THANK YOU BOTH!! I went out to my Dad and told him about how there was an alt. cable down there, and we both went straight out to the car to put it to the starter lead. We got that fixed in like 30 minutes RIGHT before it starter to DOWNPOUR outside!!! The car's voltage went from 10 to 12.5v when I hit the ignition, and the anti-lock brake light went out!!!!!!!!!!!! Now I understand why I was confused about the wires... When I unbolted the positive lead to the starter, I probably didnt notice the two wires which flipped off at the same time.... I figured that the other one was a ground and I didnt see it come off something else... Now I understand, and I'm damn pleased I didnt bust anything!

Iceshark, I'm still interested in upgrading my regulator. In AZ we run the AC almost all the time and in general batteries don't last long because of how hard they are used. I think the 13.5 volt upgrade would do my car some good. If you prefer the money order method, I can do that now since I'm not in a rush.

 

Ask Dan about replacing your cables.....

 

Well since it came up, thus no longer being a hijack, Dan, how about pm ing me with details on your light kits? I want too go euro front fog/drivers, and maybe delete headlights. Can it be done well while still getting your metal melting lights? Or perhaps direct me too a thread. Thanks. E

 

link

 

Already did... When i was down there I noticed a small tear in the pos. starter cable. I'm gonna go get some heat shrink and cover that up for the time being, but I think I'd rather know that my cables are fresh. hehe

 

You won't regret it.

 

thanks for the link Daniel. i sent him a pm. WOW THATS A LOOONNNGGG THREAD!

 

I'll try and get to messsages tomorrow. BUT the thing that really bothers me is you had the alternator shorted to ground. Hard shorted. That alternator positive cable may be able to take 120 amps without melting in half but I would be concerned with how hot it got and what that did to the old insulation. And while I don't know how long the OEM alt can take a hard short, if something is haywire in performance, you know what did it.

 

And to add to Dan's comment, remember that the alternator cable is laying across the top of your block which is part of the vehicle's chassis ground so if you did significantly weaken the insulation, it's a ticking timebomb waiting to cause problems like an engine fire. Whether or not you buy one from Dan, or for the 20 or so bucks that it would cost you to make a suitable new one with some bulk eyelets, shrink wrap, solder, and #2 welding cable, you're just begging to have problems or an engine fire if you hook the electrical system back up without replacing it.

The positive cables on these cars are already in bad enough shape from their proximity to the turbo and the other heat they experience coupled with close to 20 years of exposure to that environment. Think about the pain in the *** and expense that an electrical fire would create compared to the minimal hassle to redo that cable. You might very well be replacing your alternator anyway it sounds like so do yourself a huge favor and just do that cable while you're in there it's cheap insurance.

 

All the battery cables should be replaced anyway if they are original as they are more or less shot, fairly cheap job even if you get my super duper ones, doesn't take all that much time and if you put in good cables, that is the last set the car will need for the rest of its life.

There is a saying in the alternator industry "Don't load the alternater over 80% of capacity for over 20% of the time." Otherwise you kill them fast. Ambulances can go through alternators like a kid left alone with candy. Don't know how long this mishap went on but there was a major violation of the rule of thumb.

Oh, and I would pick up a fire extinguisher if you plan on driving the car for awhile until you replace cables. The chemical ones are cheap but very corrosive - you need to clean it off right away but will likely still get electrical component damage. Halon is more expensive but no corrosion issues to worry about if you had to use it. In any event it is not such a bad idea to carry an extinguisher in the car anyway.