Ok - so I admit I'm new to the restoration game and I've never rewired a truck before.

Well I took my time with a EZ Wire 21 circuit kit and I was so excited to finally crank her up and beem with pride. I put the key in, turned it and the voltage gauge came to life showing 12 volts. Hmmm I don't hear the electric fuel pump, must just be the new insulation and strap, sure is quiet. So the moment comes and I push the start button......nothing.......I push it again.......nothing. Hmmmm is that burn't copper I smell. I pull out the start switch and manually touch the wires (heck it could be the buttons bad)......spark and the copper glows red. Yep that's copper I smelled. Well I disconnected the battery and now I don't know were to begin to troubleshoot the problem. Help

 

Welcome to the forum. Disconnect everything but the essentials, ignition. Verify you have good heavy grounds between engine and frame and cowl and frame. Everything must be bonded or you run risk of grounding thru a 'hot' wire. Might help to know the configuration you're working with.
Find where the wire you let the smoke out of was routed.

 

Craig, Welcome to FTE. What year is your truck? Was the wire hot with the ignition off? Did it get hot only after pushing or while pushing the start button?

 

No wasn't hot with ignition switch off.

 

Sorry guys - truck is a 55 f100, 351 Windsor, 12 volt system.

 

OK, I've never seen a '55 wiring diagram. And my truck is 6 volts positive ground. But a starter button is a starter button, I think. Mine sends ground to the starter relay, and is not in the circuit with the ignition switch. So, if you have a wiring diagram, check to see what the starter button is supposed to be connected to, and see if it is correctly wired.

But I believe '55 is 12 volts negative ground and the ignition/start circuit may be a whole different animal, so I'll butt out.

 

Thanks Ratasch - I'll have to start troubleshooting next weekend. I think I may have the switch wired incorrectly as I'm not getting power to anything but the voltage gauge and the start button.

 

Welcome Craig!

Sounds to me like one of the wires to your start switch is either tied directly to ground, or your starter relay or soleniod is miswired. I am going to ask you an extremely dumb question here, but I am assuming you are using a starter relay. I knew a guy one time who didn't and tried to drive the starter directly from the start button. He had the same thing going on. The starter demands so much current, it will burn up the start wire, and the button too! Try this, take a test light and a couple of aligator test leads, and try to connect across your start switch. When you turn on your key, you should see your test light illuminate brightly. If you do, now disconnect the wires to your starter relay and see if the light goes off. If so, you found the problem. Double check the wiring now to the starter relay. If it's the stock type that is bolted to the passenger side of the fire wall, make sure the small terminal marked "S" wire goes to your start button. The other small terminal marker "I" goes to the + terminal of your coil. Verifly the wiring is correct at the relay. If you pull the "S" and "I" connections off the relay and the test light doesn't go off,then you are connected to ground some where else, and you'll need to trace out the color and maybe the marked wire number (if EZ uses those) and track down where it's grounded to. You may need to pull off all of your grounds, but I'm thinking what may of happened is you accidentially connected the wire that is supposed to run from the start button to the starter relay somewhere else. And the grounded wire that runs to the start button now, is supposed to be connected somewhere else. What is suppose to happen when you press the start button current flows through the button into the start relay coil windings. One side of those coil windings are already grounded through the mounting of the relay, the magnetic field of those windings pull in a heavy current handling switch, which then provides battery voltage to the soleniod and starter motor. Just try to break the circuit down into small pieces and you will find it!

 

Someone please place one of Julies wiring diagrams here. I don't know where they are located. They are good prints. chuck

 

are julie's diagrams still around or have they been banished?

 

I found this on Earls World, I think it is a 6 volt, pos grnd, on a 56 It may at least give you an idea of what it was stock b4 the 12v coversion to neg gnd? Ill continue to search for a 55 12v, neg gnd.

 

Here is one marked 55 f100, doing a search on FTE (55 schematic) and then there is an option Ive never seen b4 called " imigages " Its got alot of old schematics, cool.

 

Sorry that picture did not size, but its in the search i spoke of, if you need it.

 

Thanks -exactly what I needed a good place to start. No dumb questions when your talking to a dummy. Yes I have the ignition switch wired to the relay which then goes to solenoid. Should this wire go directly from ignition switch to solenoid and then to relay? It's a two prong porcelain relay, the other prong goes to the positive on the coil. Using the color ez wire harness I have the purple and black hooked up to the starter button.

 

Thanks under thebridgejim - I actually found this prior to my troubles and used as a reference.....