Where there's smoke there's fire.....

[ocsoorlando]

but where. I recently but a new battery in because the old one went bad. I put it in and started right up, two days later its dead again...obviously I have a drain somewhere, i disconnected the stereo and amp. Two days later again I had to jump it. I jump it, try and start it and I get a big puff of smoke come out from under the dash. I disconnected the battery and tried to see where the fire came from but cannot find any burnt wires, burnt wrapping around tape or anything burnt. I took the ignition switch off to see if it had burnt....nothing. I reconnected the battery and jumped the battery and tried to start it again. No smoke, good thing right?? but now the solenoid just clicks. Its still the original wiring, is it time for a new wiring harness, i'm sure it is but could a bad solenoid have caused this or from another thread i saw the fuseable link problem. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

[phred]

this is a big can of worms. You've got to find what burned. Something did or there would not have been smoke.. There's a lot of stuff behind the dash that could have burned and not be that evident. I'm going to make a guess that it is the switch even though you can't see any damage. The drain on your battery could be any number of things, but my guess is the voltage regulator. The original ones tend to get "tired" and drain the battery. I would buy a new solid state voltage regulator and take the switch out and check it closely for damage and that tell tell electrical burned smell.
I don't think it is a fuesable link that burned. the only ones I know of on an eb are under the hood

 

[jspurl3]

My battery is draining the same way. I have a fairly new battery, alternator, and regulator. Im about to rewire it. But the smoke is a scary thought! I would rewire it if you still have the original harness. Then you dont have to search through every thing, you learn a lot more about your bronco, and just peace of mind. Or atleast put a fire extinguisher in there...

 

[DirtDonk]

Just for safety's sake too, poke your head underneath the dash and closely inspect the wires on the back of the gauge cluster. Pay particular attention to the large wires going through the ammeter loop. There is a push-connector there. Feel it to see if it's soft or swolen. Smell around (literally) while you're under there to see what's up.
Disconnect the battery (if isn't still) and pull the plugs on the firewall apart. Your '70 would have the main alternator wire and all it's friends going through two rectangular plugs on the firewall adjacent to the fuse block. They're notorious for rubbing raw and shorting out (I've some "after" pics around here somewhere) and would be good to check.
It could be as simple as the original resistor wire for the ignition finally giving up the ghost, and the ones I just described would not normally be responsible for any battery drain. But they ARE important and potentially very dangerous to your health and happiness if they decide to give up the rest of the way next time you're far away from home.

Paul

 

[DirtDonk]

OOps. Looked at the wrong signature. Is your Bronco a '70 or earlier too ocsoorlando?

Paul

 

[Viperwolf1]

I think he has a '71 so his ammeter loop goes through the pass. side firewall.

 

[ocsoorlando]

I have a 71, Thanks for the info, I will check those areas. I disconnected the battery after i tried to restart it after i saw the smoke. I looked up under the dash and also felt the wires but could not feel where any burning had taken place. I will double check the areas mentioned.