Consider this a warning for Big 3 people, fuse yo sht!!

[2002XLT 5,000+ posts]

idk, an electrician told me not to tape the ends, they have silicon end pieces that can be put over those, and i don't believe catch fire until ridiculous heat incurs..at the point the wire surround would light on fire..lol

Hmm, ill have to look into that when i decide to put it back on.

 

[1loudmtherfuker 10+ year member]

Looks like maybe the positive wire was touching the alts case ?

Maybe something under the hood smashed it into the alt causing the short circut ?

Better find out why or it may happen again ......

 

[Racerx250 10+ year member]

for your bare connections use some heat shrink. Works great for me. Just an idea. Solder and heatshrink.

 

[2002XLT 5,000+ posts]

Looks like maybe the positive wire was touching the alts case ?
Maybe something under the hood smashed it into the alt causing the short circut ?

Better find out why or it may happen again ......

Doubt it, but i guess anything is possible.

for your bare connections use some heat shrink. Works great for me. Just an idea. Solder and heatshrink.

Ya, gonna have to pick some up when i decide to rerun that wire.

 

[MikeyB 5,000+ posts]

Looks like maybe the positive wire was touching the alts case ?
Maybe something under the hood smashed it into the alt causing the short circut ?

Better find out why or it may happen again ......

x2, I dont see how it could just arc itself to the case of the alt out of nowhere. Something had to of caused it to ground out to the case of the alternator, causing what has happened. I wont be fusing my alt cable, but thats just me //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/wink.gif.608e3ea05f1a9f98611af0861652f8fb.gif

BE VERY VERY CAREFUL, when wiring anything guys, you want every open end to be in the spot its meant to be, and not be able to ground out on anything. Dont cram wires and call it good. It looks like you wired it fine, just something pushed it down causing it to ground out, by the look of the pics anyway. Would be able to tell a lot more in person.

Pics are hard to judge from, but the last pic makes it look like it grounded to the case....

 

[1loudmtherfuker 10+ year member]

Pics are hard to judge from, but the last pic makes it look like it grounded to the case....

Yeppers ......

 

[QtrHorse 10+ year member]

I'm sure it did not just arc or the tape caused the fire. Most likely what happened was that the wire was rubbing against the alt and rubbed through enough for it to ground itself to the casing. You should always sleeve your wire as well. I know it ***** because people buy it for how it looks but I would rather have a running vehicle than blue bare wire under the hood.

 

[chinxtaboi 10+ year member]

wow. never seen anything like this before, or read about using a fuse holder in the big 3.

this ever happen to anyone else??

 

[2002XLT 5,000+ posts]

Had it been fused this probably wouldn't have happened either. Would have been a dollar fix instead of 150. Live and learn I guess.

 

[ultimate157 5,000+ posts]

Took people long enough to question the reality. WHY did it happen, not just "ZOMFG FUSE"

 

[MikeyB 5,000+ posts]

Had it been fused this probably wouldn't have happened either. Would have been a dollar fix instead of 150. Live and learn I guess.

Exactly, as is a general rule in all electical, when in doubt, fuse.

If you have a single doubt that a wire could short, then obviously fuse it to avoid a meltdown, but if you are somewhat skilled in wiring, and know what to look for, I dont think it is necessary with the big 3.

Now if you are a noobie, or think you could run into a problem, then by all means fuse it. But like I said, I wont be fusing any of the big 3's ive done.

 

[tcguy85 10+ year member]

http://www.diymobileaudio.com/forum/showthread.php?t=29572

read this if you have some spare time.

 

[Phiber Optik 10+ year member]

Electrical tape is rated for use on circuits up to 600 Volts, but it isn't rated for hazardous locations, like an engine bay!

Looks to me like you problem was too big of a lug was used for that for that small stud, and the tape on the lug lost it's adhesion due to the heat that the alternator produced, which caused the tape to unwind and your alternators case was the unfortunate location of some arc welding.

 

[Lakota 5,000+ posts]

By definition you really should fuse at new connections. Do most of us do it? No.

 

[Steven206Seattl 10+ year member]

Reminds me about the time I was hooking up my neons and the power wire from the neon hit the negative cable on the battery. I got hella scared and the whole neon wire was trash