1971 Battery to Alternator wire burnt out

[William Shaw]

I got my 71 thunderbird running today! 38 years sitting and she is back to life, Yay! SHORT lived. Did some work to replace the alternator and all of the V-Belts and it fired right up again after these replacements. However, once I shifted to drive and lightly pressed the gas the entire power in the t-bird died. Upon inspection of the battery/alternator the black/red wire that goes from the starting motor relay to the alternator was burned completely off right before the fusible link on the starting motor relay. Anybody else experience this? The black/red wire had some nicks in it but nothing so severe I would think it could completely shut the car down. It also has a place lower in the wire where it is definitely broke inside of the plastic. Also I double checked and it goes to the positive on the alternator and it is installed correctly. The other cap on the alternator is on the white terminal and the remaining L-Shaped is on ground. This is exactly how the old one was but doesnt hurt to double check. I think I may splice the wire below the break and reattach to see what happens. Also of note, the entire power is gone. No lights inside when the door is open anymore, nothing. Any advice is greatly appreciated as electrical is not my forte. Thanks in advance for any assistance.

 

[74 Harley]

Remove the alternator and have it tested, it's possible that the regulator failed and it is putting too much voltage.