Any Idea what this set of wires belongs to?

[krumpelsaurusrex]

So I hate to be this guy, why? because customers at work do this to me all the time and it tweaks me out, so I apologize in advance. I know this is a long-shot but I guess it's worth a try I guess.

I pulled my dash apart to check my speedometer cable. while trying to clean up a bit, I came upon a set of wires that were extremely hot. The key was in the on position, so i turned it off, and it cooled down. I checked for any obvious bare wires or shorts but could not find any.

So I am including a picture of the wire set that is getting hot.
Hoping one of you may know what these wires go to. Would make it a bit easier to trace the short (I am assuming that is what is causing them to get very hot). The wire set in question is the one outlined in the yellow circle. The wire-set is all the way to the right of the dash, near the choke lever

Also the yellow arrow points to a metal cylinder in the dash... what is this?

Thanks for your understanding and knowledge!
69 f-250

[Thunderfoot]

The wire that was getting hot is the ignition wire to the coil, it is a resistive wire and will get warm when in use (engine running) and will get HOT when the engine is not running and the key is in RUN and the points are closed. NOTE: leaving the key in RUN for an amount of time with the engine off will also wear on / burn the points out!

The other thing you have pointed out is the wiper motor.

[fordman]

those are the nuetral safety switch wires in the circle. the tin can is the hazard flasher can.

[Thunderfoot]

those are the nuetral safety switch wires in the circle. the tin can is the hazard flasher can.

Craig, look a little closer at the picture... That flat connector is only a 3 pin... it is the connector for the ignition (coil) wire and the oil and Temp gauge/light wires... That would be a BIG hazard flasher

[krumpelsaurusrex]

The wire that was getting hot is the ignition wire to the coil, it is a resistive wire and will get warm when in use (engine running) and will get HOT when the engine is not running and the key is in RUN and the points are closed. NOTE: leaving the key in RUN for an amount of time with the engine off will also wear on / burn the points out!

The other thing you have pointed out is the wiper motor.

Whew! You have no idea how glad I am to hear that. Seeing some of the other wire jobs that were done on this poor truck made me think something was shorting out. I am going to have to do a blog post with all the rigged stuff that was done to the truck, it would be interesting to see some of it. But I have seen worse!

Thanks for the info, I thought I might have missed my 4th of July outing with her!

[fordman]

you are right i couldnt think of any other wiring plug that looked like that except the nss plug. my mistake.

[m-mman]

Having power go to the points (without running) also means that power is going to the coil. The coil is a big bunch of wires wrapped together and sealed in "tar"

Too much power for too long and it also becomes a big heater.

Saw a car once that was shipped accross county by truck. The loaders forgot and left the key turned on.
The coil MELTED and tar ran out all over the manifold until the wires finally burned through. It was UGLY! But at least the thing didnt catch fire!

It might be OK to leave an electronic (EFI?) system turned on, but with points ya gotta turn the key off. Or to accessory at least

[krumpelsaurusrex]

Once again the knowledge here amazes me, thanks again! I am sure the reason it was so hot was because the key had been in the run position for a while, and I must have forgot to turn it back. I'll be sure to use accessory mode more often now!

So this is 100% normal and I should be safe to drive right?

[m-mman]

Yes, as long as the insulation didnt melt every thing should be OK.
If something did by chance go wrong it will make its existance known in the form of bad running because of damaged points.