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In the last issue (of FSJ magazine, Vol #3, 2000) we left Biff,
Sally Sue and Billy Bob heading for the garage at 2 am. Sally Sue
said, "Let's get Billy Bob's Wagoneer back on the road, I just
upgraded my alternator to a new on board welder type and I've
got my old 100 Amp alternator in the back of the Cherokee, let's
drop it in right now!"
"Hey Billy Bob, what's with all this loose wiring under the hood of
your Jeep?" asked Sally Sue as she wrestled Billy Bob's old alternator
out of his '66 Wagoneer.
"Ah, it's nothin' Sally Sue, it's fine, it's been like that for
years, don't worry about it."
Biff looked at Sally Sue and they both knew that this was going
to be the beginning of a long relationship. Well, at least a
long road to recovery for this Wagoneer.
"I connected the main lead from your alternator's output directly
to the battery. I bypassed the amp gauge and terminated those
wires by cutting them off and securely taping them. We'll need
to trace those wires and then remove them. First we'll need
to make sure that we have power at the dash. If your rig doesn't
start we'll have a bit more work to do tonight."
Sally Sue explained, "The new alternator will put out more
current than the old amp gauge is capable of carrying. For
most people that wouldn't be a problem." She eyed up from
below the row of lights on the front of Billy Bob's baby.
"If you flip all those switches with this alternator your
amp gauge would probably become an annoying fusible link,
or worse." She continued, "I'm also concerned about that
old wiring, it's likely to have worn thin in places and is
cracked from age. The increased heat caused by oxidation at
connections will only get worse with a higher output alternator.
It's better to hook up a volt gauge rather than risk another fire.
We'll just remove all that old wiring one wire at a time until
it's all neat and tidy and safe."
Sally Sue rolled out from underneath, removed the surgical gloves
she'd been wearing, and then removed her safety glasses. Biff
looked at his watch, it was only 3am, he was impressed.
"Ok Billy Bob, why don't you reconnect the battery and see if
it will start up? We'll work on the Italian cafeteria under
the hood next."
Billy Bob started to connect the battery cables and Biff stopped him.
"Billy Bob, wait a minute. You need to connect the positive
terminal first, and then the ground. That way if your wrench
should hit a ground while you're tightening the battery you
won't practice your arc welding."
"Oh," said Billy Bob as he connected the leads correctly.
They all looked at each other, this was the moment of truth.
Billy Bob's Wagoneer creaked slightly in the silence as it
listed toward the driver's side. Billy Bob placed the key
in the ignition, turned it to "on" and dash lights and gauges
started to respond. He looked toward Sally Sue and Biff
with a big cheesy grin, then turned the key the rest of the way.
The Wagoneer roared to life. Everyone was grinning,
and then it happened.
A large cloud of black smoke began pouring out from under the
hood of Billy Bob's beleaguered behemoth. Sally Sue yelled
to Billy Bob to shut it off. Biff ran for something to put
out the fire. Sally Sue grabbed the half inch wrench and
loosened the negative terminal from the battery and pulled
it off as quickly as possible.
Biff rolled around the corner with a bucket of water and
was just about to throw it under the hood when Sally Sue
stepped from around the front of the Wagoneer heading to
the garage door. Biff and Sally Sue met near the front
of the Jeep. As they did the bucket, and it's contents,
went flying forward, and met Billy Bob just as he ran
toward the front of his Jeep to see what was happening.
They all stood there for a few seconds as the last of the
smoke wafted out from under the hood, and the last of the
water ran down Billy Bob's legs into his sneakers. Biff
had replaced the bucket for Sally Sue and was frozen in
the moment. Then they all started laughing, and coughing,
and laughing.
Biff finally gathered himself and let go of Sally Sue and
went over and opened the door to let some fresh air in.
Sally Sue began laughing at Billy Bob and he just started
to shiver.
"I guess I better go in and get some dry clothes,"
mumbled Billy Bob as he went inside.
Biff looked at Sally Sue and asked, "What happened?".
Sally Sue pointed to the snarled mess of wires that
lay under the hood. "I didn't think that it would
be a problem since he'd been driving it around like this.
I just wanted to see if the alternator wiring was correct first."
Biff nodded and said, "Well, let's get started on it.
That way Billy Bob won't feel so bad. He looked like a
lost puppy dog when he went in to change. Poor guy,
first his Jeep catches on fire and then his friend
tries to drown him."
"Ok, first things first." Sally said quietly, " Let's
find the wire that melted down. We'll replace that one
first with a new wire and look to see if it had a proper
fuse. Then we'll look at the other wires and trace them
from switch to load. If there isn't a fuse on the power
side of the switch we'll have to set up a fuse panel or
use some in-line fuses."
Biff responded, "Ok, so we'll trace each wire out and if
it is in good condition then we should tie wrap them
together and wrap them with electrical tape. Then take
the protected bundle and tie wrap it to a sturdy point
on the body or frame, allowing for movement and keeping
it away from heat and sharp edges, right?"
Sally Sue nodded in agreement as she pulled the damaged
wire away from the others and traced it's origin. She
had put on a new pair of surgical gloves and glad she
did as they were turning black and grimy from years of
accumulated oil, dust and who knows what. She glanced
over her shoulder over at Biff and said, "You know
we're lucky this thing didn't burst into flames,
another few seconds and this wire would have ignited
all this grime and old plastic under this hood. Look
at this, this wire was right up against the fuel line
and almost half way burned through. It's a good thing
your bucket full got Billy Bob instead of under this hood.
If it had melted through and ignited it would have spilled
gas and you could have spread the fire all over the garage."
She continued to gently to explain to Biff that it was
better to use a dry rag and smother the fire after
removing the power source. She also added that using a
dry chemical fire extinguisher under the hood is a mess
and not usually needed in situations like this. But
both agreed that putting out the fire was a good thing
to do, messes not withstanding. They both remembered
that water probably wasn't a good idea for an electrical
or gas fire, but it would have been better than breaking
out the marshmellows.
"Please hand me that roll of 12 Gauge wire over there,"
said Sally Sue as she replaced the charred wire. "Look
at this would you?" she sighed. "This wire had four
splices in it and was laying on the exhaust manifold.
On top of that it came directly off the connection from
the alternator to the battery and was heading back under
the dash to Billy Bob's switches. And look at the
firewall, it looks like he used a chisel to make that
opening for it."
Biff looked at the charred, spliced, grimy section of
wire that Sally Sue had removed and laid on the floor.
He said, "So, if that speaker wire hadn't melted down
on the alternator side when Billy Bob flipped those
switched this wire probably would have burned through
the fuel line and..." he shuddered.
They looked at each other and didn't say anything.
Another Full Size Jeep almost made it to the graveyard
because of sloppy wiring. Biff and Sally Sue both
thought back to some of the otherwise beautiful old
FSJ's they'd seen in the wrecking yard with the hood
discolored, the windshield smoked up and melted. The
interiors reeked of smoke and burnt plastic and were
usually wet and moldy from sitting in the lots. What
a waste, what a travesty, what a crying preventable shame...
About this time Billy Bob came bouncing out and asked
what they'd found. Sally Sue pointed out the charred
wire and the melted fuel line. Billy Bob looked over
at Biff and then at Sally Sue and just kind of looked
back down at the wire.
"Well," said Billy Bob, "it looks like I need some help
on this project. I don't know a wire from a fuel line.
Just look under this hood."
Sally Sue and Biff looked at each other and then Sally
Sue said, "No problem big brother, we're here for you.
One wire at a time. What do you say that we go and get
some breakfast now... you're buying!" Billy Bob looked
up, smiled and they all headed out the door to Sally
Sue's 1977 Cherokee.
What's in store for our circle of power loving FSJ owners?
Will they finally get power to Billy Bob's 1966 Wagoneer?
Will Billy Bob ask Biff and Sally Sue to help him get his
tailgate window to work too? Will Sally Sue and Biff's
friendship get rolling, or will it just be a splash in the
night? Will Biff finally get to ride in Sally Sue's
Cherokee? Will Biff consider giving up his AMC Pacer
for a Full Size JEEP? Will Billy Bob really pay for
breakfast? Do these folks ever sleep? What are they
going to eat for breakfast? When are we going to stop
asking these questions?
While we're waiting for answers, remember to not be a
Billy Bob. Use the right size (or larger - lower gauge
number) wire with a fuse near the power source routed
away from hot and sharp surfaces. Be sure to combine
loose wires into a bundle that is protected with electrical
tape, plastic coverings, or even duct tape. Make sure the
wires are secured and out of harm's way. Loose wires burn
up FSJ's.
Remember, only YOU can prevent FSJ fires! First thing
an FSJ owner should do is check and secure the wiring
under the hood. On some years the factory wiring is
extremely dangerous. Seriously, cleaning up the wiring
should be the first project for a newly acquired FSJ.
(the second project might be the vacuum lines.)
The continuing saga continues:
http://wagoneers.com/FSJ/FSJ-Magazine-ARTICLES/BillyBob-4.html
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please use customer number 283461
