Hey everyone,

I have an electrical problem and I am hoping you will have some advise for me. I have a 94 Bronco XLT 5.8 E4OD. I did a search and could not find what I need.

I do not have much experience with electrical things - just basic knowledge. My solenoid started having problems recently, it would not activate the starter but I could jump the starter posts with a screw driver and fire up the engine. So, I decided to replace the solenoid.

Unhooked the neg battery cable, removed the old solenoid and installed the new one. When I was tightening the nut on the solenoid post next to the battery I touched the neg battery post with the wrench briefly. I heard a click. When I finished I put neg battery cable back on, put the key in the ignition and turned it to on - not start. I have NO power anywhere.

So far I have checked battery volts - 12.6, volts to both posts on the new solenoid - 12.55, the ohms between the solenoid posts - .66 and checked all fuses, all good. So, now I am not sure what to check next.

This is my daily driver and I need to get it back on the road. Any advise will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks
Mark

 

About 90% of electrical glitches can be traced back to a ground problem. Check that you have a good clean ground first. If that is not the problem I believe but am not sure, you have a fusible link. It has been a long time since I worked on 78-79 electrical system. There are some really good mechanics that post/read here. I am sure someone will chime in with the correct solution.

 

sounds like maybe a blown fuse or somthing like that, can you still jumper across the solenoid and make it crank over?

 

Thanks for the responses guys! It is a 94 - I don't think it has fusible links but not sure. I checked all connections and they look good and are tight.

I checked the fuses and all are OK. No, I can not jump the solenoid - I have NO power anywhere. Any other ideas - I think I messed something up and not sure where to look next.

Thanks
Mark

 

im not sure about 94s but i think it sounds like a ground problem if you dont have any power? not even headlights? double check your ground to engine block make sure its clean and tight. you said you had the ground wire off and the wrench touched the ground wire or neg term on battery?

 

Yes, that is correct. I disconnected the battery ground before starting this. The wrench touched neg post on the battery for a millisecond and I heard a click. And no power anywhere, no headlights, nothing.

I will check the ground again tomorrow morning. Thanks for the help - I will report my findings tomorrow.

Mark

 

Were all wires hooked back up to their proper posts on the fender-mounted starter relay after you changed it out?

If you by error put the main power feed wire (it goes off to everything) over onto the post that goes down to the starter, then there will be no power anywhere, because the relay is de-energized, it's contacts are open like they should be.

IIRC, a wire runs from positive battery post to one relay post, the same relay post is also used as a tie-point for the wire(s) that feed 12 volts to everything but the starter solenoid (starter solenoid is mounted on the side of the starter motor).

The other relay post has the starter solenoid wiring on it, and it gets battery voltage only when the relay is pulled (energized, contacts closed).

 

Torky2,

Thanks for the reply and sorry for the confusion. I am talking about the starter relay.

I had power before with the old relay it just wouldn't crank the starter unless I jumped the relay posts with a screwdriver. This truck began life as a California Department of Forestry truck. The electrical system was modified to accommodate 2 way radio, cell phone, alarm, lights, ETC. So, when I installed the new relay I reconnected all wires the same way they were on the old relay - not stock setup. Result - NO power anywhere.

I will borrow a camera and take a couple of photos then post them that might help.

Thanks again,
Mark

 

OK, I have a photo which might help.



This is how it was connected on the previous relay. I did have power.
Yellow - wire goes down next to battery into a connection and continues toward engine, then into a wiring harness.
Green - wire turns toward front of truck, enters a wiring harness which runs behind radiator to drivers side.
Red - stock should be connected to the other post on the relay.

Would this have anything to do with the power distribution box?

 

OK... see that black rubbery plastic factory harness end that has the 2 ring terminals on it? Any chance that when you installed the new starter relay, that you inadvertantly flipped that harness end over, such that the ring terminal that was originally used in your setup, is now the end that is hanging in the air?

This is what I have as the stock setup:

The starter relay's rear-most big post has one part of the ring-terminal harness on it, bringing in 12 volts directly from the battery. Also on this relay post is a set of fusible links, 3 of them I think, that send power on to the underhood fuse box, and one of them comes from the alternator's output. Fusible links look like a lenth of wire with lumpy insulation on them.
So besides supplying power to one side of the starter relay, this post is also used as a tie-point for the alternator output and the fuse box feed.
If you look backwards down the ring terminal wire in the black plastic, it comes from the battery positive like I mentioned, but also on the battery clamp is another big red wire that goes down to the starter motor. That is the main power feed for the starter... which does nothing until the starter relay is closed, which then sends power through the starter relay to the actual solenoid which is mounted on the starter (the solenoid down there engages the starter mechanically, and also closes a big contact inside that connects power from the big red wire on battery post to the starter's motor itself).

On the starter relay's forward-most big post is the side of the black plastic ring terminal harness end that has a red wire that runs down to the starter solenoid at the starter. This wire gets power when the starter relay is energized.

I don't know if this helps, but at least you can look at what you have and compare it to what is stock to see if something is wrong.

The fact that you have:
(1) No power anywhere, and
(2) Can't get the starter motor to crank now by using the screwdriver, points towards something simple. That's why I keep thinking whether you actually have battery positive where you need it.

The battery postive harness has been known to get acid damage up inside the red insulation, and the copper wires corrode through, even though the insulation "looks" OK. This happens at/near the battery clamp. Taking the positive battery clamp off of the battery post and flexing it up and down is one way to check. If it's corroded through, it will be reeeeal easy to bend it, as the wire is gone inside at a point, just insulation left.

 

is the yellow wire ok, looks like i got cooked

 

Thanks to all of you that tried to help! It has been a stressful week because this is my daily driver. I have never gone this long without wheels for 45 years - yes I know that makes me one of the oldest FTE members but I'm damn proud of it.

hullfm - the wire the yellow arrow is pointing to is fine. I think it is just a glob of grime? Torky2 you were right - it was something simple. I believe all of you thought it was something simple. It's actually funny now - it wasn't a few days ago.

So, to make a long story short this started last Tuesday, I posted my problem hear Friday, a friend of mine is an electrician he came over to help and we started tracing wires looking for voltage, checking ohms, grounds again, ETC. You guys offered suggestions. Saturday my neighbor across the street, and friend, came over to see what was going on. He is ex-army, heavy equipment mechanic, he told us he would come over to help Sunday if we didn't figure it out. Served our country and now willing to help me. Thanks to all service men and women! And thanks to all FTE members!

Sunday morning my neighbor comes over and states "I am going to fix this"! And he did 4 hours later. After looking at the wiring diagrams I have, tracing more wires, reading the instructions, (which I did not do), he determined that most of the wires were not where they needed to be. Torky2 mine is now set up like yours. WE HAVE POWER! OK, go ahead and flame away! Like I said it is funny now and I can laugh at myself.

In my own defense I will say I did reconnect the wires exactly the way they came off the old relay. However, I DID NOT read the instructions.

Thanks again to all,
Mark

 

Hey that's great!

Yeah, sometimes when a problem is so far-reaching, the actual cause itself can be pretty simple... though it doesn't always mean the cost to fix it is low!

I figure I'm definitely one of the older people here, but I think I've got some years yet before I'm the oldest.

 

good news glad you got it going, I know how frusterating that stuff can be, sometimes you just need a little help from a friend.

 

Thanks again Torky2 and hullfm! I really appreciate it. I am sure I will have other questions in the future.

Mark