843 - starter wire - meltdown

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azlan58

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Sep 26, 2006
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WEll, i havent been on here in a while but the last time i was was for replacing pins/bushings, and you guys really hooked me up, i did not smash my toes, had my pin tool made and an understanding of the process before i started, thanks again.. new dilema - Hadent started the skidsteer in a while, went to start it , battery was dead, hhoked up a jump starter (55amp assist) and it started right up, let her run for a while, and then shut her down, went out 2 days later and she was dead as a doornail again, so i figured battery was dead and she needed a jump, hooked up some cables to my truck and there was a hell of sparking when i tried to hook up the cables to the bobcat, but i did, about 1 minute later i saw some smoke coming off of the red cable which leaves the solenoid and appears to run to the alternator, under the motor. i pulled the starter and had it tested, the reputible electric starter rebuilder in town tested and said the bearing is bad but the drag caused by this would not heat up the wire like that.. so i left the starter to be rebuilt anyway but am wondering if anyone has had a similar problem? is my alternator shot? i am confused? thanks Ryan Sherry Ithaca ny
 

Tazza

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Just what wire are you talking about? is it the BIG red one from the battery or are you talking about the smaller one from the alternator? It will take a lot of amps to melt the main starter cable from the battery to the starter.
 

Fishfiles

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Just what wire are you talking about? is it the BIG red one from the battery or are you talking about the smaller one from the alternator? It will take a lot of amps to melt the main starter cable from the battery to the starter.
It been a very long time since I dealt with a 843 and can't remember where the wires were routed , but just recently on a T200 I seen the wire you are talking about ( between the starter and the alternator ) rubbed and shorted on the aluminum bracket ( the filter head) that holds the filter and melted all the wires together between the alternator and the starter , something to look at
 

Tazza

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It been a very long time since I dealt with a 843 and can't remember where the wires were routed , but just recently on a T200 I seen the wire you are talking about ( between the starter and the alternator ) rubbed and shorted on the aluminum bracket ( the filter head) that holds the filter and melted all the wires together between the alternator and the starter , something to look at
I was fiddling with a 743 i bought at auction and i removed the wire fron the alt which managed to dance around and touch the chassis and proceed to catch fire all the time my mum was watching and screaming "ITS ON FIRE". Its a good idea to check for spots it had rubbed through to ground as your battery keeps going flat you seem to have a leak somewhere. The alernator shouldn't pull that kind of juice to cause a wire to heat up.....
 

BobCat

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I was fiddling with a 743 i bought at auction and i removed the wire fron the alt which managed to dance around and touch the chassis and proceed to catch fire all the time my mum was watching and screaming "ITS ON FIRE". Its a good idea to check for spots it had rubbed through to ground as your battery keeps going flat you seem to have a leak somewhere. The alernator shouldn't pull that kind of juice to cause a wire to heat up.....
With a major meltdown like that there must of been a major short to ground. I kind of doubt it was the alternator. One way to check for a short to ground, minor that is. Not the smoking wire kind, that's obvious. Take and disconect the pos cable from battery terminal. Using a simple 12v lamp tester, hook one end onto the pos terminal and the other to the loose battery cable. With the ignition switch in the off position the light will not glow. If you have a short to ground it will be glowing. That might explain the over night drain? That's my 2 cents worth, good luck Bobcat.
 

Tazza

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With a major meltdown like that there must of been a major short to ground. I kind of doubt it was the alternator. One way to check for a short to ground, minor that is. Not the smoking wire kind, that's obvious. Take and disconect the pos cable from battery terminal. Using a simple 12v lamp tester, hook one end onto the pos terminal and the other to the loose battery cable. With the ignition switch in the off position the light will not glow. If you have a short to ground it will be glowing. That might explain the over night drain? That's my 2 cents worth, good luck Bobcat.
Thats a good idea!
Simple yet effective. You must have a power drain somewhere.
 

BobCat

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With a major meltdown like that there must of been a major short to ground. I kind of doubt it was the alternator. One way to check for a short to ground, minor that is. Not the smoking wire kind, that's obvious. Take and disconect the pos cable from battery terminal. Using a simple 12v lamp tester, hook one end onto the pos terminal and the other to the loose battery cable. With the ignition switch in the off position the light will not glow. If you have a short to ground it will be glowing. That might explain the over night drain? That's my 2 cents worth, good luck Bobcat.
What I meant to say was disconnect the negative battery cable and hook the tester up on the neg side. After making sure everything is in the off position and the lamp still glows then you have a short. Start pulling fuses one at a time, when the light goes out, that's the shorted circuit. If that doesn't work then start disconnecting primary lines. cable to starter, alternator, ignition coil. Any circuits that aren't fused. Sooner or later you're gonna find it. Later Bobcat.
 
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azlan58

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What I meant to say was disconnect the negative battery cable and hook the tester up on the neg side. After making sure everything is in the off position and the lamp still glows then you have a short. Start pulling fuses one at a time, when the light goes out, that's the shorted circuit. If that doesn't work then start disconnecting primary lines. cable to starter, alternator, ignition coil. Any circuits that aren't fused. Sooner or later you're gonna find it. Later Bobcat.
Thanks, that is really helpful, i will try the battery tester and Neg side of the battery when i get the starter back from rebuild, will post results after shes runnin again.. I will post some photos of the machine ans some of my toys that go with it, ryan
 

skidsteer.ca

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Thanks, that is really helpful, i will try the battery tester and Neg side of the battery when i get the starter back from rebuild, will post results after shes runnin again.. I will post some photos of the machine ans some of my toys that go with it, ryan
Alternators themselves can have diode failures that cause the to draw large amounts of current. Not so much that the wire should melt though. Try removing the large red wire from the alternator with the engine off and see if there is a spark indicating current flow.
Ken
 
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azlan58

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Alternators themselves can have diode failures that cause the to draw large amounts of current. Not so much that the wire should melt though. Try removing the large red wire from the alternator with the engine off and see if there is a spark indicating current flow.
Ken
alright guys... got into the skid steer on saturday, took the wire sleeve off the group of wires running under the moror and there was one which was burning through because of tension where it came under the block. replaced the two damage wires and threw a fresh battery in, started right up, all systems looked good, it appears that my alternator is not working now, i think i might have hooked up the solenoid starter wrong when i put everything back together.. the way i hooked it up.. - the only wire hooked up to the bottom post of the solenoid is the starter ground? i am wondering if i put one too many wires on the top post.. thanks guys, i really should have taken a picture or done a sketch before i took it all apart - well you know what they say about hind sight... Ryan
 
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