wiring problem

i blew my engine up a week ago.

since then i have put another in it. i double checked everything and when i hooked the battery up it sparked and the ground strap going from the back of the head to the firewall caught on fire.

all the ground wires bolting to the block are tight. i did have to re locate the ones that go by the coil on the block. any ideas will help. thank you

I've never seen a ground strap melt unless either the battery was connected backwards (positive grounded) or the primary ground wasn't attached to the engine block and the starter's load was forced to flow through the strap to reach the neg. terminal.

Double (triple) check the polarity of the battery and inspect the neg. calble attachment point at the block for solid connection.

the battery cables were on correctly. it did id as soon as i touched the cables to the battery. i never even tried to crank it. ill check the other grounds. thanks for the info.

If the starter is jammed into engagement, maybe it is drawing a lot when you hook up. Disconnect the big wire at the starter and try again. Make sure that wire isn't touching anything metal.

THERE HAD TO BE SOMETHING DRAWING A HELL OF A LOAD TO DO THAT.