NEED HELP ASAP!! PLEASE!!!

[DuckAholic1]

my truck=87 r10 350, went out to start it & got nothing at ignition. After searching in & under truck I found this.... The red wire going from the starter solenoid up into the cab (as far as I can tell) was corroded through. Without thinking first, I touched it to get a better look. At that moment it caught fire. I quickly jumped up & disconnected the neg batt cable. No more fire. So I then crawled back under & repaired the wire. Rehooked the batt, turned key & still got nothing. All fuses in fuse box under dash seem fine. Lights work, but nothing else! What am I overlooking?? What should I be checking for??? Where does that red wire go?? Thank you in advance!!

[rich weyand]

That wire sounds like "2 RED-2" and "5 RED-2" at the top of this diagram:
http://www.73-87chevytrucks.com/techinfo/wiring_diagrams/81-87_V8_engine.jpg

There should be a fusible link off the starter connection (a short length of smaller gauge wire) connecting to a larger wire that goes to the junction block and into the cab.  The idea of the fusible link is that, if there is a short, the wiring will burn up there, instead of somewhere under the dash, burning the harness.  This way it burns up somewhere it's easy to get to. 

Look at this diagram and see if that jives with what you are seeing and report back.

[DuckAholic1]

I believe that is the part of the wire that burned. It burned all the way up to the fuse. As a result, I had to cut the wire on the other side of fuse. I thought by repairing the wire it would work at least as a temporary fix.

[rich weyand]

I'm not sure what you mean by "It burned all the way up to the fuse."  The fusible link is a length of smaller-gauge wire designed to burn in two when overloaded.

It is very dangerous to repair a fusible link with anything other than a fusible link.  This may only be a symptom of another problem.  Whatever problem burned up the fusible link in the first place may still be happening.  If that short occurs again and the fusible link is not in place, you can get a wiring fire inside the cab while driving.  Even if it doesn't cause you to wreck the truck, having all your wiring under the dash all melted together and having to rewire the whole truck is an expensive proposition.

The one that goes from the starter to the junction block should be, I think, a 14 gauge fusible link wire. 

O'Reilly's sells fusible link wire:
http://www.oreillyauto.com/site/c/search.oap?keyword=fusible+wire

They have a 14-gauge fusible wire that includes the various crimp connectors for different auto mfrs. in the package.  It's five bucks:
http://www.oreillyauto.com/site/c/detail/LIT3/FLW14BP.oap?ck=Search_fusible+wire_-1_1903&keyword=fusible+wire

NAPA stores probably stock these as well.

Do it right. Don't permanently screw up your truck.

[Jason S]

Duckaholic1: When you say the wire burned to the fuse, do you mean a wire that you have a wire with a fuse holder that goes down to the starter solenoid? Do you have some additions to the wiring (possibly by a previous owner installed), apart from the factory fusible link?

[frotosride]

Once you fix the fusible link but befor you reconnect, search for grounds. Somewhere there is something grounding out. Have you submerged the truck at all recently or washed it with a pressure washer. Check the fuse box it's self where the harness passes throught the firewall for cracks and tears. As for the lack of ignition, the grounding problem may have burned up the starter solenoid and thus no cranky cranky.

[DuckAholic1]

Thank all of you for your help!!! In the coming days I will be searching for the problem that caused the problem in the first place, as well as replacing the fusible link  wire. I will post my progress. Meanwhile if any of you have any other words of wisdom feel free to share!!

[rich weyand]

The other thing while you are messing around is to check all of your grounds.  This is the source of a lot of electrical problems.  There's one from the engine to the firewall, from the engine to the driver side frame rail, one to the radiator support from the battery.  Make sure these are in place, clean, tight, and making good contact.

To check for shorts, before you hook up the battery, measure the resistance between the battery terminals with an ohmmeter.  I think it should be an open circuit, or very nearly so, when the ignition is off, assuming the door isn't open (dome light).  Otherwise your battery would drain when you park the thing for a week, right?  If it's not open circuit, you can start pulling fuses to see if you can isolate the issue.

And check the hot wire from the battery to the starter, and the red wires off the starter to the rest of the truck, for issues with insulation wearing through.  These trucks have been around for a while, and we had one on here the other day where the battery cable rubbed through the insulation and shorted out the whole truck.

[DuckAholic1]

Thanks Rich, will do!!

[DuckAholic1]

Ok,Here I go!!!! Feeling very humbled!!!! Found the problem!!!!
Today I went out to repair the fusible link correctly. Went very well! After that before hooking up any power, I started to search for a possible cause of it burning up originally, keeping in mind all of your shared knowledge. During the process, it happened to be none other than My Beautiful  Wife point out that she thought the battery cables looked   bad. I told her they were probably fine. So I proceeded to check and clean all grounds, not getting any further, I looked harder at battery cables & guess what!!!
She was correct!!! The positive cable was full of corrosion under the insulation out of plain sight, so off to o'riellys I went!!! Replaced both cables w/shinny new ones, & "wha la" power everywhere!!!
I will chalk this up as a learning lesson!!!! Keep an eye on your cables!!! Thanks again everyone!!! Oh,& You too Honey!!

[rich weyand]

Excellent.  Thanks for reporting back.  The way this forum maintains and builds its "shared knowledge" is by having people who fix problems report back and let everyone know what was wrong and what worked to fix it.

Now excuse me, please.  I want to go out and inspect my battery cables....