Black/yellow IGN wire gets hot

[johnbureezu]

My car has been running for the past few days but tonight it decided not to start. I got no response from the starter so I started tracing and testing wires. Then I came to the Black/yellow ignition wire at the ignition switch, turned the switch to On and it got really hot and started to smoke eventually. It never did this before. Funny thing is when I test for continuity, it seems that its grounded/shorted somewhere because I get continuity when I touch my meter to the body and various fuses. So my question is where should I go from here? I am thinking about running a new wire directly to the starter or should I just strip the harness and trace it all the way back?

 

Think a new ignition switch should be on order?

 

Thanks

[izzo]

Don't think replacing the ignition switch would make the problem go away tho it might.. Best bet, find the problem first, before you throw money at it. follow the wire back where ever you can. i may have a pdf wiring diagram that could help you

[josh817]

Do you have 5 wires coming from your switch? What vehicle is it? Coming from my 521:

 

-ignition: black/red black/white

-battery 12v power: heavy gauge white

-Accessory: blue/white or just blue

-start solenoid: black/yellow

 

Check for continuity between the spade connection on your starter, and the black/yellow at your switch. If your meter beeps, or whatever it's suppose to do to denote continuity, then that wire is probably shorting to ground.

 

HOWEVER, does the engine crank over/start spin or engage? Does this wire get hot in the RUN position or does it get hot in the CRANKING position.

 

If it gets hot in the RUN position, it won't be the wire going to the start solenoid, because that wire is only "hot" (with 12v) when cranking. It will be something with ignition, most likely the +12v that goes to the coil.

 

If you have a tach. that reads like an early Z where the 12v goes through the tach and then to the coil, you may want to check the tach. Most tachs for later vehicles run off of the negative (-) post of the coil, so it won't have 12v running through it and shouldn't be a problem.

[ggzilla]

Don't strip the harness. Just trace the wire and start unplugging stuff until you find it.

[johnbureezu]

Thanks for the tips guys. I think I figured out the short. The super shitty alarm /install from the PO seemed to be the culprit. I was at my wit's end with the short when I noticed that when I hooked the test light to the neg post on the battery that it would flash. Just like the alarm relay. So i ripped that shite out and no more draw on the system. I have to get in the car through the trunk now since I have no key holes, but thats ratsun. I have some other seperate electrical gremlins, but I'll save that for another thread. ;)