electrical problem

[Ross]

I have an 86 van that had the largest fusable link cut out of it when I bought it a few years ago. There is a white wire with a blue stripe on it that has been mated with a white wire then coated both coated with some rubbery stuff put in a plastic sleeve and wrapped with electrical tape.

This connection is getting very hot, i can touch it but just barely as it is almost hot enough to burn me and the rubbery stuff is melting.

The van won't hold a charge on the battery (recently replaced) and all the warning lights are on.

The van has had this set up since I bought and it has made it on a 16 hour each way trip last summer with this set up. I am not at all sure where to go with this or what to look for.

Is there a short some where that is drawing current and making this get hot?

I don't think that the warning lights are on because of this. I suspect it is one of the other connections to the battery.
I had the alternator tested relatively recently and it tested ok.

I read all the posts on the fusable link threads.

Any suggestions where to go first on this?

Thanks

[timsrv]

Lots of possibilities here, but wires that get hot are never good. Wires should run cool right up to the point fuses and/or fusible links blow. When it comes to bad wiring and/or connection points, cut out and replace anything questionable. If you're missing fusible links, then put them back in the system. When doing this type of work using the correct tools and materials is important. If you don't have them and/or don't want to buy them, take the van to an auto electric shop & pay them to do it.

Typically when all the dash lights come on it means you have a bad alternator or there's a problem with the alternator wire harness. If your alternator is good, then I'd suggest focusing on the harness. The little wires that connect via the round plug get brittle and break. It's not unusual for them to look good (insulation still intact) but still be broken inside. Harnesses are no longer available, but they sell repair parts on eBay and other places. We've discussed this a couple times here and I'm sure there's threads with links to these parts. Using the terms "alternator harness" should get you to those threads. Good luck. Tim

[Ross]

Thanks Tim,
So I feel a little silly. There was a loose wire and when reconnected to the batter terminal that got all the warning lights to go off. Cleaning the battery terminal hook ups really well resolved the not holding charge or not charging. Starts and runs great now.
The white blue wire and white wire are still hot.
I have that section of the wiring that I cut out form my parts van before I had to send it to the wrecker. It would seem that putting that in might resolve it. One of my friends thought that the heat was likely from corrosion causing resistance in the join in the wire where the heat is.

[timsrv]

Yes, resistance is the enemy. Resistance causes heat & heat causes more resistance (it's a vicious cycle that never ends well). The longer you wait the worse it will get. You should definitely remedy this issue before taking a long trip. Tim

PS: When things are new and shiny (more conductive) you can get by with loose connections and bad crimps. As things age and become tarnished, corroded, and/or heat damaged, you lose the advantage of "new & shiny". It's this point in a vehicles life that electrical problems begin (even though the root cause may have been there from the beginning). Burntboot (member here) has been chasing & repairing these type problems in his van. Some of the things Toyota did regarding wires & connections set us up for these type issues. Here's a link to Burntboot's thread: http://www.toyotavantech.com/forum/showthread.php?1147-Christmas-lights-continued