the inertia switch and run a little fuse panel there and would that work?

 

[Mark_88]

Could i just remove the inertia switch and run a little fuse panel there and would that work?

Hooking up a relay is very easy to do and you can install a kill switch under the dash or in the metal part under the ashtray. I put one in a while ago for a air pump but never actually used it. Total parts would be about $20 including the switch and relay.

 

[RonD]

Could i just remove the inertia switch and run a little fuse panel there and would that work?

NO...........you would die in a fire if you did that, or worse someone else would.

 

[gungfudan]

I have a book on all 88' ranger/bronco 2 wiring diagram book for all engine types in that year. I just have to find it

 

[gungfudan]

The mechanic has it right now I am letting him try and figure it out.

 

[gungfudan]

Just an update the mechanic fixed it. I put an electric fan from a Buick on the truck and hooked it up on a toggle switch with a fuse. I used to big a fuse (what a rookie mistake) so it was drawing to much current and was causing to wire to over heat and shut the engine down. They hooked it up to a relay and hooked the switch up to the ignition and the truck has been running great no problems.

Mark88 I wanted you to know that there is no more foam in the oil that is gone since the rebuild.

 

[kimcrwbr1]

Pull the radio noise capacitor off of the ignition coil it could have a indirect short in it?

 

[kimcrwbr1]

Test it with a ohm meter it should be open. You can also test the capacitor hook the black lead to ground and the pos lead to the wire set your ohm meter to check for ohms and then quickly set it to dc volts you should be able to see it discharge

 

[RonD]

Just an update the mechanic fixed it. I put an electric fan from a Buick on the truck and hooked it up on a toggle switch with a fuse. I used to big a fuse (what a rookie mistake) so it was drawing to much current and was causing to wire to over heat and shut the engine down. They hooked it up to a relay and hooked the switch up to the ignition and the truck has been running great no problems.

Mark88 I wanted you to know that there is no more foam in the oil that is gone since the rebuild.

Just for future reference, it wasn't the fuse that was the issue, fuses don't "use/draw" power they heat up and break the connection if the circuit they are connected to draws too much power.

The fuse you use should be rated for the wire size not the device that gets the power.
In this case the fuse you used was too big for the wire size, so the wire heated up instead of the fuse.

In general when you have a device that will use more than 10amps in a vehicle you should use a relay with amp rating large enough for device, a wire size from battery to relay and relay to device rated for that same amperage.
The wires used to activate the relay(at toggle switch) can be smaller because they will pass less than 1 amp, so this can be added to any existing circuit already protected by a fuse.

Wire from battery to relay should also have a fuse rated for that wires size, or a fusible link wire.
Fusible link wires are better for some applications as they usually won't burn out(like a fuse) unless there is a dead short, so in the case of an electric motor which can have a high amp spike on startup a fusible link might be a better choice than a fuse.
There are also "slow blow" fuses, these work similar to fusible links.