Diplomat let all the smoke out

[AMC Diplomat]

I was cruising along at 70 down the highway, got off, pulled into a parking lot and while trying to park it shut off. Then it let all the smoke out when I tried to restart it. I got the cables separated and it did start after it cooled down. It did drive itself on and off the flat bed.

 

[Duke5A]

You're going to have to replace that entire positive battery cable. Get the right length and route it properly. And cut down that battery hold down!

 

[Aspen500]

Smoke from the rear wheelwells good, smoke from under the hood bad.

 

[AMC Diplomat]

Hey I'm not the one who put two negative cables in it

 

[Sub03]

I think all unfused positive wires definitely should be double insulated.
For my own peacee of mind I got some split tube on the positive battery cable going to the starter motor.

 

[Aspen500]

The tubing is insurance but, correctly routing AND securing battery cables, ot any other wire, is important.

 

[Justwondering]

Sub03 ....
I noticed your red top battery.
I just had to replace the one in my Silverado. It lasted nearly 8 years in all the heat/cold/humidity/long drives/short drives/4-wheel drives...

Well worth the money.
JW

 

[AMC Diplomat]

I think all unfused positive wires definitely should be double insulated.
For my own peacee of mind I got some split tube on the positive battery cable going to the starter motor.

Oh it is totally getting heat resistant insulation. Everything is. Summit sells stuff by the roll. Something that can withstand 1200 degrees just to be safe.

I'm not taking any chances after this. I'll have to go through all the damn wiring to make sure everything is OK. I found all kinds of weird dumb splices in the cabin when I had the interior out. 30 amp fuses where 20 amp fuses go. It's my fault for not thinking hey why did this idiot replace the positive cable and how'd he mess it up like everything else

 

[Sub03]

Well worth the money.
JW

That's right. Bought my first red top back in 2008 and installed it in my Suburban. It was still running strong when I sold the car in 2017.
I thougt it was too expensive, but been a fan ever since.

It's just so unnecessary to find yourself in trouble with low voltage and starting issues because you cheaped out when you replaced the battery.

 

[Aspen500]

Could be worse, he says going off topic a bit. This morning I just got on the freeway when 2 squad cars went by at "an elevated speed". Shortly after came a fire truck, followed by an ambulance. A couple miles up on a different freeway I saw them up ahead and a huge plume of black smoke billowing up. Yep, another "environMENTALly friendly" electric vehicle burning to the ground. After they let traffic go again, I got near enough to see what it was. Hard to tell but it was a truck and judging by the melted aluminum all around it, I'd say an F-150 EV, turned into a pile of molten aluminum and plastic. That's 2 EV's that have burned to nothing on the freeway in just a few days. I'll stick with gasoline powered thank you very much!

Thought of getting a pic but it wasn't really possible to do safely.

 

[AMC Diplomat]

Could be worse, he says going off topic a bit. This morning I just got on the freeway when 2 squad cars went by at "an elevated speed". Shortly after came a fire truck, followed by an ambulance. A couple miles up on a different freeway I saw them up ahead and a huge plume of black smoke billowing up. Yep, another "environMENTALly friendly" electric vehicle burning to the ground. After they let traffic go again, I got near enough to see what it was. Hard to tell but it was a truck and judging by the melted aluminum all around it, I'd say an F-150 EV, turned into a pile of molten aluminum and plastic. That's 2 EV's that have burned to nothing on the freeway in just a few days. I'll stick with gasoline powered thank you very much!

Thought of getting a pic but it wasn't really possible to do safely.

If these cables were tucked away in an electric car, then they'd have burned the car down. Poor cable routing, rodents, crappy wire coatings, and it was only a matter of time. Imagine what would happen if rats ate the wires in an electric car in the basement of some high rise apartment building

 

[Justwondering]

And another tangent ....
Had to take the Mister to doctor last week.
Parking is at a premium, so used the parking garage.
Eventually found spot on 5th floor.
Noticed that the higher I went, the shorter the distance between the floor and the crossmember I-beams.
Started off and the truck and antenna fit.
By the 5th floor, I had lost the little ball off the top of the antenna and the top 4 inches were no longer straight.... crooked.
This didn't happen 8 years ago when we first began using this parking garage/doctors.
I fully expect to read one day that the entire structure is compromised and pancaked at one end.
And that's with a gas vehicle which might or might not have a full tank of gas. Not an electric vehicle with the body & battery.
So far - my solution is to unscrew the antenna and put it back in after we leave OR drop him off and park a block away and walk.

JW

 

[Aspen500]

EV's are a ticking time bomb for disaster. Not only is it about impossible to extinguish a lithium battrey fire, it also burns at a much higher temperature than other types of fires. It's OK though because they're going to "save the planet". Insert roll eyes emoge here.

 

[AMC Diplomat]

Update. Old starter and and previous cable routing. New starter and new routing.

 

[Aspen500]

Much better

That old cable, you wonder what they were thinking by routing it the way they did.

 

[AMC Diplomat]

Much better

That old cable, you wonder what they were thinking by routing it the way they did.

Yeah it was definitely melty and crappy.

 

[AMC Diplomat]

Next stupid question. There shouldn't be any issue with using this bolt for the negative battery cable right? I think I'm just being paranoid. I ran a 1 gauge cable to this bolt. Car runs fine. There was some kind of ground there before for something. The stud the old cable was on snapped off

 

[Aspen500]

It really should bolt to the engine. There also needs to be a body ground, which is normally a smaller wire from the battery terminal, attached to the inner fender.

At the very least, another cable from the bolt you used, run to the engine. Can never over ground an electrical system.

 

[AMC Diplomat]

It really should bolt to the engine. There also needs to be a body ground, which is normally a smaller wire from the battery terminal, attached to the inner fender.

At the very least, another cable from the bolt you used, run to the engine. Can never over ground an electrical system.

The bolt runs through that bracket to the cylinder head. I figured it was better than the exhaust manifold location. It looks like it's the same bracket that holds the springs for the carb. I'm not near the car so I don't have a very good pic of it right now. I think this might be a better pic of that bolt. I'd prefer a location on the block but I haven't found a spot yet.

 

[Mikes5thAve]

I think that bolt goes into the block anyway so it should be OK.
There should also be a ribbon cable ground from the back of the engine to fire wall on pass side and one to the K frame too.