Hi my name is Brian.
I've been raised on Ford products, and have raised my own family Ford products.
I am currently doing a customization and repair job to my Fathers 1990 f-250 w/ 5.0... I know it's not the most amazing truck that was ever put out by Ford. truth be told it wasn't worth $50 at the scrap yard when I finally bought it from my mother after my father had passed away. I bought it from her because she needed the money, and the truck had value in memories to me plain and simple.(I'm sure those who went fishing, camping, hunting, firewooding, borrowed their dads truck for prom, etc.. with their dad in a ford know what I'm talking about.)
anyways... I'm having a problem and I'm kind of at a lost for what to look for next..I can not get the truck to run.. I drove it to where it sits now and it was running great. when I discovered that I had a problem it I thought I had ignition(firing) problem. when I would try and start the truck, it would fire for about 2 strokes then just crank and crank until I turned the ignition completely off and then it would do it again.
I have replaced the ignition coil, ignition control mod., that didn't work.
so I decided to go after a fuel problem... I replaced the fuel pump and the fuel pump relay, and it still didn't work. I've looked for additional blown fuses (none-found) however I did find that the short peace of wiring harness/ plug behind the fuel tank selector switch had melted/sorted to the switch back.
my question is: could that be where my problem is
or is there a emergency fuel shut off switch(collision sensor) somewhere that I could have an issue with? are their any other suggestions?

 

Welcome to FTE Brian! Sorry to hear about your dad. Don't think anyone ever gets completely over losing their parents.

One thing that will help lots from the git go is to post your questions in the forum for that particular year truck. Maybe a moderator can move this?
If we can get this post to the correct forum then folks who are familiarized with this exact flavor of Ford can get you running. Definitely a short or fusible link can cause this.

 

Moved to 87-96 forum.


Welcome, Brian

 

Thank you for sending me to the right groups... I am new to this sight and don't understand it completely yet..Thanks also for your comment about my father.

 

Hi and my condolences to you as well on your father Brian.
Hopefully folks will chime in with some answers soon.

 

Welcome to the site, Brian.

My first question would be, have you tried pulling any codes from the truck to see if it already knows what's wrong? You can get an Equus 3145 code reader for under $20 from most parts stores or online somewhere. And that would definitely be cheaper than throwing parts at the truck until it's fixed. There are also methods of getting codes without a reader, that I'm sure are on Youtube. Search something like "reading ford obd1 codes without reader".

Hope this gets you on the right track!

 

Welcome Brian. Very sorry about your father. I share the same story as I lost my dad at 52 years old and couldn't bear to see his truck get scrapped. I, however, transplanted the whole power train from older trucks.
Now onto your prob, we need to find out what's missing. Fuel+air+spark=fire every time. First thing to check on the cheap is fuel. There is a cap just like a valve stem on a tire on the fuel rail where it sticks out from under the intake. Screw the cap off, turn your head and prob wear safety glasses, and push the button in with a screwder. If nothing comes out then turn the key on/off a couple times to cycle the pump and try again. Btw, you should hear the pump cycle when u do this. If u have gas, move on. If not, write us back.
Next check for spark. You can have someone crank it while you pull a plug wire off. It may stop your heart and will definitely make you say some un-Godly things, but you will know. Safer, get a used plug or pull one, put it back into the plug wire, lay it on the block or something well grounded, and hit the switch. It should arc loud and bright white/blue. An even safer method is a cheap spark tester from (insert sucky auto parts store here) or northern/harbor. We need to take a break now so let me know what you find.

 

The code reader is prob a good idea, I just never had any luck on obd1 vehicles. Also, if you are working on your own, you can make your own remote starter. You have to turn the key on for ignition then basically jump the small top/center wire on the solenoid (beside the battery) to the big wire coming from the battery. We do it with screwders but to be safer you can buy a starter button from one of those stores I mentioned earlier. Just be careful because your button won't cut it off!

 

Welcome to the site!

My condolences about your Dad.

If you can, definitely get that equus code reader. It puts the codes on a display for you so you don't have count flashes.

The tank selector switch may be a culprit, but pulling the codes is your best first step.

Your truck should have a fuel pump inertia switch. Look behind the brake pedal on the firewall. It should be in that area. It may be up toward the dash somewhat on the firewall.

 

thank you all very much for your comments concerning my father.. and also thank you for the info and advice.. i'll get after it and repost my findings. thank you all again.

 

Hey Brian, welcome to FTE! Sorry to hear about your Dad, just know he would be proud to see you get his truck running again.

So, as mentioned above, you need fuel+air+spark to run, but also you need exhaust! I don't think you have a problem with plugged exhaust though, it actually sounds like a fueling issue. How old is the gas in there?

Also, seeing if fuel sprays out the test port on the fuel rail is a good initial check, but you'll need to put a fuel pressure gauge on it to get the entire picture. You can have all the flow you want, but if the pump can't make enough pressure then she ain't gonna run no matter what.

Checking codes is also a good idea, as the others suggested.

But before you do any of that, yes the melted wiring at the fuel selector switch could easily cause a problem. Get that taken care of first, and keep us posted.