AM1 60 Amp fuse blown

[Logbear]

I was driving in Seattle this evening when my 86 Tercel suddenly died. All the dash lights went out, but the headlights stayed on. After I coasted into a parking lot I took a quick look at the engine fuse box and found the AM1 60 Amp fuse blown.
I had a feeling this was pretty serious but I wanted to try something quick, so I bought 2 new fuses and a new Main relay thinking that maybe the relay was bad. First I put a new fuse in, but when I turned the ignition switch the fuse fried, so I put in the new relay and another new fuse. The same thing happened when I turned the key.

I had my son come get the car with the truck and tow bar so now the car is home. I will start looking for a wire making a short in the morning. I read a few past threads about similar problems but if anyone has any more helpful hints they would be appreciated.

I will take pictures of whatever I find and post them along with an explanation here.

[Logbear]

All is better now. This would have been an easy fix on the road had I taken a minute to really look. I disconnected the wires that come from the alternator, replaced the fuse, turned the ignition to on and nothing happened. I left the ignition switch "on" and plugged in the two wire plug from the alternator. Still nothing. Then I plugged in the single wire plug and I heard a sizzle noise. I unplugged it quickly and checked the fuse. The fuse was still good. I guess I unplugged it quick enough. I put the fuse back in and plugged it in again and that's when I heard the sizzle again and this time a little smoke came up from the wire bundle that is held right next the engine block with a little bendable wire holder. I unbent the holder and pulled the wires back. There was a small area of bare copper wire that had been touching the block. With the wires away from the block the car started right up. Needless to say I'm very pleased. I'll do something to protect those wires better and put it all back together.

Maybe there a little bit of Tercel karma going on here. I've been driving this car for over 10 years to and from work (85 mile round trip). The car has 403,518 miles. I've never missed a day of work because of the car.

Friday I gave notice to work that I was retiring and taking the last week of February off as vacation. I usually have to be at work in Seattle Sunday morning at 5:30 AM. But not today. Last night I was going to Seattle to meet some friends for some poker and beer. It was the first Saturday night I could stay up and play in a long time. But the old Tercel quit on the way to the party. My son came last night and towed it home and I got a ride home from some friends. That worked out pretty good for me. I was able to have a few beers without worrying about the drive home.

Was the old Tercel just saying it wanted to retire too? If so I've got news for it. It may not be going to Seattle every day and neither will I, but now we will get to spend some real quality time together. It is a great commuting car but it's an even better mountain car. Now it's time to play. And I promise to spend more time taking good care of it.

Plug.jpg

Wires.jpg

Bare copper.jpg

[dlb]

good catch, logbear. i'm glad you posted your findings, and with pics to boot. that sort of thing is such a help to future tercel peeps who may experience similar problems.

wowee, 403,000 miles. that's almost 650,000 km. i think that puts you in second place for highest miles/km next to DCN's dad who has just over 700,000 km on his t4. i love hearing about cars getting up that high. i can't wait for my and my wife's car to get there. it will be like a badge of honour.

[Gottolovem]

Is that 400 thousand on the original engine.

[Petros]

I had that exact same wire bundle short on me and cause an engine fire (the plastic insulation melted off and ignited), and than it blew the same main fuse. I was able to get home by separating the wires and wrapping them with electrical tape, and than putting a foil gum wrapper around the fuse. fortunately I noticed the fire, pulled over and put it out fast enough so it did not cause any other damage, but it could have damaged the paint on my hood, and even melted the fuel filter than was only inches away, that would have likely caused some rather extensive damage.

When these cars get so old, the plastic insulation on them gets stiff and brittle, even more where it gets hot around the engine. eventually it cracks and breaks off the wire exposing it, and allows it to short out. I had to replace all of the wires in the bundle where it goes through that clip. In my case I could not even see the wires going bad because it under that plastic sleeve.

This is just one of the hazards of driving a very old car that is very reliable, you start having problems with parts that most cars never live long enough to ever wear out. I just means being vigilant and replace them as you find them.

So I recommend cutting off all of the plastic wire bundle cover off that run of wires and carefully inspect them for brittle or cracked insulation, either wrap with electrical tape, or better yet, replace the bad wires with fresh wires. You only need to do this if you have a known problem with the wires like you have Logbear, for everyone else, just keep an eye out for cracking insulation.

[ARCHINSTL]

Congratulations!
I didn't have Goldie when I retired in 2003, so she never knew the rigors of arising at 5:30 Ayem for 30+ years. although - my first T4WD did, from late '82 until late '85.
And NO! - I do not miss retail!
Tom M.