HELP!!! (helped)

[Anonymous]

I messed up my wiring in the engine swap somehow!! I just plugged in the battery for the first time since the engine went in and the terminal immedietly started sparking and the soleniod started smoking!! what would cause that to happen? anybody

 

[Hot 6t Falcon]

Something is shorted out.
We need more info.

Did the solenoid smoke when you turned the key to crank the engine? If so, Do you have headers?
Did the solenoid smoke when you put the cable on the battery.

Be as clear as possible?

Take a breath and tell us everything.

 

[Anonymous]

sorry, I was a little freaked out. No headers. The key was not in the igniton. When I connected the battery terminals there were spaks at the terminal and the solenoid started smoking, I dissconnected battery immedietly.

 

[Hot 6t Falcon]

Thanks.

The only thing I can think of is that you have a dead short in the solenoid.

The way a solenoid works is that you have a big cable in from the battery, and another big cable out to the starter. There is a electro-magnetic plate inside that is activated by the key (one of those two little post on the front of the solenoid, The "plate" contact both of the big cable lugs and sends the battery power to the starter. The battery bolts in the solenoid are marked Batt and Start or just "B" and "S" - you have to have the "BS" straight (couldn't resist it).

I'm guessing you did have the big "B" and "S" cables hooked up correctly. And that you have the positive (+) cable to the solenoid and the ground (-) cable to the block (swaping those could cause what you described) Check that and then

FYI The solenoid has to be grounded to the inner fender to work - so does the voltage regulator - but neither should cause or effect what happened.

Try using a continuity test between the solenoid battery lug and the fender. If it lights, you have a shorted solenoid.

Good Luck

 

[Anonymous]

Well I fell stupid (yet again) when me and my uncle were putting the engine in my uncle set the battery in the tray. I was hooking it up the way I had always had it, but he had put the battery in backwards of the way it had been before and I neglected to chek before I pluged it in. Other than frying the solenoid any ideas what other damage that could cause?

Thanks
Eddie.

btw the falcon six handbook is great.