[moparmusclecars]

I have a 84 v6 bird that at times seems to wanna start hard, but usually starts. It seems like either a connection issue or starter issue, although the battery is fairly new, as is the starter. Today i started it and ran around town then stopped off at my shop. Five minutes later i went to start the car, and it seemed like the battery was about dead. I continued to crank on it, and soon i saw smoke coming out from the hood on the drivers side up by the headlight area. Is the battery connection spliced in at the factory somewhere on that side? I used my jumper box, and it started but the service engine soon light is now on and went on and off a few times. Last time i turned it off, and restarted it, it was fine and the light was out. Any idea's what's going on. I could still smell the smoke smell ont he drivers side up by the windsheild, but all gauges and lights appear to be working correctly.

 

[sea dog]

Smoke is from excess heat generated by a bad connection. I'd start with the battery cables. Clean battery end of both cables. Then disconnect positive cable from battery and make sure connection is clean and tight.

Do the same for other end of negative cable. It's bolted to the front of the engine.

If both cables are in bad shape, buy new ones. But battery cables are one place where bigger is better. Factory cables are barely adequate when new. As they age and resistance builds up, problems occur.

So get cables that are at least 2 wire gages bigger in diameter than old cables. In wire sizes, the higher the wire size the smaller the wire is. A 2 gauge wire is bigger than a 10 gauge wire.

Also check engine ground strap that runs from back of cylinder head to the firewall, for good clean ground. Again if strap looks bad, buy a new one. If you remove ground strap from back of cylinder head, don't neglect to reattach the other small ground wires located there.

We have a 94 service manual in the 4th gen tech section. It will have complete wiring diagrams. Also a component views section starting on page 8A-201-0 The diagrams there will show you where most everything is located on your car.