gauges stopped working after installing alternator

[m30inaz]

During installation of an alternator on my 90 Infiniti M30 a loose ground wire hit the positive terminal of the battery. The car starts and runs, but the dash gauges are not working at all. The fuses inside the car seem to be fine - I can't locate a fuse or fusible link in the engine compartment that might have blown. Any help with a location of a main fuse that could cause this would be appreciated.

[texml69]

This goes to prove a point any time you mess with the electrical on a car pull the battery a few extra minutes of work but can save you hours of chasing wires ( i have learned this the hard way myself ) does everything else work in the car dash lights, radio, heater ETC.

[goody90q45]

......The fuses inside the car seem to be fine - I can't locate a fuse or fusible link in the engine compartment that might have blown.....

Same thing happened to me changing micro bulbs. Those little fuses can fool the eyes and sometimes the break can be so small you can't see it. Check the continuity/resistance of each fuse with a voltmeter. You don't need to pull the fuse, they can be tested in place quickly. If you don't own a voltmeter (< $15 at Radio Shack) you can pull each one and look at it with a magnifying glass.

Find the combination meter (AKA speedo cluster) in the electrical section (EL) of the FSM and there will be a schematic showing which fuses are in the circuit.

http://www.nicoclub.com/FSM/M/

Hint- It will take 30 minutes to locate the info in the FSM (good reading though!) and 3 minutes to check the fuses with a voltmeter. Do the VM check first.

Good luck

[J30tChumpCar]

Turn on the key and use a test light on the fuse tops ,they should have power on both sides or neither, one side indicates blown. its faster and cheaper then a meter.

[m30inaz]

I tested and discovered the problem was the fusible link right off the positive terminal of the battery. Ordered a new one, installed it and it immediately burned out again. I suspect the trouble is in one of the wires connected to the new alternator. Two of the connections were obvious, but two I assumed were grounds (which now is clearly not the case). Does anyone have a picture of the wiring diagram for the wires that connect to the back of the alternator or a suggestion on where the other two wires connect? Since I turned the core in when I bought the new one, I can't check it for clues. Thanks.

m30inaz

[J30tChumpCar]

I could be mistaken but when I was rewiring our J for track use(master kill switch) there was 2 large white/red wires that both go to the power lug on the back of the alt, no ground wire.