New owner seeking guidance

Colo1100B

Colo1100B

Member
Hello all!! Just bought my first IH and am pumped to finally join the family! Bought a 1967 Travelall w a 345 (per po, currently out of town so not able to confirm anything) 4sp 4x4 92xxx showing on odo. Was retired in 1993 from a volunteer fire dept and parked. Figure gas tanks need cleaning/sealing, replace/rebuild- clutch slave, master cylinder, fuel pump, carb, tires, replace & refill fluids. Anything I'm overlooking here? When I bought it, po (who is much more car savvy than myself) had it running and "driving" but it was obviously using a non specific battery he had laying around. (was really small) at delivery, said battery was dead, so I purchased a replacement, attempted to start it, simply to park it along the house, it cranked briefly (2 seconds??) then nothing, except smoke from a green wire going through the firewall. Danger! Unhooked battery, checked fuses at glove box and all are intact. Reinstalled the battery it was delivered with, which I saw start the motor 24 hrs earlier, paying close attention to previous trouble spot, with no smoke, attempted to jump it w a daily driving truck, and nothing. Interior dome light was dim, but did light up, so power is getting through... Maybe not to everything?? Now cannot get it to turn over at all. No cranking. I know the clutch needs attention, not sure if this could cause a lack of crank? It was in neutral at attempted start, but I tried pumping it to see if I could get anything, still sol. I'm not brilliant, but I know smoke is not a good sign. Wondering if anyone might have ideas about:

a) why simply hooking up a new battery would cause smoking from wires??
B) I assume the lack of cranking is directly related to the smoke :nonod: any ideas on where to start checking for wiring issues that can cause this short?
C) anything else I should immediately focus on?

Side info, vehicle has excess wiring from its 1st life as an emergency response vehicle, which is currently missing all accessories. And is setup, but not connected, for a 2nd battery. I am open to anything y'all are willing to guide a newbie toward! I'm away from home for another week but cannot stop thinking about it and having a plan of attack for when I get back! My plan is to make this a reliable camping/cabin vehicle so I'm committed to that level. Thanks to everyone for taking the time to read this entire post!
Cheers!
 
Welcome to the forum and congrats on your purchase. The additional wiring for systems no longer in place is a variable. I'm not saying that necessarily has anything to do with your present issue, but we certainly can't rule it out a related short to ground as a possibility at this point. Think of the battery as the source and the flow of current from the battery like the flow of water in a stream. That's an oversimplification, but for now it serves our purpose. This should be a 12 volt system, so a 12 volt battery would be your desired power source. The negative terminal should be connected to the engine block as a ground and the positive terminal should have a continuous cable running down to the starter-mounted solenoid. That is your first junction point downstream from the battery. Every junction, connection and splice between the battery positive terminal all the way to the ignition switch and then back out through the firewall to the solenoid is a potential problem point that you will need to methodically trace, inspect and possibly clean and/or repair as you go. If you don't have a simple, incandescent test probe with an alligator ground clip, you need to get one. They're dirt cheap, but damn handy. This will be your tool numero uno for diagnosing most automotive electrical issues. If you see something you're not sure about, shine a light on it, snap a focused pic and post it here for review. Basically, as you inspect connections downstream from the battery, you will also want to probe those same junction points with your tester. If it lights, you can move on. If it doesn't light, you need to find out why. Obviously, you will need to be careful as you proceed since some precious smoke has already escaped and you don't want to let any more wisps bust loose.
 
Except smoke from a green wire going through the firewall.
Click to expand...

In addition to what trevor posted, get a manual/schematic (wiring drawings)

all the wires are green, so number codes are what they have to identify circuits. You definetly have a short somewhere. More than likely your dash has an ammeter in it. I would pull the instrument cluster and check wires, connections, and pay attention to the ammeter for loose connections and evidence of heat damage on insulation or terminations. Can you post of picture of where said wire goes through? I have a 67 t'all myself and maybe I can provide a clue or two.
 
As a former fire vehicle there is going to be a ton of wiring there that is not in the oem schematics. To start with most fire vehicles have a battery isolation switch which allows the whole system to be disconnect from the batts. This allows all the radios and stuff to be left on and powered up with 1 big switch. The positions of the isolation switch allow one the other or both batteries to be used. Lots of big battery cables there.

So to start with is there a big round knob somewhere within reach of the driver?

If you plan to do a lot of winching the dual system can be real handy. You can run 1 battery dead with the winch and still have the other to drive home on while the other is charging.
 
Thanks chappie! Going off memory, because I'm still out of town, I only remember that there are about 5 switches on a panel in the center of the dash. I will post photos once I get back in town. I do know it is setup for 2 batts, one has an in line fuse that is currently pulled. Thanks to everyone for their input! So annoyed not being able to make progress. Scoutboy, if I follow you direction of following "water flow" I assume that is with power connected, do you have any thoughts on how to minimize the loss of more mystical smoke?? :d
cheers!!
 
Fdchappie makes a really good point about application specific wiring. I would think a "stock" schematic could help at least in determining base vehicle circuits from fire dept accessories in tracking down no-start and dimbulbs. IH numbers don't change.
 
While still out of town, all I want to do is get back home and start having fun learning on the new toy! I did find a couple pictures from the day I bought it and while not up close, they will give an idea what I'm working with. Thanks again to everyone for the feedback!
 

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The switches are usually in the floor near the door jam. Follow your battery cables and see where they go. Looks like she's a fairly clean truck.
 
Sorry for such a delay, especailly to fdchappie, greg r, and scoutboy74 since you were the 3 that offered ideas to advancing progress. Just and update, I learned that things are not always what they appear... The red battery cable is not always positive... So that was actually a pretty easy realization after opening my eyes and knowing I needed to change the cables anyways. So moving on, it looks like there was no major issues from my moment of dumb. Yesterday I dropped one of the fuel tanks and saw a color of gasoline ive never seen before. More to come on the tanks when I figure out my options. Got her running, and idling, sounds like a lifter or something is loose on the passenger side. Of course I thought I was making progress, so I filled the clutch cylinder and bled it through the slave, only to find out the clutch is shot. Huge bummer since that is something im not able/ready to tackle on my own :frown5: chappie, greg and Scout boy, thank you for the early advice, I will definitely be back with more questions!! I also have taken more photos if anyone is interested in the hornet. Thanks!!
 
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