Hey guys, I'm having some trouble with my truck. Ever since I bought it about 9 years ago it has never liked starting in cold weather. Below 35 F and it has a major problem. It was doable, I'd plug in the block heater, and it would be fine for the day. But that seems to have changed. Now it's dying even after being plugged in.

1988 F-250, 7.3L diesel, Auto. 2 new batteries last winter. New alternator last winter as well as the external voltage regulator. New glow plugs last fall as well. Don't have a meter, so I can't test.

This might be something, but I'm not sure. The ignition has been weird. (Tilt steering) Sometimes after starting the truck the turn signals and heater would not work. Turning off and restarting usually fixed it. Until the other day, now they don't work at all. I have also noticed that the steering column would get hot. I bought a new ignition and will be replacing it tomorrow hopefully.

To keep it rolling for now I disconnected the batteries day before yesterday while it sat overnight. Hooked them up in the AM, and it started, a bit reluctantly. Tried that again today and no-go. Dead batteries.

Is it grounding out somewhere? I did change all the terminals and cables a few years ago, but I am going to check them again. Is this the likely culprit?

Thanks.

 

Are you sure the batteries are dead? You should probably pick up a voltmeter to be able to actually troubleshoot this. Otherwise you are going to be doing an awful lot of guessing.

Sounds like the ignition switch or the linkage is causing some problems, and could be shorting/grounding out in the column as well. I know someone posted a real nice set of instructions for tearing apart the steering column to replace the ignition switch.

Make sure you read the sticky at the top about the glow plugs, there's two, you'll want the one for the later style system. While that might not be the main problem at the moment, its likely an underlying issue if you've had trouble since buying the truck.

 

Electrical problem. Look for a box on Ur steering colum that a rod runs to

 

definitely sounds like you have a short in the column.
also how is you starter?
here is a set of good starter verses bad starter videos..
a bad starter can draw enough power to kill the batteries without starting the truck.


https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/s...26&postcount=5

 

Tjc I watched your videos about good starter vs bad...... and I had the same issue knowing that mi e was failing I tried to get my truck started one day and is was spining so slow.that the hot and grounds caught on fire in less than 25sec of cranking scared the **** out of me.... I put the fire out melted all 4 cables... went and bought a starter and knew cables redid the works!!!!! After I was done I was like holy **** I should of done this 4 years ago when I bought my truck.... man what a diffrence in the rpm that the motor rotates with a new starter!!!!! Like night and day

 

i never realized the starter was bad till it locked up on me in a fuel station 2 miles form home. i was able to get it fired up by having the mechanic turn the key while i whomped on the starter case with a small hammer.
after i put the new one in it was like dang!! that thing has been bad for a long time!!

 

I think my truck needs a new starter after watching your vids tjc, so my question is what starter do I go with?

 

i got around 220,000 miles out of the original starter, then i put a db electric in it that i bought off evilbay for $98
i got about 170,000 miles out of that one, but had the original rebuilt by a local guy up the road that has been in business for over 70 years after i took it out.
that one has been in it for about 100,000 miles now and still spins like new. the db electric starter has also been rebuilt by him and is sitting on the spare parts shelf waiting to go back in when the one in there now dies.

 

Alright, thanks for all your responses. The starter seems fine, the glow plugs I may have to check into more.
Sorry for not replying sooner, when I made the original post I was very busy with the last week of college before break, then was away for the holiday, and blah blah...
I just bought a multimeter, so hopefully I can start to figure out my problem. I may be back on here for advice in the meantime.
But I have a new problem that just happened! I got home and plugged in the block heater, which sent a charge thru the whole truck! I touch it and can feel a current. What the heck is this? Any tips? I'm asking here first because it's 17°F outside with ice and snow on the road, I have no garage and on-street parking. Crawling around in that right now doesn't seem fun.
Thank you.

Edit: I have changed the ignition since the original post, and that did not seem to help the draw and no heater and turn signals. It did fix my sticky ignition though

Edit 2: I have done some more searching and the block heater/shocking problem is likely the block heater cord rubbed through somewhere or a bad extension cord ground/third terminal.

 

oh, i love that "hot truck" syndrome - as you suspect, its probably a wire worn through and grounding out, and the tires insulate the truck from the pavement well enough that it doesn't blow the circuit on the house end.
it would be best to replace the cord on the block heater, but if that isn't practical, find every point that shows any sign of wear and give it a good layer of electrical tape.
if that doesn't help, you could always add an aftermarket block heater into the heater hose and use it instead of the original one.

but on second thought, you should start by trying a different extension cord that you know is good - i plugged my truck into a bad cord once that made it hot like that, and everything on my end was fine. i believe the cord must have had a missing ground prong plus a short somewhere between hot and ground to make this happen.

 

I did find a severe wear spot on the truck's block heater cord. After a cut and re-do all seems well.

Now to track down my no heat/no turn signals and battery drain in the cold. I'm at a loss with electrical, so this should be good and frustrating.

 

Alright, I think I have a lead on my no heater and no turn signals. From what I've been reading on this site and a little bit of google searching, it could be the ignition switch plug, which I think 1989f250IDI was getting at. I replaced the key ignition because it has been giving me grief, but looks like I need to get at that plug.
I am unsure of where it is exactly - after some looking under the dash I see a plug box on top of the steering column, up and kinda behind the dash cluster stuff. It's white, rectangle shaped. Many wires. There are lots of these plugs under the dash, so I'm hoping for a little direction to make sure I'm getting at the right one!
Thank you!

Is this the correct part? Duralast/Ignition Switch Connector (434) | 1988 Ford F250 3/4 ton P/U 2WD 8 Cylinders M 7.3L Diesel | AutoZone.com

 

Yup the ignition switch is ontop of the steering coulum. Its mount with 2 10mm nuts...

 

Awesome, thank you. Hopefully I will update with working heater and turn signals..

 

with the truck running check voltage at the heater fuse. then check the voltage with the heater on. if there is more than a 1 volt drop, you have a problem with the wiring.
the 88 and early 89's had a bad wiring harness connection at the fuse box. the main power input for the heater, blinkers, brake lights, and a few other things is through a 8 gauge wire, and over time it starts deteriorating and you loose the connection.
by the time i eliminated mine, there were only 4 strands of wire left connected. i replaced the fuse for the heater and other things with a 25 amp maxi fuse i wired in the circuit.
when i swap the cab i am going to try to repair the fuse box properly.