61 DWELL - THEN SMOKE CAME

[Jerry J.]

Was in the process of setting the dwell on my 61 F.I.
Engine was warmed up and running at 950 RPM.. Then it stalled.. Saw
smoke coming from near the firewall and the glowing wire from the
ballast resistor.. Turned key off and disconnected the green knob on
the battery. Smoke coming out of drivers window.. What do I do now ?

Can I remove the black tape like wrap around the wires and just replace this wire, or is this part of a wiring harness?

Wire that is burnt is from the ballast resistor to the key switch..

Thanks to you all, in advance.....

[Bob R.]

Re: 61 DWELL - THEN SMOKE CAME

Had a similar problem in my 63. The negitive wire from the coil was touching the ignition shielding. The wire from the ballast resistor to the starter melted. It happened very quickly. Only a few seconds.
I temporarly replaced that one wire and was able to run the car. I never was comfortable with that solution. The heat from the wire melting could have damaged other wires. I ended up replacing the engine harness on that one side.

[Stephen L.]

Re: 61 DWELL - THEN SMOKE CAME

If you replace only the wire, the amount of labor will be the same (or more) and you'll still own a "damaged" harness even if you didn't damage other wires extensively....
Purchase a new harness and do it correctly, avoiding future problems!!! My $.02