hey all this is kind of a weird problem im having. i have a 96 extended cab 4 cylinder. i left my door cracked open one day and the chime drained the battery. the battery must have been pretty weak but i did leave the door cracked for about 12 to 14 hours. i was able to get the battery jumped off and didnt have another problem until one day i went to start the truck and it was dead. i had a friend come out to help me jump off my truck and when we hooked up the cables to the batteries the battery in my truck started to make loud popping sounds and a wire on the right side of the cab started to smoke really badly like it was about to start an electrical fire. this all happened in a span of about 5 to 10 seconds. basicallayas long as it took me to see the smoke and get the cables disconnected. i called my friend who is a mechanic and he said that it was either thati had the connections backwards or that the battery was about to explode. my friend who was with me said that he looked at the connections when i made them and they were right so it was kind of scary that the battery could have exploded in my face. when i went to take the battery out of the truck the groundterminal on the battery was in pretty bad shape. the terminal was so corroded that it basically disintegrated when i tried to get the terminal disconnected from the battery post. i had to cut the cables and put new terminals onto the new battery and the truck has run ok ever since. the problem that i have is that the radio has not worked and whenever i floor it or accelerate hard the air will go from the vents up to the defroster. i will have the air set at max thru the vents and it will just start to flow through the defroster and when i take my foot off the gas it will blow back through the vents. the a/c and blower have not been affected as far as working or not. i thought that the radio had a fuse on the back of it and that it was blown so i never thought much of it i just never pulled the radio to see. i found a cd player from my old car and decided to install it into my truck. i bought the appropriate dash install kit and wiring harness and soldered the wires together. i made sure that all the proper wires are soldered together according to the instructions included with the wiring harness and the wiring schematic from clarion. i went to put the stereo in my truck and i have nothing. i have checked all the fuses in the box on both the side of the dash and the box under the hood. i also connected the stereo and checked for power at the connection between the factory harness and the aftermarket harness and i have no power. i tested from the factory harness side so im not getting any power into either harness. i dont know if there was some wiring damage from when the battery almost exploded. there is some charred wiring on the right side of theengine bayright next to what im told is the fusible link. i have uploadeda pic to try to show what was damaged and where everything is located. sorry to be so wordy but i wanted to be as descriptive as possible. any help would be GREATLY appreciated.

right side of the engine bay.



thanks again for any help. i really dont want to have to take it to an electrical shop because i know that i will pay diagnostic time for them just to look at the truck.

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Sounds like the polarity was reversed when jumped.. That is the fusible link,, and can be easily repaired... Fusible links are 'generally' color coded by their insulation towire gauge (overload protection) sizes.. See below.. Fusible links areshort lengths of wire that are smaller in diameter than the wires they are protecting.. Fusible link wire is generally covered with a special 'thick', non-flammable insulation. When overloaded, may cause the insulation to just blister. If the overload continues, the wire link will melt breaking the circuit. If/whenever checking a fusable link, always look for the blistered insulation first. If the insulation 'appears' okay, pull lightly on the wire,, if the fusible link stretches out, the wire has melted and needs to be replaced.
When replacing the fusible link, cut the protected wire (larger diameter) where it's connected to the fusible link. Then, 'tightly' crimp, or you can solder the new link to the protected wire.. Tape or shrink tube the repaired connection...

Grey (yours) 12 gauge
Green 14 gauge
Black or Orange 16 gauge
Brown or Red 18 gauge
Blue 20 gauge

You can get a replacement fuse link at most auto parts vendors like NAPA ect. and do the repair..

The default vent position for the air ducts is 'defrost'.. If you have a vacuum leak, more so on a hard throttle, the vents will switch to, or 'default' to defrost position as vacuum drops.. Sometimes you hear a small leak, or you may need to trace the lines to locate the leak.. Most times its a broken plastic line or rotted rubber line.. Most times in the engine bay, sometimes under the instrument panel at the heater plenum control motors/diaphrams or temp panel

 

thanks for the reply hayapower. are you saying that the box will need to be replaced orjust the cable if damaged? i have pulled onthe cable and there doesnt appear to be any damage to the cable.if the box is replaced should this fix thestereo issue? im justworried that somehow the wiring has been damaged.

 

Anytime the fusible link takes that much heat from overload it 'should' be replaced.. Generally the fusible wire will get stiff /brittle or weak form that much heatand it's not worth the risk to leave it as it is.. Can, but your call.. You can pick up a lenght of fusible link wire and just cut the damaged areaoff on the harness end, meaning 'just before' the fusible wire starts, then crimp/solder the new section in and add an eye connector to connect up to the relay/solenoid.. Looks like the cutting point would be close to the attachment clip to the inner splash shield.. When you peel the insulation back you'll see the factory fusible connection.. The whole idea of a fusible link is to protect the circuits, and I wouldn't think that it would have damaged the radio/circuits.. Anythings possible... So,, the radio worked 'just prior' to the fusible link burn?

Also,, what OEM audio unit did you have? AM/FM radio, Premium Sound/CD changer ect...

I'll look up your audio schematic and try and give you some power distribution test points to prove out the system...

 

yes the radio did work prior to the fusible link burn. everything was operating as it should have been on the truck. it is an extended cab 2.3 liter manual windows and locks a engine code (didnt know if you needed that. some places have asked for it.) it was just a regular am/fm stereo. no cd or cassette. i dont think it has premium sound.

 

My fusible link is bad and my insulation is the gray so my question is when i buy the fusible link which one do i get and what size gauge wire should i use to run the wire after the fusible link?

thank you