[T3] oo-oo that smell

[B Fye]

Any chance the gen turned into an electric motor and it was the belt you smelled

Brian Fye

On Aug 2, 2013, at 9:58 AM, Chris Sheridan <cscsheridan at gmail.com> wrote:

> We were driving Clementine home from In-And-Out last night on the highway.
> After we were cruising at speed, we suddenly smelled a strong odor of
> burning electrical wires. We opened the vents and hoped it wasn't our car
> but I had my kid looking for smoke in the back and I continued our drive to
> the next reasonable stopping place a couple miles off the next exit. I
> parked the car and turn off the key and took it out, but we could still
> hear a high pitched screaming from the rear of the car. I popped the rear
> compartment and opened the hatch but could see nothing amiss, the loud
> wailing continued and seemed to be either from the starter or generator. I
> turned the car back on and off again, and the wailing continued. I turned
> the car on and off again a third time and the wailing stopped. The smell of
> burnt electrics pervaded the cabin but no smoke noticeable. The car would
> no longer start, only one click and the dim glow of the idiot lights. I
> jacked up the right rear wheel, put a stand in and lay under and examined
> the wiring around the starter, nothing looked out of place; 2 big wires to
> the solenoid, two little ones to each of the male spades above. I shorted
> the screwdriver across the B plus and the spade above and found a weak
> orange sparking was emitted and no response from the starter. The generator
> felt hot to the touch, and the generator belt even looser than usual. I put
> the battery on the charger and found it to be well below fully charged. I
> don't see any burnt wires under the rear seat or in the engine compartment.
> I examined the wire travelling to the shift and ignition and it seems ok,
> I'm about to hunt for the source of the burning. it's a 70 automatic
> fastback. Any ideas on the root causes? I suspect that the generator
> stopped charging the batter because something went bad in it, but I don't
> see anything bad on it or in it. The B wire connection on the generator has
> a bit of green discoloration but is otherwise making a good connection.
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