Cuda Won't Start, Smoke Under Hood

[Orange Cuda]

Yesterday I tried starting my 'cuda. Twice I cranked the engine and pumped the accelerator and it didn't start.  Nothing unusual, I figured it would start on the third try without pumping gas, that is about par when it's cold. When I turned the key, nothing happened except a puff of smoke came out of the hood. No cranking, clicking, or any other sound. It kind of smelled electrical but it came out of my Edelbrock carb. I tried starting it in neutral (slap stik tranny) and nothing. Any advice will be appreciated.

[polarbear123]

If you still have a ballast resistor check that first.

[Chryco Psycho]

fuseable link near the bulkhead connector

[HP_Cuda]

probably smoked the fuse...

which makes you wonder what made the short. 

[dodj]

Components stop working once you let the factory smoke out. 

My $ on fusible link or start relay.

[DocMel]

If you are SURE the smoke came out of the carb it sounds like it backfired thru there:  VERY dangerous

But Ill bet if it did backfire thru the carb, it becuase of a reason already mentioned

[Orange Cuda]

No backfire. I pulled the air cleaner immediately and smoke was coming from the carb. Kind of confusing. Ben too busy to check it out. Hopefully this weekend I can tackle the problem. Thanks all for the input.

[dodj]

Any wires on your carb? ie electric choke?

[Orange Cuda]

Will have to check. Smoke came out of bowl but maybe it was drawn into the bowl when the engine was cranking.

[HP_Cuda]

Could be a carb fire with the distributor contributing to it.....

Good thing it went out right away. 

[72cudamaan]

Either the electric choke smoked and looked like it was coming out of the carb or it backfired. Is your choke wired
to the ballast? And when you say you have nothing, is that a no crank condition or no spark condition?

[Orange Cuda]

A gold star to all who said fuseable link.  Finally got a chance out of my busy life to take a peek under the hood.  Makes sense since I initially saw smoke coming from that corner of the hood and it smelled electrical.  Still not sure of the smoke I saw coming out of the carb.  There was absolutely no sound at all on the third attempt to start the car, just smoke.  Found a universal 14 gauge link at Autozone, but did not have the correct connector on it.  Same with ebay, though I found 14 and 16 gauge there.  What is the right gauge to use and where can I get one that has the right connector?  It's been 25+ years since I've owned such an old car (1971 Challenger), and I need to be refreshed on some of the basic maintenance that goes with these vehicles.  What would be the reasons the link failed?  I didn't think I excessively cranked the engine.

[DocMel]

Just jump the fusible link long enough with a wire lead to see if the car will start and run , Have someone watch the wire in case it starts smoking. 

Or you could just run a jump wire to bypass the link with a wire that has a 15 amp or so fuse holder in it

I doubt the FL is the prob, but it is worth a shot to narrow down whats going on

The "smoke" from the carb couldve just been air/ fuel mix fog coming back up from the carb throat

[Orange Cuda]

I stopped by Roseville Chrysler on my way home from work and talked to the gentleman who sells e-body parts there.  (BTW, he had a sweet '70 572 Hemi 'cuda in yellow and a shaker hood parked next to the parts counter).  He told me to check the wires in the starting circuit, especially the red 10 guage wire at the connector near the base of the steering column.  A quick cursory look revealed that it looks at least slightly damaged.  Looks like I've got some wire splicing in my near future.  Might be a good idea for me to get a wiring diagram.  Perhaps a wiring harness too, at least the starting circuit anyway.  Any advice on where to get such items?

Also, I need the passenger side running light housing (outer light).  The housing got partially melted by a loose bulb.  Where is a good place to get a replacement?

[Chryco Psycho]

Start with Dave or Paul @ Roseville  they should be able to supply the light housing & may have service manuals in a book or cd format .
You will need to repair the wiring at the base of the column or replace both parts of the wiring