fire wires

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Finally got s 96 sl780 running. i bought in pieces, with a new motor that was rebuilt a couple of years ago.Had about 130 compression in each cylinder. Got it running for about 15 minutes, and notice smoke coming from the engine compartment. i quickly killed, although it still ran when i noticed the smoke from the electrical box, and began the hunt. Looks like there's a harness that's an integral part of the stator that runs to the top of the cdi. After investigating, there's 1 wire, black white, that fried the entire length from the electrical box all the way to the stator. It hasn't been run in nearly 3 years, fired up after I dumped some premix in the carbs. Did have to change the solenoid, and i'm wondering if that could fry that wire if it grounded on the box. it literally cooked the entire way. the replacement solenoid wasn't oem, but an acceptable substitute. put the boots on it, so i can't see that as a possibility for frying it. any thoughts?







d

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Re: fire wires

note, photo 1 is near the box, photo 2 is under the flywheel cover.

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Re: fire wires

Looks like the short originated at the stator. the wires are burnt all the way to the starter housing where it goes in. What a crash course. It's definately the black wire that fried from the stator. Can hooking up a solenoid incorrectly do this? When changing the solenoid, I grounded 3 wires to the metal bracket that secures the coils. Should 1 of them have been grounded elsewhere? Checked the elec. pics but couldn't get a definitive answer. Thanks

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Fire Wires

pulled the flywheel off. Having trouble removing the stator screws because the engine is still in. The black wire in the stator harness fried all the to within 1 inch of the cdi. The other wires are fine, that 1 wire is fried the entire length. The other wires appear to be fine. Has anyone seen this before? What could have caused it?

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Re: fire wires

Some final pics of the harness where it enters the stator. I was told that my battery should have 2 wires attached to the negative terminal. Can anyone with a similar model confirm the # of wires attached to the negative terminal? The service manual shows an additional ground that isn't attached. It's a mitsubishi cdi. I cannot locate any other wires near the battery that appear to be unattached. Any input is appreciated. If I put another stator on with the problem unadressed, I'll be back to square 1 again.

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Re: fire wires

Just to update with the conclusion. Bilge pump ground was shorted out....................... according to the mechanic when I gave up

[MoTLD]

Re: fire wires

In case anyone else runs into this, the cause I've seen for it has been with the old-style metal electrical boxes mounted on top of the battery.

If the box itself touches the positive terminal on the battery, it tries to complete the circuit with that particular ground wire and up in smoke it goes.

So be real careful to put that plastic cover back on your battery before you strap down the box!

-Mo