71' Chevy truck

[Hoosier-one]

Come to find out the ignition wire coming from the solenoid was shorting out on the exhaust. The mechanic left it loose unattached.

We wrapped and secured the wire in preventing this doing the same in the future.

It's running great now!

Thanks for everyone's help!

[bobss396]

Good deal then. You always have to rule out the "stupid" unexpected things first, which are often freebies or real cheap to fix.

I had changed a starter once years ago in 8 dgreee weather, the positive battery cable touched the exhaust and about a week later it burned through on me. Totally dumb crap on my part, cost me a tow plus $95 at the time.

Bob

[silicon212]

Originally Posted by bobss396

Good deal then. You always have to rule out the "stupid" unexpected things first, which are often freebies or real cheap to fix.

I had changed a starter once years ago in 8 dgreee weather, the positive battery cable touched the exhaust and about a week later it burned through on me. Totally dumb crap on my part, cost me a tow plus $95 at the time.

Bob

I got one on you. I did the same thing with my '75 Grand Am back in '93 - only instead of 8-degree weather, it was 100-degree weather, in early October, at the Flying-J truck stop in AZ on I-10 at the AZ/CA border. Replaced the solenoid, put it back together (at that point, I had been stranded there for about 5 hours, it had just gotten dark outside) and in my haste to get back on the road, I didn't pay attention to where the positive cable was. It was wrapped around one of the manifold studs. Instead of a week, it lasted long enough for me to hit the unlit westbound Colorado River bridge. That's when everything went dark. I had to drive the car (the alternator kept the engine running) using only the moon as a light source, at 70MPH, over a half-mile-long bridge. Coasted into the ag inspection station at Blythe, smoke rolling everywhere, and opened the hood just in time to see one of the cables melt off the battery post. Insulation was gone from both cables, and the battery looked like a football.

[bobss396]

Never underestimate the power in a 12 volt battery. If you are LUCKY as you were, the battery cables will melt off. If not you can lose a big piece of any harness in a big hurry.

My bro used to not tie down his car batteries, he'd just slap one in, (usually too big for the holder) and be gone. Until one night his Diehard slid over on a turn and it arced against the inner fender. Burnt a big hole in the inner and outer fender in a matter of seconds, he was able to pull off a terminal and wound up burning his hand. The fender was glowing red when he popped the hood, yikes! Lessons learned.

Bob