ok. so i had intermittent charge no charge, so i decided to do the wombat cs130 swap. bought a 135 amp new alternator and installed. battery was dead and i know i should have charged it first, but i didn't. got the car jumped and it started then it started smoking. turned it off and disconnected the battery. with the leads disconnected, there is a dead short across the terminals. took off the wires from the power dist block under c500 and found that the top 2 wires are where the short is, straight to ground. i will be taking the alt out and getting it checked along with the battery after my smoke test! what i need to know is where do they go and what damage did i possibly do.
Also before installing the new alt, there was a discrepance between what wombat said and what the alternator guy said. with the alternator came a hand drawn schematic and instructions to connect the large red harness wire directly to the back of the alternator. the large red wire from the original harness wouldnt be connected at all. that didn't seem right so i copied wombats pic, red to red, brown to brown, its only 2 wires.
its a 86 gt 2.8 i have the alt harness disconnected right now but the large red wire is still on the alternator.

Welcome to the Forum! Who is Wombat?

Im sorry, ive been searching everything for weeks since i found this place, i thought everyone would know, my bad. wombat is in the ogres cave. detailed cs130 alternator conversion. I thought the conversion was way more popular so i jumped in. followed it to a tee. btw, hello everyone and thanks for all ive learned so far from this forum. i have finally learned after 20 years owning this car that mechanics just dont know and ive wasted lots of money in the process. the best source seems to be HERE! im just learning this car but have already learned so much from this forum! i am so thankful. ogres cave is on the top and bottom of every page and link to wombat is in cs130 conversion section. thanks all!

Update...got alternator checked..good. got battery charged and checked..good. so now i must find the short that is on either fusible link a or b. they are soldered together and go to the top power distribution lug. looking at the schematics ill be checking the fan motor relay and the coolant temp switch. i did a lot of cleaning on the engine with the alternator out, so maybe i damaged or knocked loose the coolant temp wire... thats on fusible a. any suggestions would be helpful. NOTE: i am NOT a mechanic. i have just had horrible experience with mechanics that charge thousands just to cause more problems. and electrical they wont touch.

The Battery Junction Terminal (BJT) is located below the junction block (C500).
The two posts are connected to each other via a copper two hole strip on the engine harness.
Take a meter and check for continuity from one of the posts on the BJT to the spaceframe. If no continuity to the spaceframe, the BJT is good.
The large red wire on the alternator, fuseable links A & B, and the small red wire from the battery all connect to the BJT.

See my Cave, Wire Service and Fuse Links notes

I though I put this in cave but I missing posting update...
If wires are both plain red then go by wire size. Link B goes to smaller wire.
I'll update cave link notes too.

low/dead battery can kill your alt and cause problems to other things.
Low battery then electric motors draw more amps. Why? See my Cave, Electric Motors

------------------
Dr. Ian Malcolm: Yeah, but your scientists were so preoccupied with whether or not they could, they didn't stop to think if they should.
(Jurassic Park)

The Ogre's Fiero Cave (It's also at the top and bottom of every forum page...)

[This message has been edited by theogre (edited 02-01-2015).]

quote Originally posted by TropicalJim: i have just had horrible experience with mechanics that charge thousands just to cause more problems. and electrical they wont touch.

This is not uncommon for Fiero owners.
Most mechanics will blame the car, but that's what some people do when they do not have the required knowledge.

quote Originally posted by Gall757: This is not uncommon for Fiero owners. Most mechanics will blame the car, but that's what some people do when they do not have the required knowledge.

More like No skills. Many ASE certified mechs are a joke too. Many can't work on old cars because No computer or only OBD1 systems.

About only thing different between FWD and Fiero is filling the coolant system. Yet many won't touch Fiero or you get pay more for work done on/in a Fiero.

Thanks for the imput guys, i really appreciate it. the best thing about this fiero of mine is the PEOPLE! no i dont want to get rid of it! So here is what i have so far. Link AB (on the same connector post) did read 28 ohms to ground. the other links on the bottom post, battery positive and connecting block are open to ground. I finally cut, yes cut, the last quarter inch near the connector ring of fusible link A and B so i could isolate the problem. if i have to replace the links, so be it. Link A (red wire) was reading 70, 140 or 220 ohms to ground depending if the fan relay was connected or not, now it reads 220 ohms to ground no matter what. Link B (red white wire) is open to ground. So the problem seems to be on Link A, yeah? Just a note that before i started all this i had disconnected both headlight relays, but not the isolation relay due to a clicking driver side headlight motor that i just rebuilt (it has the sanderson effect). didnt want it to kill my battery, HA! did it anyway! but its charged and checked good now. The fan relay connector and relay are really black inside, dialectric grease maybe. should i clean out the connector? Replace the connector?. Anyone know which manual i should buy for electrical diagrams, ive read that they are not all equal. what else can i check? I can troubleshoot alarm systems (not car alarms), still learning cars.
Edit, it now seems to read 21 ohms (to ground), but it fluctuates. i need (i mean want) a beer!

[This message has been edited by TropicalJim (edited 02-02-2015).]

The best wiring diagrams are in the Factory Service Manuals.
1984 is unique. Do you have 85-87?
General Rule -
Anytime you get resistance readings on the power side, you need to find the load path.
Disconnect individual circuits by pulling a fuse and seeing if the load (resistance) changes.
When you find the circuit with the load determine what is causing the load.
With the FSM you can save a lot of time.

Fuse Link A goes to ignition switch and trans safe switches.... where did you see the smoke?

Its an 86 2.8 w/ ac (not that it works) i separated the link a and b wires and the resistance (short) is in Link A (red wire) going to pin d on the fan relay, i think. i dont know if it stops somewhere else, probably. but im reading the same resistance from the end of link b to ground as i am from pin d fan relay connector to ground (red wire). Is it possible that the red wire melted to source of ground? What other circuits would affect that wire so I could disconnect them. yes i need a good manual. Had a Haynes but the wife got it in the divorce! Just kidding, it just got lost.
the smoking i saw was in the engine compartment, not sure exactly where, but GREAT question. I need an extension on my sniffer. i cant fit my head behind the motor!

[This message has been edited by TropicalJim (edited 02-02-2015).]

C/F relay D is switched voltage from FAN E fuse.
It powers the coil in the relay.
Is your key in the ON position?
Pull the FAN E fuse and see if the resistance goes away.
C/F Relay Pin F is the ground.
It is grounded by
HVAC Head in any A/C position
Fan Coolant Switch over 235°
Coolant Fan A/C Pressure Switch

[This message has been edited by olejoedad (edited 02-02-2015).]

If this short wasn't present before the alternator swap, it's highly plausible that it was caused during the swap. So maybe you pinch a cable, i recommend that you check the alt mounting hardware.

awesome stuff. ok i have 4 wires on the coolant fan relay, red D, black red A, green white B and brown white C. Not understanding F. Going out to pull the fuse and recheck. and Chelo, great suggestion! i do have the battery and alternator out right now, scared to put it in yet, so its a good time to take the bracket off and inspect. Now that its dark out!

Link A feeds the fusebox, therefore Pin D will put power to the relay with key ON.
Pulling the fuse cut the path to ground on F/L A.
Was your key ON?
If your key was not 'ON', the relay has probably corroded up internally and should be replaced.
You should also check the condition of the wiring in the area by the trunk fan. Corrosion there will cause problems in this circuit.
I don't have my 86 manual available at the moment so I can't check the circuit for you. I am using my 88 manual, no rear fan.....

If you can't find SM etc...
Get Alldatadiy.com for a year and print/save everything.
Alldata get the info from car makers, like Fiero SM.
You buy 86 Fiero then you get correct Electric diag etc for 86.
Unlike Haynes etc when you guess if diag match the car you have.

thanks for the link. been looking at manuals and trying to decide what to 'order'. getting it online is much better for me right now. the 1 year is $25 and for 5 years is $20 more. think i will do the 5 year. some reviews say that the chilton and haynes arent very good or complete when it comes to electrical.

S206 is a splice inside the wiring harness.
Why are you going there?

I did get the service manual online, thanks ogre. I went brain dead why i was stuck on s206 im not sure. I did though take the advice to start pulling fuses and when i pulled the ctsy/lid fuse the short went away! its now reading around 190k ohms from fuse link a to ground with the fuse out. i dont know if thats good but its better than 2 ohms. havent gotten any further yet, but it makes sense. if i surged power through the system by jumping a very dead battery (8v), with a brand new alternator (135amp) wouldnt the high amps go through what was on, which was the dome light and the trunk light from the door and trunk being open? Im hoping this is it because it makes sense. I like to understand how and why, because once you know, you know. anyway, im getting there thanks to the help im getting here, and it is much appreciated.

those door light switches are pretty iffy too. Maybe they melted a bit.

Thanks, ill check them too. I did remember why i was looking at s206. that was because the schematic shows fusible link a going to that splice and then going out in all directions. i seem to remember reading a post that mentioned bad connections there, maybe affecting something completely different, im not sure. anyway, i couldnt find it and then remembered to start pulling fuses. I have a lot of stuff to put back when im done!