78 Dodge motorhome / B300 chasis broke down / electrical gremlin

Redrig

Master Chief Petty Officer
Joined
Oct 13, 2009
Messages
873
Hello all , I am in a bit of a pinch and could use some thoughts.

first off its a 78 plymouth / dodge motorhome with a 440.

Last night I was driving and lost all power, and ignition, no noise , just dead. coasted to a stop and its safe on the side of a road.

- it will crank but there is no fire / no power to all of the ignition components
- no power to gauges with key on
- battery is good and fully charged , but its not getting 12v really anywhere but the starter when cranking

* I have tried jumpering power to the coil , ballast , ect to see if it will fire but there is no spark , confirmed with an extra spark plug wire and spark grounded to the block.

after inspecting , I found the culprit. There is a melted wire going accross the top of engine compartment with the main harness ( It was originally yellow) I have tried connected the 2 together but a new wire will get very hot and smoke instantly with the key on. So I have stopped that, when a wire is connected though , I do have power to my gauges.

I have cleaned up the grounds and the wire will still get very hot so I dont dare to keep troubleshooting. Below are some pics of the wire

these pics show a new red wire that I have spliced in , it was originally yellow and VERY crispy !!

* is this a fusible link ? why would it keep blowing with simply having the ignition on ? any tips on how I can limp this thing home ?

thank you in advance for any help
 
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