diff --git a/base/array.jl b/base/array.jl
index 8432c78f2f66c..47383ebc6a6f1 100644
--- a/base/array.jl
+++ b/base/array.jl
@@ -466,20 +466,21 @@ function push!(a::Array{Any,1}, item::ANY)
     return a
 end
 
-function append!{T}(a::Array{T,1}, items::AbstractVector)
-    if is(T,None)
-        error(_grow_none_errmsg)
-    end
+function append!{T}(a::Array{T,1}, items::AbstractVector{T})
     n = length(items)
     ccall(:jl_array_grow_end, Void, (Any, Uint), a, n)
     copy!(a, length(a)-n+1, items, 1, n)
     return a
 end
 
-function prepend!{T}(a::Array{T,1}, items::AbstractVector)
+function append!{T}(a::Array{T,1}, items::AbstractVector)
     if is(T,None)
         error(_grow_none_errmsg)
     end
+    append!(a, convert(Array{T,1}, items))
+end
+
+function prepend!{T}(a::Array{T,1}, items::AbstractVector{T})
     n = length(items)
     ccall(:jl_array_grow_beg, Void, (Any, Uint), a, n)
     if a === items
@@ -490,6 +491,13 @@ function prepend!{T}(a::Array{T,1}, items::AbstractVector)
     return a
 end
 
+function prepend!{T}(a::Array{T,1}, items::AbstractVector)
+    if is(T,None)
+        error(_grow_none_errmsg)
+    end
+    prepend!(a, convert(Array{T,1}, items))
+end
+
 function resize!(a::Vector, nl::Integer)
     l = length(a)
     if nl > l
@@ -589,9 +597,7 @@ function deleteat!(a::Vector, inds)
     return a
 end
 
-const _default_splice = []
-
-function splice!(a::Vector, i::Integer, ins::AbstractArray=_default_splice)
+function splice!{T}(a::Array{T,1}, i::Integer, ins::AbstractVector{T}=T[])
     v = a[i]
     m = length(ins)
     if m == 0
@@ -607,7 +613,10 @@ function splice!(a::Vector, i::Integer, ins::AbstractArray=_default_splice)
     return v
 end
 
-function splice!{T<:Integer}(a::Vector, r::UnitRange{T}, ins::AbstractArray=_default_splice)
+splice!{T}(a::Array{T,1}, i::Integer, ins::AbstractVector) = 
+    splice!(a, i, convert(Array{T,1}, ins))
+
+function splice!{T,N<:Integer}(a::Array{T,1}, r::UnitRange{N}, ins::AbstractVector{T}=T[])
     v = a[r]
     m = length(ins)
     if m == 0
@@ -642,6 +651,9 @@ function splice!{T<:Integer}(a::Vector, r::UnitRange{T}, ins::AbstractArray=_def
     return v
 end
 
+splice!{T,N<:Integer}(a::Array{T,1}, r::UnitRange{N}, ins::AbstractVector) = 
+    splice!(a, r, convert(Array{T,1}, ins))
+
 function empty!(a::Vector)
     ccall(:jl_array_del_end, Void, (Any, Uint), a, length(a))
     return a
diff --git a/test/arrayops.jl b/test/arrayops.jl
index b6b564fc4f152..2c6f0b3297d26 100644
--- a/test/arrayops.jl
+++ b/test/arrayops.jl
@@ -893,3 +893,30 @@ function i7197()
     ind2sub(size(S), 5)
 end
 @test i7197() == (2,2)
+
+# issue #7642
+A = [1,2,3]
+B = ["hey"]
+@test_throws MethodError append!(A,B)
+@test length(A) == 3
+
+@test_throws MethodError prepend!(A,B)
+@test length(A) == 3
+
+@test_throws MethodError splice!(A,1,B)
+@test length(A) == 3
+@test_throws MethodError splice!(A,2,B)
+@test length(A) == 3
+@test_throws MethodError splice!(A,3,B)
+@test length(A) == 3
+
+@test_throws MethodError splice!(A,1:3,B)
+@test length(A) == 3
+
+B = [1.0, 1.2, 1.5]
+@test_throws InexactError append!(A,B)
+@test length(A) == 3
+@test_throws InexactError prepend!(A,B)
+@test length(A) == 3
+@test_throws InexactError splice!(A,1:3,B)
+@test length(A) == 3