Lars

my neightbor put a new main battery in his RV,(not cabin) and he crossed the terimals. there was a puff of smoke from a connecter/gizmo on the pasanger fender. now its hooked up correctly and we have no ignition power. cant find a fuse, don't know shyt about ford vans please help

jcdynamic88

most likely a fusible link in the area of the smoke. I believe the fords have a little tag with the amperage of the link on them. the link can burn and leave the insulation intact making it appear connected.if you give a little tug on the wires you should see or feel it stretch.

47 Convertible

A puff of smoke from a gizmo on the fender??? The gizmo might have been the starter solenoid/relay depending on the year of the Ford. If he was lucky he just melted the fuseible link which is just a smaller diameter wire built into start circuit wiring. It takes the place of a fuse in high amperage uses like start circuit. Simple enough to do a continuity test with ohm meter to see if fusible link burn't through to protect things like starter and solenoid (relay). Your neighbor shouldn't be permitted to play without adult supervision if he can't hook a battery up correctly.

oldcutlass

We all had to learn somehow... You need to see where the power stops, that will be your problem area. A wiring diagram would help dramatically to someone who can read it.

With the key switched to the on position, are there any dash lights, radio power, headlights, etc...?

Lars

Thanks guys it was a fusable link. Its nice that ford put them buy the battery and not by the starter like GM. Thanks again all fixed now I told Albert to leave this stuff to me...

TexasT

Once you let the magic smoke out, it's time for a new piece.