first off, my first diesel and i love it. its a 92 cc f350 idi non turbo.
i noticed right before i parked earlier the battery gauge dropped to 0V. when i restarted, which it had no problems with at all, it stayed at 0 and did not move or make any clicks with the ignition ON. normally the battery gauge jumps and i hear clicking, but now nothing.
when driving and idling, the rpm gauge also stays at 0. while on the road 1st gear is kinda ok but slower to accelerate, 2nd gear and on its very jumpy like its surging in power kinda like if you pressed the gas over and over to make it jump. and while it does that it POURS black smoke(cant say im not getting fuel) and it VERY slow to accelerate but can still go 50mph.


i replaced fuse #17, im almost sure thats what it is, it blew again before i started the truck, but the battery gauge worked again for 3 seconds until it went boom.
fuse #17: warning buzzer/chime module, warning indicators, gauges, tachometer, electronic transmission.
battery gauge doesnt work, tach doesnt work, the lights to the right of the dash(warning indicators im guessing?) dont do anything.

from what ive read if the tach dont work the tranny acts up. which is whats happening.
but diesel or not ive never traced a fuse before so i have no idea what to do

 

Start looking for damaged wiring. The wires coming from the tach sender are a know trouble spot. The tach sender is close to the oil filler, on top of the timing gear housing just behind, and a little to the right of the oil filler. It's a big hex nut with 2 wires coming from it... With so many circuits on that fuse it's tough to narrow it down.
Anything else happen recently, like anything disturbing stuff under the dash, anything get hung up under the truck, etc? Anything that could have damaged some wiring?

 

ok i found that. the wires themselfs are fine, but at the very end on the sender side, one wire i think i can see the bare wire, but its no more then a hair sticking out of the sender but i can see more then that exposed further into the sender.

what exactly are the other things? warning buzzer/chime is also listed for fuse #8. is that the door ajar with key in chime? or lights on chime?
what are the warning indicators? engine temp, WTS, water in oil? all my gauges are fine except the voltmeter, is that one only one controlled on #17?

the only thing that happened, i went to dmv to register it and backed up into the spot til i gently hit the curb, put it in park and the voltmeter dropped to 0 about the same time. i tried switching gears and back to park and nothing, so i left it alone and went in. i didnt notice if the tach had stopped working at that point or not.
when i came out thats when i noticed the tach and driving problems

 

The circuits are so intermixed, the problem could be in about a thousand different places.
It happened right when you put it in park?
I'd take the panel around the instruments off, and the panel below the steering column off, and start looking for wiring that got hung up in the shift lever mechanism. I'd also check the connectors to the ignition switch (the big one on the bottom of the steering column) and the headlight switch. Circuits on fuse 17 go through both of those...

 

being it started right after that, do you really think a wire moved and got pulled? a stock wire thats made to be there??
im not entirely sure how the top portion of the panel comes off. the one witht the vents above the steering?
the bottom one i cant get cause the trailer brakes module thats there. cant even get to the bracket to unbolt it

 

I'm just tellin' ya what I'd check... Lord only knows what previous people have wired in there.
If you get a manual, it'll have wiring diagrams, and even my cheapie Haynes manual has pretty good instructions on how to get the panels off.
Most of the trailer brake controllers have connectors in the back that can be un-plugged.
(somebody installed it, so it has to come out somehow...)

 

I just went through something similar, but I had a battery drain as well. I know nothing about wiring and tried to find it myself for about 3 wks b4 I gave up.My tran would drop into limp and stick in 2nd, I got the codes pulled and nothing came up, so I started throwing darts at the wall. After the Vehicle Speed Sensor(VSS), Manual Lever Position Sensor(MLPS),Electronic Engine Control(EEC), and Tach Sensor were all replaced by me, the problem was still happening. I ended up taking it to 3 different shops and paying about $1000. The last guy took the steering column apart and found 2 wires that were grounding out if I turned left AND hit a bump at the same time, which I do every day on my way home from work! Good Luck and welcome to FTE, listen to the advice, these guys have turned me into a decent diesel mechanic in about 2 years.I've still got lots to learn and this site can teach me. Something I did that helped was to invest in a set of original shop manuals, but these guys know all the stuff that's not in the manual!

 

well mines not a battery drain, just blowing a fuse that makes the truck go into limp mode due to the fuse it is. it still shifts to all 4 gears, just doesnt do so well when doing it. shifting by hand into 1st and 2nd works well.
i need to get a haynes book. shop books would be a good idea too.
im gonna try and get someone to help with finding the shorted wire. im not the best at wires, i can wire a few lights and train horns, but the testing and more complicated stuff i cant.

it just sucks not but 30hrs after buying it, it does this. right after i register it at dmv it all went downhill. my other truck, my exploder is also having issues right now with performance and babying a dead tranny to make it still work. although i do know exactly whats wrong with that one tho. so im not happy the new one is doing this :/

 

i would start by investigating the multi switch by the sounds of things.
you could have a bad wire or two there like srqdiesel chef had too.

this will help:
https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...-write-up.html

so what you want to do,after checking out the wires,and if not finding anything,would be to unplug that switch and try a new fuse to see if it blows.if it pops then you know that's not it.if it only pops when you plug the switch back in though,then you'll know the problem is within the switch and should be replaced.your hazards light switch is inside this multi switch.you see the button for it on the very top.


i would first start by unplugging the buzzer though,since thats even easier and then see if fuse still blows.
i think you'll find a faulty switch though,or wire troubles up there in its plug.

you don't really want to drive the truck when the E40D is shifting like this,cus it's very hard on the trans,with them late/early banging into gear shifts.this is the largest reason why these trans are known for early failure,because the owners keep driving them under such conditions until they blow up.


edit;


"i went to dmv to register it and backed up into the spot til i gently hit the curb, put it in park and the voltmeter dropped to 0 about the same time."

actually,this would make me start by investigating the wiring to the gauges.
the bezel and gauge cluster comes out pretty easy.
behind this,you'll see some plugs.you probably have bare wires there.
it's there or around that multi switch.rip her all apart.it's a lotta fun.
seriously though,it's not bad.just time consuming.take your time,you'll find it.

 

im wondering if thats why theres a 10k mile jasper replacement under there... by manually shifting between 1 and 2 i dont see an issue. its when the computer tries to do it would be a problem. right? but no im not gonna drive it


thanks for that thread. i had that cover off, but i was stuck on howto get the tilt lever out, so it dangled there. im pretty sure itll come out without removing the lower panel, as i had it almost all the way out.

where is the buzzer? the big metal fuses in the dash? and why is there 2 of them listed? #17 and #8 i think. is that the key in/door ajar/lights on-dinging?

while im at it, whats the best way to unplug the batteries? ive never had two of them before. negative > negative > positive > positive?

 

probably is the reason yes.a lot of trans shops will just tell the owners its an internal trans problem.
problem with that is,the problem is going to be there just the same after a new trans lol.so not sure how they get away with this.
i can't remember where the buzzer is.i unplug this the very first day i buy any vehicle.i do so by just opening the door to make it buzz and listen.follow the noise and unplug the plug.then im never annoyed by them god awful things.
they are always down under the dash,and almost always in the open when you look at it.
your only concerned with whats on fuse #17 since this is whats blowing.so if that's not the one,disregard.

just unhook both positives to remove power from the vehicle.

 

i found the buzzer. looked exactly like the one in my exploder so that was easy. got rid of the god awful sound.

warning buzzer/chime module is listed under 3 different fuses.
#4: warning/buzzer/chime module, exterior lamps, instrument illum., trailer exterior lamp relay
#8: courtesy/dome/cargo lamps, electric outside mirros, radio/clock memory, speedo memory, warning buzzer/chime module
#17: warning buzzer/chime module, warning indicators, gauges, tachometer, electronic transmission

im guessing it only buzzes/chimes when the other items are in use? for #17 id say itd only chime if the warning indicators are on?
but in #4s case itd only chime with the lights on, key in and door open?

 

i dunno,but don't stay too focused on that,because you reported the problem when you bumped a curb and shifted the trans.
it could be a bad MLPS too you know.have you tried scanning for codes? that's really the best place to start.cus if its a bad sensor,it'll tell you and save some time tracing wires.you just start tracing wires if no codes come up clearly showing a bad sensor.
i guess we should have mentioned that first,but these threads are all over the place for those basics first.
however i never heard of a fuse blowing due to a bad MLPS.
did you rip into the column and gauges yet? -this is probably your main focus.there's something there in that gauge pod for the trans of some sort as well.a little searching and you can learn more details about that.that could be your trouble.

 

i took that stalk out. is that what you mean by MLPS? i just had a look and all the wires as much as i can see are fine. i didnt take the top cover off the wheel or the dash trim above the wheel. just the part under the wheel.
is this truck OBD I? 99% sure cause i see the same plug my exploder has. that means i can just paperclip jump it for CEL codes.

with the dinger removed, try a new fuse in #17 and see what happens?

 

yup OBD1 for the trans.

sure.id try it for starters,but make sure ya have plenty of fuses on hand lol.
you'll probably need to dig deeper.
don't waste too much time for that.it was meant to be a little 1 minute/worth a shot in the dark,only out 1 fuse test.didn't mean to throw ya off and focus so much time on what is likely not the issue.