Hello, Suzanne here,
I was driving my 1993 F150 and it just shut down on me. I smelled electrical burning , but i have taken the dash apart ,also steering column and I can't find any evidence of anything burnt. I hope someone can help Thanks, Suzanne

 

Hi Suzanne and Welcome to FTE

Did you check under the hood and make sure it wasn't a coil wire or a fusable link burned up?
What brought you to the dash and steering column.......did you also see some smoke?

More info about how you were driving.....and any CELs before or after.......anything to help diagnose and get you in the right direction.

Good Luck
Bob

 

the ignition actuator may be the problem.

it works by a rod attached between the lock cyl. and the actuator.

maybe a battery cable corroded through.

you need to give more info.

 

Hey Bob,
No, I didn't see smoke, I just smelled it. I pulled the dash and steering column just to check all the wires there. The burning smell came from inside the truck, not under the hood. I have determined that I don't have power to the fuel pump selector switch or to the the inertia switch. I do have power to the fuel pump relay. I was driving around 55, and the truck just shut off just the same as if you had turned the key off.

 

Everything at the fuse block is good? Any blown ones?

Take a look at this post.....read down to the drawings

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/6...el-switch.html

Sounds like it might be in this. Good Luck
Bob

 

Hey Bob, I did check under the hood, it isn't a coil wire or a fusable link. I didn't see smoke, I just smelled it. The burning smell came from inside the truck, not under the hood. I pulled the dash and steering column just to check all the wires there. I don't have power to the fuel pump selector switch or to enertia switch. I do have power to the fuel pump relay.

 

Not sure you saw this........we were posting at the same time...........here it is again

 

did you check ignition actuator?

 

Sorry to dig up an age old thread but I to have a 1993 F-150 with a 4.9L that just had the same problem. driving along, truck cut off and smoke from the dash area. no smoke from under the hood. I no longer have a check engine light when I turn the key on. The truck cranks fine but will not start. I looked under the dash and took the steering colum apart and have yet to find any visable burnt wires. Any ideas ?

 

Sounds to me like your PCM Computer burned up.
You need to pull it out and open it up.
If it was it you will be able to see it with no problem, smell it too.
I say this because it has the same MO as others have reported and that is what they found.

 

Pulled the PCM out and wow that bad boy is burnt up. Thanks for the good info subford. What makes these things burn up ? Does something ground out ? Is there anything I should check before I plug the new one in? Or do I just keep my fingers crossed and be ready to put out a fire ?

 

Most of the time it turns out the truck owner washed the engine under the hood.
Or they ran through some water.
The grease in the plug for the computer has dried out and water got in the plug.
Sometimes they have put power on the self test plug.
The Caps can go bad but I have not heard of them burning anything out, you just have a lot of erroneous codes.

I have also heard of someone removing the battery cable while it is running and burned it up.

With the above scenario, the pins in the plug.

Mose check every wire there is and never find anything.
Although you might check the 5 Volt supply wiring for short to ground as that is about the only out put it has and may be the battery voltage to see if it is too high.
I would at least check the above two items and re-grease the plug.