Did I fry my truck?

[treetop_73]

I tried to jump start my truck like I've done every 3-4 weeks lately since it just sits. I hooked up the wires like I've always done, Good battery negative then positive, then to my truck, negative then positive. Never had an issue before.
This time I got a spark when I was about to attach to the positive of my truck. Thought nothing of it and got back into the good battery seat and reved the engine a little. I got out and was walking to the truck when I saw smoke coming from the battery, the wires, and near the fire wall of my truck. I turned off the car, ran, grabbed gloves and took the cables off the truck and the car. They kept melting for a while. I tried to turn the key in the truck and got nothing at all. No lights on the dash, nothing. Later I went back out and tried and the dash lit up like the battery was dead.

Was it the cables, did I fry my truck? Any help is appreciated.

Here are the cables now...

[bikes&bowties]

did you cross them?

[treetop_73]

Thats what I thought but I checked when I pulled them off and I didn't.

[nickp51chevy]

Might have fired the starting circuit. Check all the wiring you can before you put another battery to it.

[gchemist]

You fried the fusable links. Wires light up like that when they are crossed or system has a reverse feed somewhere. Dead battery ground should be hooked up last!! Ground on dead battery should be avoided. You should hook it directly to a metal bracket or engine bracket. I like using the alternator bracket.

Oh, cheap jump wires light up like that too.

[78cheyenne292]

always put positives on first then the negatives.. and like gchemist said the dead bat nagative last and go to a a bracket on the truck not the battery

[treetop_73]

Thanks. I guess I will dive into it to try to see what I damaged. I have always used the terminals and in the order I wrote and never had an issue. I learned in auto shop back in high school but it makes sense it was wrong, the teacher was a pot head and seemed high everyday.
Thanks for the info

[78 Chevyrado]

Seems like to burn up those jumper cables, it might have been hooked up backwards or you had a major short in the truck. Any of the wires in the truck should have burned and melted in two before the jumper cables had a chance to burn like that.

Maybe the battery itself had a short in it? It happens from time to time.

The whole trucks not a loss, just what the surge damaged. there is some wiring in your immediate future so replace ANY wire that looks burnt or brittle. It would also be a good idea to peel back a bit of the insulator on nearby related wires and see if the conductor inside is discolored. If in doubt, replace it! Make sure you're new wires are the same size (conductor) or a bit larger if you like. never use undersized.


Why you are getting nothing is that the wire you burnt is the one coming from the starter + to the fuse block. without that, its like the battery is unplugged.

[RandyP]

Originally Posted by gchemist

You fried the fusable links. Wires light up like that when they are crossed or system has a reverse feed somewhere. Dead battery ground should be hooked up last!! Ground on dead battery should be avoided. You should hook it directly to a metal bracket or engine bracket. I like using the alternator bracket.

Oh, cheap jump wires light up like that too.

Exactly. Always do positive and then ground, and ground away from battery. I was always taught that to avoid the spark, which could ignite if the battery has a fume buildup around it. Of course with most sealed batteries these days, probably not as big of an issue. I'm guessing probably bad jumper cables were the root of the evil here.

[TheWhiteElephant]

Check the fusible links at the starter. They may not look "bad" because the wire insulation is softer to allow the wire to burn inside without causing a fire. Wiggle the wires and feel for a damaged wire inside.

[treetop_73]

I've used those cables multiple times before without issue. This is just strange as I know the cables weren't crossed, thats what I checked first. Guess my weekends will now be filled. And I still haven't tried to get it smogged again since I failed in June. I knew this year should have been a non-op.

[treetop_73]

Originally Posted by TheWhiteElephant

Check the fusible links at the starter. They may not look "bad" because the wire insulation is softer to allow the wire to burn inside without causing a fire. Wiggle the wires and feel for a damaged wire inside.

What's a fusable link? Where are they, are they hard to change?

[gchemist]

A fusible link is a special wire. The wire basically blows like a fuse when it subjected above it rated capacity. These trucks have several. Look at the red power wires from the battery, alternator and main link fuse. The main link fuse is on the firewall next to the brake booster. Some wires will have an enclosed fuse. They are cylinder in shape and in-line with the wire. Take your finger and squeeze the wire. You'll know it fried because it will be very soft. I'll snap a picture of links I added at my battery connections.

[Mike Bradbury]

Your battery should last longer than three weeks before it dies. Maybe there is a short somewhere that was slowly draining the battery.

On the cables sounds like pos. might of slipped, or rotated on the battery post and contacted metal like the fender or a bracket, maybe even the other clamp. Batteries have 700 to 1000 or more cranking amps in them the only thing that will melt a cable like that is if they get crossed or shorted. There isn't a wire under the hood that can sustain that kind of amperage for very long, so I doubt it was a pre-existing condition. Might have been a crack in the insulation of the cables and +/- made contact.

[treetop_73]

Originally Posted by gchemist

A fusible link is a special wire. The wire basically blows like a fuse when it subjected above it rated capacity. These trucks have several. Look at the red power wires from the battery, alternator and main link fuse. The main link fuse is on the firewall next to the brake booster. Some wires will have an enclosed fuse. They are cylinder in shape and in-line with the wire. Take your finger and squeeze the wire. You'll know it fried because it will be very soft. I'll snap a picture of links I added at my battery connections.

I'll have to read this while looking under the hood. Thanks. Pics would be great if you have time.

[treetop_73]

Originally Posted by Mike Bradbury

Might have been a crack in the insulation of the cables and +/- made contact.

Thats what I was thinking. Too bad it melted together so now I can't see if there was a crack.

[treetop_73]

Originally Posted by 78 Chevyrado

Why you are getting nothing is that the wire you burnt is the one coming from the starter + to the fuse block. without that, its like the battery is unplugged.

I get power now. Its like the battery just doesn't have enough power. I turn to on and the dash lights up, the radio is on, I turn the key and get a click.

[thirdstreettito]

I'm thinking fusible links as well. Also, positive hook up first, as they said. Also, before you buy new cables, dont. Build a set. Use thick welding cables. They will last longer than you will live.

[parrisc19844x4_468]

I had this happen a few yours ago, I had a short in my starter.

[Meatman]

I would say you either hooked em up backward by accident like was said before or if you battery is really dead you can melt a cheap small gauge set of jumper cables pretty easy.

What ever happened it does sound like you fried some fuse-able links. You can burn up 1 or 2 of those and still have accessory power but truck wont crank. Best way to check them is to see if they are soft in the middle or grab the wires that come out of both sides and gently pull. If they pull apart easily then they are fried. You probably burnt through a couple of them.

[WigglesTheHoly]

I can't say I was ever told to hook them positive then negative..But it makes sense now that I'm reading this well the more you know I guess.