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1973 Dodge Dart 318 5.2 L electrical fire
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corbino715
Novice
Oct 9, 2013, 4:13 PM
Post #1 of 16
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1973 Dodge Dart 318 5.2 L electrical fire
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Ok so i have a 1973 dodge dart 4 door with a 318 v8 5.2 L and i had a bit of an electrical fire. I recently bought the car and i noticed that my right brake lights and blinkers did not work. yesterday i was looking under my dashboard down by the parking brake and fuse box when i noticed a dangling wire with a connection that was the same as all of the other wires connected to the fuse box. This is when i noticed that there was an empty outlet to plug the wire into on the fuse box and as soon as i turned the car on the brake lights on the right side and my blinker worked.I thought all was good and functioning. Then today as i pulled into my driveway i turned my blinker on and it wouldnt come on. Then my engine shut off immediatly and all of the lights shut off and i noticed smoke coming from the fuse box area. The smoke subsided quickly and i noticed that this wire i had connected had fried and had melted itself into two pieces but has not seriously damaged any other wires and it doesnt seem as if any of my fuses blew! I am very confused and would like to know what happened and what should i do?
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Discretesignals
Ultimate Carjunky
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Oct 9, 2013, 4:20 PM
Post #2 of 16
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Re: 1973 Dodge Dart 318 5.2 L electrical fire
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You had some sort of short and the circuit wasn't protected by a fuse or link. Your going to have to have someone look at it and then figure out what is going on. I would disconnect the battery just in case it ever decided to start an electrical fire.
Since we volunteer our time and knowledge, we ask for you to please follow up when a problem is resolved.
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corbino715
Novice
Oct 9, 2013, 4:26 PM
Post #3 of 16
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Re: 1973 Dodge Dart 318 5.2 L electrical fire
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Ok but do you you think that this could have damaged other wiring in my car? The cabin lights are now turning on when i open and close the door and my battery is still good. Would my starter have been affected?
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Discretesignals
Ultimate Carjunky
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Oct 9, 2013, 4:33 PM
Post #4 of 16
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Re: 1973 Dodge Dart 318 5.2 L electrical fire
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Difficult to say without inspecting it. Maybe you connected to a unfused portion of the fuse block or maybe the circuit you tapped into was protected by a larger fuse or link that what wasn't designed for the blinker circuit. Blinker circuit shorted out and cooked the wiring and could of blew a link somewhere under the hood. You really need a wiring diagram to see what goes to what and inspect the wiring to see how much got fried. You also need to figure out where the short is in the blinker circuit. There must have been a lot of current running through that wire to cause it to melt in half. Dodges are horrible about electrical wiring, especially in those years.
You really shouldn't leave the battery connected unless your around it with a fire extinguisher. Don't assume that electricity can't burn a car to the ground.
Since we volunteer our time and knowledge, we ask for you to please follow up when a problem is resolved.
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corbino715
Novice
Oct 9, 2013, 4:49 PM
Post #5 of 16
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Re: 1973 Dodge Dart 318 5.2 L electrical fire
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Ok i will disconnect the battery...Cabin lights are not turning on now but dash lights turn on...i have not tried blinkers out of fear of starting another short. Who would i talk to to have a look at my wiring? I have multiple Chilton repair books for this dart but everyone of them have omitted the wiring diagram due to "complexity" or so they say.
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Discretesignals
Ultimate Carjunky
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Oct 9, 2013, 4:56 PM
Post #6 of 16
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Re: 1973 Dodge Dart 318 5.2 L electrical fire
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Call around some shops in your area. You may get lucky and find one that has access to electrical information for that year. If you find a shop that has an expert in electrical system diagnosis, they may be able to figure out how the system is designed by just looking at it and following circuits. Dodge really did suck when it came to wiring their vehicles back then. Wire retention, routing, and quality of insulation and wire wrapping wasn't in their best interest.
Since we volunteer our time and knowledge, we ask for you to please follow up when a problem is resolved.
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corbino715
Novice
Oct 9, 2013, 5:28 PM
Post #7 of 16
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Re: 1973 Dodge Dart 318 5.2 L electrical fire
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Ok i will do so. Thank you for your help. One last thing though i am slightly curious as to why the engine would shut off in this circumstance or is this expected to happen in a short out?
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Discretesignals
Ultimate Carjunky
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Oct 9, 2013, 5:38 PM
Post #8 of 16
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Re: 1973 Dodge Dart 318 5.2 L electrical fire
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It is possible that circuit you tapped into at the fuse block is used by other circuits that supply power to the ignition system or electrical fuel pump (if equipped). Dodge used fusible links back then for their main power circuits that feed the fuse block and ignition switch. Maybe you blew one of the links with your short. You really shouldn't fix a link until you inspect the wiring. You don't want to power up a circuit that has wiring with melted insulation in a harness. I'm sure you don't want to release any more magic smoke.
Since we volunteer our time and knowledge, we ask for you to please follow up when a problem is resolved.
(This post was edited by Discretesignals on Oct 9, 2013, 5:41 PM)
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corbino715
Novice
Oct 9, 2013, 6:15 PM
Post #9 of 16
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Re: 1973 Dodge Dart 318 5.2 L electrical fire
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hahah ya i dont want any more smoke. If i so happened to want to start the car to move it would that be a bad idea?
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Discretesignals
Ultimate Carjunky
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Oct 9, 2013, 6:21 PM
Post #10 of 16
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Re: 1973 Dodge Dart 318 5.2 L electrical fire
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Are you a gambling man? I can't tell you if it is safe or not from behind this laptop screen.
Since we volunteer our time and knowledge, we ask for you to please follow up when a problem is resolved.
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corbino715
Novice
Oct 9, 2013, 6:24 PM
Post #11 of 16
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Re: 1973 Dodge Dart 318 5.2 L electrical fire
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Roger that. Ill post my solution after i talk to my mechanic. Thanks for the help i would have been lost otherwise.
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Discretesignals
Ultimate Carjunky
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Oct 9, 2013, 6:27 PM
Post #12 of 16
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Re: 1973 Dodge Dart 318 5.2 L electrical fire
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No problem. Stay safe and let us know what you find out.
Since we volunteer our time and knowledge, we ask for you to please follow up when a problem is resolved.
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corbino715
Novice
Oct 20, 2013, 12:19 PM
Post #13 of 16
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Re: 1973 Dodge Dart 318 5.2 L electrical fire
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Ok so it has been a while since my little electrical problem and things are looking ok. I traced the wire back as far as i could and it did do damage to other wires (noteably the cabin lights for the right side doors) but my ignition seems to be ok.I taped off the bad wire and patched other bare wires. The car has been running smooth for these last couple of weeks which still makes me curious as to why my engine shut off during the problem. Today though i did have a small problem at the gas station in which my engine wouldnt crank but i contribute that to the fact that my engine was pretty hot after waiting a good deal of time before i could refuel.
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Tom Greenleaf
Ultimate Carjunky
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Oct 20, 2013, 12:34 PM
Post #14 of 16
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Re: 1973 Dodge Dart 318 5.2 L electrical fire
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Quick read on my part. You do NOT fix electrical issues with tape! Yikes!
It already was on fire so what do you really think anyone here could guess how to fix that? Let me guess, first fire was from some idiot using electrical tape??
Mopars were notorious for being electrically stupid so continue that or junk the car,
T
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corbino715
Novice
Oct 20, 2013, 12:40 PM
Post #15 of 16
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Re: 1973 Dodge Dart 318 5.2 L electrical fire
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Maybe if you read it all the way you would understand. first fire was from plugging in to an unprotected circuit. This said troublesome wire was melted in half and left bare wire sticking out. It is no longer plugged in so i taped it up with electrical tape to prevent it from touching the metal of the car or other wires. You can call it wrong if you like but this car's electrical system is already a virtual hell so i will do what i feel is safest. You obviusly dont appreciate the Dodge Dart if you are suggesting junking a beautiful piece of car history. Take your comments elsewhere if you cant help me.
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Tom Greenleaf
Ultimate Carjunky
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Oct 20, 2013, 1:02 PM
Post #16 of 16
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Re: 1973 Dodge Dart 318 5.2 L electrical fire
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You are all wet. Owned more Darts, Valliants, Scamps, Signets if you Google that. Superior cars in general by basics. Easy fix cars for cheap fix ups and re-sale.
If you need to fix a bare spot in wiring for temporary use, use rubber electoral tape. Home centers have it but you gotta fix it for real someday if you don't want another fire!
Oh my,
T
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