thanks guys.yeah thats a good question about remounting the underbody toolboxes to the frame instead of the bed like i did on the two fronts of the f250.
most likely i will,yes.this way chainsaws and gear don't flop all around when dumping.well time to bundle up i suppose.the days are too short to just sit swilling coffee inside thinking about it lol.more to come soon on channel 444/log truck tonight.

 

tonight on log truck.....................log truck gets new peepers! finished wiring up the cam,and a new washer fluid motor.


Depo Clear Corner,Bumper & Headlights



so continuing on with the rear view cam install.dialectic grease.heat shrink the rcs cables.then tapped.then wire tied.then wire loomed and another wire tie event for good measure.
you don't want corrosion in there at all.you don't want to loose power nor do you want your pic getting all fuzzy on ya.
i noticed there are two wires missing out back.the blue wire for brakes (po ran a devoted green wire for it from controller) and also no battery charge wire.
(i just tapped into the running lights in the junction box to test the cam install.) so most likely these got left behind during the frame lengthening years ago.
i'll be upgrading the pintle/ball combo,along with the rear tow plug to the same one i installed in my f250.the updated 7 prong w/4 prong combo.so i'll make sure both these lost wires get run out back from their original location at that time,then switch my cam power over to the correct terminal in the junction.

next,i figured id do an easy little repair and toss in a new washer fluid motor as she was toast.now the motor works at least but she's still not spraying,so i'll have to take the cowl off and inspect the hoses next.

next it was time to copy what i did with the f250 with some new headlights.out with the 20 yr old, dangerously tinted yellow lights and in with some new clear's.i was hoping to install some relays for them but these things always kick my tail and take me time to remove and install.just a hard tight setup.though well worth the effort of course as the beam will be a safe, clear, bright white now.
new chrome bezels as well,as those were showing their age.as was the grill.iv got the old one with the buttons on it for the winter cover from the f250,which is only slightly better shape lol.she'll need to be replaced some time down the road,after she gets painted.

 

it's more electrical work in this evenings episode of log truck.............

so today i woke up as usual......as a wimp just wanting to sip some coffee and wait around for more parts to arrive in the warm house lol.but alas i braved the bitter cold,the mountain peaks of Maine with the blizzard and nor'easter's rolling in with 4' of white stuff tumbling down from the heavens........ok.ok.so it was a calm clear day here at sea level.....but that's always my feelings when i layer up to go out lol!

ok enough fooling around......it was time to put the new headlights and that new headlight w/ harness (thank you previous owner) on some relays to take the load off the switch and get full power where it counts,at the lights.
so after rigging up a harness and tucking it neatly away,it was time to fix that door that wont stay open! ah i hate that.so drop the door down just enough to remove a broken door hinge spring and replace it.
all went great,short of just one little issue.the doorman HELP! part was simply more wimpy than i am when it comes to the cold weather.the dang thing will just barely hold the door open and with a little breeze there she goes.walk over to the f250 and see the oem door spring.ahh yes,that's whats needed.clearly a much thicker spring.so....don't waste your time trying to use the doorman replacement.i generally find those parts acceptable.below oem spec,but acceptable.not in this case.
stay tuned.until next time.thanks for watching log truck on channel 444.

 

I'm doing something similar with the wiring, but just making it all removeable, using relay sockets and I thought 12 (actually measures 10 ) gauge wiring. I actually just installed the same dorman spring, mine works some, but my roller is worn funny, so that may be part of it.

 

i don't know that larger gauge would be necessary for such short runs of wire right from the battery here if using street legal bulbs,but hey it can't hurt.ah the roller replacement is a bit tougher job but not too bad.that was the bad part on the f250 when i got that one lol.the door wouldn't stay open either.fixed it right off cus it really bugs me.seems like its always closing on your leg when working on stuff.all through the gauge install etc.finally wised up and trigged it open after about the 20th time.

 

The wire was on clearance at wallyworld . and 2 questions, where did you mount the relays at and what sylvania's are you using, xtravisions? Sorry if I'm asking a lot of questions, just trying to learn.

 

tonight on log truck...........log truck gets some ***** lol and yet more electrical work.

Tow Ready 63011 Black Pintle Hook with 2" Ball
Tow Ready 63052 Pintle Hook Replacement Ball
Hopkins 40975 Multi-Tow Plug-In Simple Wiring Kit
Hopkins 40985 Universal Multi-Tow Harness Connector
Bulldog Keyless Entry System w/relay for parking light confirmation




so thanks to the free trial of "prime" from amazon,stuff comes in at a nice pace (2 day shipping! free for 30 days.)
it was more wiring work today, with a keyless entry unit that i had also installed in the f250 years back.
getting to cheat again,i simply took a peak at what i did to that truck without the need to trace out wires with the multi meter again......nice.
the unit is easy to hook up,but if you want the running lights to flash so you can see if it unlocked/locked from afar,then you've got to fish a couple wires through the door......oh joy.then hook up a relay with power,a trigger from the unit,and a tap into the running light circuit (was blue wire up at the headlight switch.)
now she's like chip truck.i stood back and played with the FOB's and had chip and logger flashing light Christmas trees.

now right as i was finishing up, the man in brown showed up yet again with the new pintle/ball combo hitch and the updated universal tow plug i also installed on chip truck,a 7 and a 4 prong combo plug to eliminate any need for adapters for trailers.real handy.
so i began to crank off the hitch nuts and the first one just wanted to spin as if it was stripped and wouldn't back out.well,i wasn't messing around and i reached for a tool i knew would make light work of that little issue.
out with the old pintle hitch,which would only house a 3500 lb 2" ball due to it's small shank size and in with a combo hitch that can take a larger shank for a higher rated 2" with one all included.a nice 10k lb rated ball like iv got on chip truck.
while at it,a correctly sized 2 5/16" 14k lb rated ball that i can always swap out if needed for larger trailers and then of course for anything more serious so as not to let the f450 go wasted,a pintle for real trailer towing should the need ever arise.
this concluded the day.next i'll have to run up the frame and source the two missing wires mentioned earlier to be sure iv got all wires needed out back for my trailer brakes and battery charge for my dump trailer (and back up cam power.) i'll need to mount the plug lower than the old one.notice its up real high there.i'd have to make extensions for all my different trailer plugs.not going to do that and have them dragging when hooked up to the low ridding chip truck.i'll simply mount the updated tow plug down by the ball so everything reaches easily.should have this knocked out tomorrow with time to spare for other things.until then,keep it right here on log truck and thanks for watching the progress of this old fixer upper heavy hauling and towing idi rig.hope your enjoying and feel free to ask any questions about installing anything you've seen done thus far.

 

oh no problem at all.feel free to ask away.

if you look closely there,you can see i simply mounted the relays up high behind the drivers side battery using wire ties.
yes,that's right.the bulbs i chose are Sylvania Xtravision 9007 XV.
same bulbs in both trucks.i can see real nice and bright white with the f250,so i stuck with what i knew worked well.
i recall briefly searching bulbs and the brighter ones they offered didn't seem to last long enough according to reviews.hope this helps ya make a decision.

 

Yes sir, Thank you.

 

ah it's so freaking miserably cold out that i just gave up today.iv had enough.i can't find the damn blue electric brake wire nor the orange 12v battery charge.i finally went right back to the beginning and started at the plug at the firewall and it's as if they didn't even get pinned in.what the heck? what kind of tow package is this? they should both be like 10 gauge wires.least i quickly saw the orange one was on the f250 but didn't see the blue one right off.i was getting cold and called it quits.rather figure it out in here.
the relays and fuses are in place for them,the brake controller wiring harness and plug is run up under the dash.i hope they're run into the cab from the power distribution box.
i took a little time to start in cleaning up some E40D plugs,so i at least got a little something done.

edit,ah ok.
well,see the first pic here below.it's the inside of the firewall that the tow plug,plugs into.see the large blue wire there......that one there i believe is the blue wire coming off the tow controller plug.so i can just run a 10 gauge right from that out to the tow plug.i'll have to run back out i guess and see if i can see a same thickness wire just like that one but orange in behind that mess............after just one more cup of joe.
that should be the feed for battery charge if it's in there.......man i hope so,or i'll need to figure out where it comes from out of the power dist box i guess...........oh yeah,look just below the large blue wire.in behind.maybe that's a large gauged orange,worth of a quick test..........crossing fingers.

 

Wow that truck better last you forever with the amount of work you just put in it! Great job!!!

 

oh yeah,this old gal is just getting her second wind is all.she'll be all setup and ready for hd commercial work for many years to come by spring (knock on wood) thanks.

 

well i'll be a monkeys uncle.look.
so needless to say,no wonder i couldn't find those looking over the frame wasting my time lmao.should have started here and worked my way back uh? haha well who would have known ford would have done a trick like this? anyone ever see anything like this before? and no,nobody pulled them.flip the plug over and the plastic is solidly filled.never knocked out from the factory.
anyway,so iv got to have two rolls of 25' 10 awg wire.

 

the electrical work continues......

so had to move equipment around and ready chip truck for plow duty for the storm coming in,but i did manage to ready log truck with a tow harness so she'll have the tow package like any sensible person with an f450 would automatically make sure it included from ford lol.

didn't have time to snap pics,but i did run it as well.though no time left to hook any of it up.that's ok though,as this was the majority of the work.now i'll have everything on devoted trailer circuits so it's as easy as wiring them on to the dead ended wires and connecting to the new tow plug out back.
i do still need to find the two wires (green and a yellow) which are on devoted fuses up in the power distribution box.each on a 5 amp fuse.i'll double check to see if pulling the fuses kills the stop/turn signals out back on the truck.it shouldn't as it says they're for trailer.then if thats the case,it's just a matter of finding those,and tapping them onto my two 14 awg wires i ran.if they do however kill the trucks stop/turn then this means,i needlessly ran devoted 14 awg wires and could have just tapped in at the rear junction.
BLUE = brake 10awg.
ORANGE = 12V+ (key on/run) for battery charge.10 awg.
BROWN/WHITE = running lights.10 awg.
BLACK = ground (this is already run) 10 awg.
RED/YELLOW = backup lights.missing.no where to be found.easy fix however.i'll tap into the trucks backup lights (which is black/pink) at the tow plug/firewall side,and have this trigger a fused relay that i'll install and feed the backup of the tow plug on a devoted 10 awg i ran for it.
YELLOW = left stop/turn
GREEN = right stop/turn

edit;
see the yellow and green wires at the very bottom of the in cab plug?
notice the blank pins on the firewall side?
i think i just found the stop/turns right there.i'll test 'em tomorrow.

 

My 91 E350 Had a flat four type plug under dash for factory tow Package, and one for ACC power wire thru 20 amp fuse. nice job on those improvement's to the lights, sweet looking