1968 Mustang/Cougar Ignition switch circuit

So, car wouldn’t start as I sat there at work. I went to check the solenoid relay and the ignition switch wire is indeed connected. I went to test it by jumping the switch terminal and got the engine to start. I drove her home and started smelling something funky as I pulled into my driveway. It started farting a bunch of smoke from the left of the dash. I quickly disconnected the battery. All the smoke made the inside of my car look like an indoor marijuana festival, only that it smelled like 46 year old wire insulation. I traced the welted wire to the back of the ignition switch and…well it just fell out. Not the switch, only the back part of it.

Anyway, apparently it’s a common problem with the 68 Mustang and Cougars where with age, the plastic part of the switch will loosen from the housing, touch one another inappropriately and cause one hell of a short. The wires in my car are fried all the way to the starter solenoid relay.

Things to note:

-This wire is a straight-shot to the switch.
-There are no fuses in between. So it either burns or it doesn’t. Fun right?
-The smoke stinks.
-Autozone carries this switch @ $17.99 with a lifetime warranty.
-The connector to the switch will have to be ordered, so far Scott Drake is the cheapest I’ve found @ $39.99.
-Removal and install is very simple.

I’ve decided to rewire it with the OEM 14g colored wire, which I have found out was yellow, with a 20 amp max fuse. I’ll eventually update the entire wiring harness when I have $500+ dollars to throw around(probably never.)

The damage
[IMG]http://i.imgur.com/9KKNcug.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]http://i.imgur.com/eLnPO3z.jpg[/IMG]