fusible link burns up

[v4vAnimalMother]

I have an early 74 260Z with a bad ground which I am trying to isolate and fix.

I was driving, everything good. The whoof...no power to anything, not even a click in the ignition. Burnt out a fusible link. Was able to hotwire it by connecting a wire from the coil to the battery and jumping the starter, that allowed me to get the car home.

After I replaced the fuse link it burnt up immediately after I hooked up the positive to the battery but still no power was going anywhere. Looked over the fuse link box and noticed that one of the connectors was badly corroded so I ditched the box and and spliced in some new fusible link wire with butte connectors. Immediately after I connected the positive on the battery the fuse link (white with red stripe) burnt up. The other which I believe goes to the starter was fine.

Any advice about what to do will be appreciated. Absolute beginner here.

[SteveJ]

1. Get a good wiring diagram, usually from a factory service manual.

2. Get a good multimeter and learn how to use it.

3. Analyze your circuits using the wiring diagram and the multimeter to find the dead short. First focus on circuits that are not connected through the ignition switch (or relay). If all those circuits are good, start on the switched circuits.

Alternative method:

1. Make good friends with someone who understands automotive electrics, preferrably with some Z car experience.

2. Buy a lot of said friend's perferred beer/liquor of choice.

3. Convince friend to work on your car.