I have a 632 bobcat that when I attach the positive wire to the battery, the large wires that go from the starter to the ammeter and back down to the alternator get hot. Also the large wire that goes from the ammeter to the fuse that then goes to the ignition switch got hot to. The fuse didn't blow and the heat stopped there. It started when I ran it out of gasoline. It has a Ford engine in it. The next time I went to start it, it seemed like it had a dead battery. (I may have left the key on due to not having to turn it off because of it stopping due to no gas). Anyway, I took the battery off and put a charger on the battery. When I put the battery back on the bobcat, it still had to power. I also smelled wire burning. I went to the back and saw that I smoked the alternator and the 3 wires I spoke of earlier had begun to melt their insulation. I got a new alternator and ran two new wires for the two that got hot. I noticed that one of the two ground wires that attached to the left side of the engion had broken off, so I put it back on and the wire that comes down from the coil had been pulled off, so I put it back on. I replaced the ammeter and the small ground wire coming off the battery. I have test continuity of the wires and there is no break. The sites I have looked at suggest a ground issue or a short circuit. I have tried disconnecting all the wires and the only wire that seem to make any difference is the two that get hot. If they are hooked up they get hot. If they are not hooked up nothing gets hot. I have tried to find a new wire harness for it but due to its age, it is hard to find one. I hope someone can help me. Thankyou
632 bobcat wiring problem
- Thread starter caleb
- Start date
foton
Well-known member
When wires get hot that means you are pulling more amps than the wire is designed to handle. Either you have a damaged wire (bare and pinched to ground) or something connected incorrectly. If you have a DC amp meter connect it at the battery in line to see how many amps are being used then go to the next connection and chase the electrical drain thru the circuit. good luck
You wrote " I took the battery off and put a charger on the battery. When I put the battery back"....my experience has been that the most common cause of smoking/hot wires after battery removal is reversed battery terminal connections.
I took the first new (remanufactured) alternator back and it tested bad, so I got a new one, on warrantee. I tried it and it did the same, so I took it back and it tested bad as well. I got a third new (remanufactured) alternator and had it tested before I took it home. I am thinking that the draw of electricity is burning it up. I did test the wire and it is drawing 600+ amps. I have not hooked up the new alternator for fear that it will get ruined as well. I grounded the big wire and the amp meter takes me right to that point. Nothing else that I can find has any noticeable draw. An electrician friend of mine said I could hook a 9v battery up to the big wire at the positive and ground the negative and it should act similar to an alternator. I does get warm but the wire doesn't draw the 600+ amps. As far as being miss wired, I hadn't rewired anything when the initial problem started and did not have the battery hooked up backwards.
foton
Well-known member
I hate to even mention this but if you can hook up some type of power source to your cables the wires that get hot will only do so before the short after the short there is no hi amp draw so it will be cooler or cold, please be careful. and if you find the problem please inspect the wires for heat damage. I would think you should see sparks and smoke if you were pulling that much power. like you could weld with it!
I took the battery from the skidsteer and one other battery that I had for another project into a shop to have them tested. The other one tested bad and this one tested poor but still good. The thing that was interesting was that both told the tester machine that it was hooked up backwards; reversed polarity. I got two new ones and went and hooked up the one that went to the skidsteer... problem solved. I believe that my battery charger has its color coded clamps on the wrong sides. I have had them off to fix them. I must have put them back on backwards. I works good now. (well as good as a 40 year old bobcat can)
Exactly the same effect on the machine as reversed battery terminals. Many people do not realize that a battery can be charged "backwards". Appreciate the follow up.I took the battery from the skidsteer and one other battery that I had for another project into a shop to have them tested. The other one tested bad and this one tested poor but still good. The thing that was interesting was that both told the tester machine that it was hooked up backwards; reversed polarity. I got two new ones and went and hooked up the one that went to the skidsteer... problem solved. I believe that my battery charger has its color coded clamps on the wrong sides. I have had them off to fix them. I must have put them back on backwards. I works good now. (well as good as a 40 year old bobcat can)
