I have a few more questions now that I'm so close to getting my Bronco running. For those who haven't seen my other posts, I have a 1995 powerstroke thats being put in a 1996 Bronco.

I pretty much have everything good to go besides my driveshafts are out getting some work. I managed to get the fuel system in and filled the Bronco with fuel.

However, after installing my steering column and other dash parts, I noticed the "wait to start" light does not illuminate. If I try turning the key, the "engine temp" and the bottom right light (forgot what it said but its also on the display with the wait to start light and other things)turn on, but there is no cranking or anything else. I do not hear the slight hum of the glow plug relay either when I turn the key.

Before the swap, the 95 F250 started up and idled. I used the same engine/engine bay wiring, dash wiring, and PCM that was in the F250. I reused my Bronco steering column and ignition lock (1996) if that makes a difference.

Could no "wait to start" light be me wiring something up incorrectly? Maybe something on the starter solenoid on the fender? I also disconnected the fuel heater because it was broken when I cleaned the fuel bowl. Could there be something around the fuel bowl that I didn't plug in correctly causing this?

 

Hmm I was thinking I may have wired up the starter relay wrong, but after double checking posts, I believe I have it correct.

I left the fuel tank selector switch out (so there is nothing plugged into it) and reused the Bronco wiring from the rear (fuel tank/taillights) to the front. Would this potentially have any affect with this?

I double checked the maxi fuse #22 in the fuse box and it was good. When I unplugged the fuel heater, I unplugged it from the inside of the bowl, but left the outside plug in.

 

Do you have power at fuse 22?
Double check that all grounds are connected

 

That's something I failed to check. Ill check to see if I'm getting power to that when I get home. If I recall, foe the engine bay wiring harness, there is a ground on each side near the headlights, a ground near the IDM, then the two batter grounds. Am I missing where other grounds go?

 

There is one off the back passenger side valve cover to body, I think. Maybe it goes down to the frame?

 

Oh I remember that ground strap now. I ended up losing the bolt where it goes (connects to the hoist mount) so I connected it to the valve cover using one of the new bolts I had. Maybe that's not a good bolt to use?

 

Okay here are some tests I just did:

With the Key OFF

- Fuse #22 socket no power as expected
- Glow plug relay Large terminal 12V, all others have no power as expected
- Starter solenoid main terminal has 12V, all others have no power as expected

With the Key On (engine off of course it won't crank)

- Fuse #22 socket has about 12V difference so it's getting power
- No change on the terminals on Glow plug relay. The small wire that should get power with the key on is not getting power.
- Starter solenoid still has no power to other terminals ( I assume it only sends power to the small top terminal when the key is being turned? If so I won't be able to test it by myself.)




Basically, fuse #22 is getting power, but it seems like power is not being sent to the glow plug relay or to the starter. Would this be pointing to the PCM? If so, how do I test this?

 

Was the Bronco originally a manual or auto tranny? The fender mounted relay for the starter should have power to the one large terminal, the one with the cable from the battery. This terminal will have several wires along with the one from the battery, as Ford used tis terminal to distribute power to the rest of the truck. The other large terminal should have one wire on it leading to the starter solenoid. The one small terminal is the trigger wire, and should get power to it when the key is turned to the start position. Making sure the tranny is in natural, you can jump this small terminal with a wire, or screwdriver, by bridging the small terminal and the large one with the cable from the battery. By doing this, the starter should crank.

 

The Bronco was originally manual (and still is with the ZF5).

When jumping the terminals, the starter engages so the starter is good which narrows things down a slight bit.

This means the relay could have gone bad, but I think it's actually not getting power to the signal wire with the ignition turned on. The glow plug relay is also not getting power to the signal wire with the key in run, so it seems like the ignition switch may not be operating correctly (hopefully that and not something like the PCM.)

Do you know which wires from the ignition switch would be sending the signal to the starter relay and also glow plug relay? If both of these aren't getting power, I'm thinking the injectors probably aren't getting power either.

 

Did you check for 12von both sides of fuse 22 ? I've seen fuses look good but be bad

 

I just checked that now and it is getting power to both sides.

I did something stupid. I didn't have the engine wiring harness connected to the fuse block in the engine bay. It was in place, but not bolted up.

Despite that however, I still have the same problem after bolting it up. What changed is that the water in fuel light now comes on with the fuel filter and engine temp lights when turning the key. The wait to start light still does not come on. Also, I am now getting 12V to the small terminal on the glow plug relay, but the other small terminal also has 12V so it seems to not be getting grounded by the PCM.

The starter relay is still not getting the 12V signal when turning the key, but I don't believe that wire is part of the engine harness.

 

Progress!

I didn't check my grounds well enough like you said fordpride. There was a set of three wires that connect to the radiator core support in front of the passenger side battery that I didn't connect. After bolting those down, the wait to start light now comes on and I can hear the glow plug relay energize.

However, my truck is still not attempting to crank. I tested the wire (red/ light blue) from under the truck at the clutch safety switch at it gets power when the key is turned to both sides. It doesn't appear to get power to the actual starter relay though.

Does this wire run directly to the starter relay from the firewall or is there something else inbetween? If it runs straight there, then I'm guessing there is a break along the way. I don't know which terminal on the firewall the wire goes into however so I can't test if it's making its way to the engine bay harness.

Also, fuse #13 in the dash fuse panel keeps blowing. I think it has something to do with ABS but it is not equipped on my truck anymore. Does this fuse control anything else important?

 

My manual says #13 fuse is for stop/hazard lights, Anti-lock brake module memory power (F series) speed control, Stop sense for: powertrain control, Anti-lock brakes, Auto tranny shift interlock.
On the trigger wire for the starter, does the clutch switch close to complete the circuit when the clutch is depressed?

 

Hmm I'll check and see if maybe I pinched a wire for the rear portion of the hazard lights when lifting up the fuel tank. The ABS module should be unplugged so I don't think that's it. It definitely blows the fuse when I touch the brakes so it's related to that circuit at least.

For the starter switch, yes it does close the circuit when the clutch is depressed as well. I was meaning on going out and doing more probing of the wires but I developed a bad migraine so I'll have to take a break. Hopefully it will go away this evening but usually it puts me out the rest of the day!

I just took some migraine advil type stuff so I'll see if that helps.

 

Well I did more poking around and found where the starter relay power wire goes in the engine bay. There are no breaks between the wire on the engine bay harness so it must be somewhere further down. It ends up going from the starter relay (top post) to a plug that connects to the frame harness (it doesn't go through the firewall right away.)

It looks like the wiring harness that it connects to goes to the transmission or at least somewhere under the vehicle. Does anyone have a wiring diagram of this wire so I can better figure out where it goes? I think everything else is working properly (except for the short somewhere blowing fuse 13) besides this wire getting power to engage the starter. I would think that it only needs the clutch pedal as a safety, but I suppose it goes through something else as well....