Burned alternator cable
 

A battery that was apparently charged backwards was put into the car and smoke came from two wires at the junction box and from the alternator.

After replacing the battery, the alternator smoked again, but there was none noticed coming from the cable. A new alternator is on order.

Included are pictures of the cable ends.

Where exactly does the alternator cable go, and does anyone have any ideas on the extent of the damage or tips for repair?

Before hooking up a battery again, that harness needs to be replaced. In our shop (now retired) we would have opened the harness and repaired it if possible. The problem is the melted wires may have melted other wires and shorted to them. You have to get out ALL wires that have melted insulation or show evidence of being hot. You could do more damage with a good strong battery. OVP relay is probably history. Alternator is history. Starter will be OK, it doesn't care. It will take either polarity and still run in the correct direction.Any electrical device that has constant power may be history. Just make sure you inspect and replace any suspected wire that looks like it has been hot.

Paul

It looks like the wires from the junction box and to the alternator harness both lead to the firewall. Do you know if this is something that I can get to from under the kick panel, or do I need to remove the dash?

I don't think that a dash removal is called for. You can remove the glove box first and have a look.
Just trace the wires and follow the yellow brick road.
Now you know why electrical shops get so much money. It's a PITA :mad:

As it turns out, the alternator cable was the only one scorched. Also, the alternator cable does not go into the firewall as it appears. Instead, it runs a couple of inches into the biggest wrap in the corner before the firewall, then takes a 180° turn and goes to the junction box. I guess this is a perfect opportunity to upgrade the wiring to accommodate the larger alternator needed to power my new amp. Necessity just forced the timing.

Now does anybody know how to remove the wires from the plug? I am tugging and squeezing, etc. but I don't want to break the plastic plug.

I sure do miss Phil. He'd always go the extra mile to track down all of those little bits.

You don't need to upgrade the existing wires since you should be running a dedicated wire for your amp directly to the battery. Except of course the wires that you fried! None of the other wires in your car are affected. Amps are a product of demand. You could put a 1000 amp alternator in your car and it wouldn't have an effect on your wires unless you demand 1000 amps somewhere. Maybe a proton accelerator in your trunk? Even then you would still run a dedicated wire for it and the stock wiring on your car wouldn't even know what's going on in your trunk.

All I know is that it is recommended to use a higher rated alternator for more powerful sound systems. It has also been recommended (though now I do not know how widely accepted) to replace the wiring harness for a beefier alternator.

My system isn't huge by any means, but I am running two amps and I know it will draw a bit of current. And 10 ga fits just fine, so the worst thing I might have done was spend an extra buck on wire.

If by wiring harness you mean the wires from your alternator to your battery you would be correct.
Wiring harness to me always meant the whole shebang.