Electrical fire 72 charger

[Jvz]

Replaced the voltage regulator on my 72 charger special edition when the new alternator, I just put in was not charging enough with the lights on.
With the new voltage regulator the gage in the car was high to the charge side and shortly there after, under the dash started smoking and it caught fire. The whole inside was gutted and entire dash, gages, steering wheel,door panels etc.. melted. Any thoughts about where to go from here would be appreciated.
Wondering if there is any liability on a defective voltage regulator? Will the melted plastics and rubber come off the steal structure of the dash board?
Is there an after market source for the instrument panel and wiring harnesses? Any body know a good source for interior panels etc..
Thanks
jvz

[billschroeder5842]

Oh no, sorry. Nothing worse than an electrical fire.

My advise is that you need to start over. You can get new harness, gauges, fuse box.

Is there a way to check what the cause was?

[72Charger-SE]

So sorry to hear about the fire and damage to your car!  My soul..  you must be devastated...    

I am going to say if sandblasting will get 40 year old rust off a frame it will get the melted plastic off the metal framing of the interior.  As far as liability I am no expert but it would be difficult to prove you did not have anything hooked up incorrectly and the regulator was the sole cause of the fire.   Any fire can be inspected and the true cause determined by a State Fire Marshall.  I am not sure how to get their help but it may be just a phone call? 

[69wannabe]

I almost had the same thing happen on my charger. Burnt the wiring from the regulator all the way back to the ignition switch. I realized it was shorting out and yanked the battery cable off before it caused any more damage. Not to say the factory charging system will not work but I decided to go a different route with my car. Ordered a one wire powermaster alternator and eliminated the regulator, had the ammeter converted to a voltmeter and bypassed the bulkhead connector with my alternator wiring and I do not worry about my wiring and car bursting into flames like I used to worry about it. Got inline maxi fuses for my voltage feed wire and for my alternator wiring so if anything happens it will just blow the fuse. Sorry to hear about your car and the damage, nothing like a fire to make your project take a giant U turn. 

[Pete in NH]

Sorry to hear about your fire, that has got to be one of the worst things that can happen to these cars. There should be a fusible link in the charging circuit to prevent fires like this. It is located between the battery stud on the starter relay and an in line connector on a 72. They often have a little molded tag on them reading FUSE or LINK. Often they blow or get corroded and fail and are replaced by someone who does not understand their function with a plain piece of wire. That sets things up for a disastrous fire like you experienced. I would look and see if that link is in place or is a plain piece of wire? The second thing I think happened was a voltage regulator failure which allowed the alternator to run wide open. These old Mopar systems will not keep up with a heavy electrical load at idle, like having the lights on. I suspect your original regulator was okay. The replacement may have failed by shorting internally and putting full field voltage on the alternator. Many of today's regulators are poor quality Chinese parts and often fail in this manner. So, those are the two things I would look at to determine the cause of the fire, is the fusible link in place and did the regulator allow full field voltage on the alternator.

I always use real Chrysler replacement parts for these regulators. Yes, they cost more than the local auto parts store's cheaper part, but that cheap part can lead to disaster. If the parts store offers you a choice between an $ 8.00 part and a $25 part you  know the $8 part likely came from China. I hope you will repair your car but, it will be a long, slow expensive process.

To others reading this thread make sure that fusible link is in place on your cars!

[Jvz]

Thanks guys for the info, the sand blasting is a great idea. Also I well make sure of a quality voltage regulator and fuses when rebuilding.
Any info on sources for where to go for: wiring harnesses, fuse block, gauges, interior panels etc... would be of help.
Thanks,
jvz

[b5blue]

Year One owns the rights to exact replacement wiring. (Made through M&H harness.) IDK on the other stuff, check with some 3rd gen guys as some repop parts are crappy I'm told. 

[b5blue]

These guys are good for some dash stuff:   http://www.performancecargraphics.com

[myk]

I almost had the same thing happen on my charger. Burnt the wiring from the regulator all the way back to the ignition switch. I realized it was shorting out and yanked the battery cable off before it caused any more damage. Not to say the factory charging system will not work but I decided to go a different route with my car. Ordered a one wire powermaster alternator and eliminated the regulator, had the ammeter converted to a voltmeter and bypassed the bulkhead connector with my alternator wiring and I do not worry about my wiring and car bursting into flames like I used to worry about it. Got inline maxi fuses for my voltage feed wire and for my alternator wiring so if anything happens it will just blow the fuse. Sorry to hear about your car and the damage, nothing like a fire to make your project take a giant U turn.