Worth the work?

[yippee]

Hello everybody,

I was cruising through some sale ads for fun today and stumbled across (searched for) a Festiva. I was wondering if it was worth the effort or not. I figured I would ask the experts and see what you thought.

Owner says that they were putting a new battery in it and accidentally hooked the cables up backwards. It sparked and then wouldn't start after that. He says that there is a "white cable wire that looks to be burnt". What are the chances the damages are beyond what is worth fixing? If it's likely a simple fix I will probably go get it, but if it's going to be a nightmare I'll probably steer clear.

I just wanted to know what it likely damaged, and if it's worth the effort to dig deeper into it.

Thanks.

[ryanprins13]

Best case scenario he means the fuseable link which is between $2 and free.
Next best is just the main wire going to the fusebox. Fairly easily replacable.
If any electronics got wrecked or the wiring harness got badly melted its only worth it if the shell is very rust free.
I would go there with a few fusable links.
If a few fuseable links get it working then good. If not then have a look at the rest of it to see what you think. Maybe take booster cables and if there is a section of melted wire cut it out, jumoer it and see if that works.
Any damaged parts you can get fairly easily and cheaply at a junkyard or from other members but diagnosing can be hard if there are multiple damaged parts.
Likely just the fusable link though.
Buy some long legged pal fuses.

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[Rick the Quick]

alternator damage is a good possibility. Specifically the diodes.

[ryanprins13]

alternator damage is a good possibility. Specifically the diodes.

Are the diodes inside this voltage regulator or somewhere else?


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[yippee]

Thanks for the info so far everybody. Briefly messaged the owner today, for a little more info. He says that the car is completely dead. No lights, nothing. He says that he will get me some pics of the wiring he says is burnt tomorrow. I guess I'll see if the picture(s) give any light to what might be going on. I don't know if the lack of any power points to any problems or rules anything out by chance?

[ryanprins13]

Thanks for the info so far everybody. Briefly messaged the owner today, for a little more info. He says that the car is completely dead. No lights, nothing. He says that he will get me some pics of the wiring he says is burnt tomorrow. I guess I'll see if the picture(s) give any light to what might be going on. I don't know if the lack of any power points to any problems or rules anything out by chance?

Best hope is its just the fuseable links still but you wont really know until you see it or the photos.

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[Rick the Quick]

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It's been a long time since I had been inside an alternator. The ones that are used on Festivas have never given me a reason to open them up. Many years ago I worked for a re builder and remember the Delco Alternators used a separate internal voltage regulator and a separate diode trio. The same on the Ford units. This was back in the 90's and most of the units I worked on were for 70-80's models. Come to think of it Festivas are not the highest tech cars on the road. The stock alternators may very well have a separate voltage regulator and diode trio assembly. If you can find the internal wear parts : bearings, brushes, voltage regulator, diodes you can usually rebuild any alternator for a very low price. You first need to check the stators and rotors for problems. They can have shorts or they can be open. I went to Autozone and checked the price on the 70 amp Kia alternator that should be on my Kia B6ME. The stock Festiva alternator required a pulley change and also has slightly different dimensions at the rear mounting area causing my new belt to squeal. Autozone wanted $138 for an alternator. The u-Pull it salvage yard charged me $25 for a nice Kia 70 amp unit. I lucked out as it came out of a low mileage car and looked like a nice un opened original unit. I think a good used original unit trumps a sweat shop rebuilt unit every time. Just my opinion of course.

[yippee]

So this is something that you added, correct? The picture he sent me just has wires in place of what you have there. It's the center wire, which is white in the picture. It looks to be burnt out (did it's job).

Is it a safe bet that's where the damage ended or is it likely damaged beyond that point as well?

[ryanprins13]

Thats awesome. They are slow blow so there is a chance other things were damaged but its most likely just that fusesble link. Oem looks like this photo. So just buy some fuseable links and head over there and check it out!


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[ryanprins13]

Check this out for part numbers and stuff: https://m.facebook.com/groups/fordfe...0944447954959/
Im fairly certain this is the right part at autozone but go with what you see in that link

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[yippee]

Thanks for the info. That's exactly what the setup on the car looks like (except the white wire is burnt). So this would/could cause the car to be completely dead, right? No power at all? Since the power isn't passing this point, right?

Theoretically, even if it damaged something beyond that point, it shouldn't be anything that is too bad to discourage one from getting it running. Is that a fair assessment or is it possible it's too far gone to mess with?

[ryanprins13]

Thats a fair assessment and yes, that wire being burnt causes no power anywhere

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[william]

Yep put in a new main fuseable link or get a green long legged pal fuse. Pop it in and fire it up best case scenario.
I'd almost bet that's all that's wrong.