I have an '88 E-250 with no power to accessories. Was starting fine but now no power to anywhere but the ignition light that is below and to the left of the steering wheel. No headlights or radio. Checked my fusible links but just visual so gotta get the meter out there and start poking around. Only thing I did different before it started this was take loose the ground wire holding strap that holds the middle of the ground wire to the body but I didn't think this was an actual ground spot but I could be wrong.

Earlier I reinstalled that strap and took out the ignition switch. I noticed that the radio turned on when I turned the key to acc. but not when I turned it to run. Would the headlights run through this ignition switch on the column? I have power to the yellow wires coming into the switch and the ground is good. I checked the fusible links I could find out in the engine bay and all tested good but could've missed some. Fuses in the box looked good but don't know if there is a master fuse box for bigger fuses but I don't see one.

1988 E-250 5.8 auto.

 

Headlights do not run through the ignition switch. I would check your connections at the starter relay where all the power comes from for the vehicle. Also get someone to try and start it while you are holding a meter on the battery. If the voltage drops on the battery when they turn the key there is something wrong with the battery.

 

Tried 2 different batteries and checks at the wires to see if a bad connection. Nothing. The relay wires make direct contact with each other and there is power to em cause I checked the fusible links and they had power. I think I'm gonna have to find a wiring diagram and do some tracing.

 

The ignition switch does have power coming to it.

 

This is very important; Make sure you always check for voltage with a load on the circuit. In other words, when you are checking for power at the ignition switch, put your meter on the yellow wire(that's power coming into the switch), put your other lead on ground, and then spring the switch to start before you check the meter. If the voltage disappears when you spring the switch over, you know you have a poor connection somewhere.

Most of the time this means you can't do some of the checks without someone helping you. I am afraid if you do not follow this procedure, you are never going to find the problem.

 

Yeah I used a screw driver to see if I had a connection at load and also if I had a connection there. But like you said the headlights don't go through there so it shouldn't matter. I'm leaning toward a ground issue. Maybe the main ground from the battery is connecting but not under any load. I've checked with my meter and the kid in the van to turn the switch and there was no drop on voltage on the cables at the battery (not the posts). This van sits alot so there could be some corrosion but I had started it about a month earlier with no issues. I really hate electrical gremlins.

 

If you suspect a ground, keep your + lead on the battery +, but move your black meter lead over to the sheetmetal somewhere(scrape the paint off). And again, use your helper to spring the switch to start and then check it.

If you don't have it or lose it with the switch sprung over, move your black lead to the engine block and try again.

If you still lose it on th engine block, that would point to a bad ground cable from the battery to the block. If you only lose it on the sheetmetal ground, that would point to a bad ground connection on the ground strap from the engine to the sheetmetal.

Most of the trucks had a ground strap from one of the bellhousing bolts to the firewall sheetmetal. I am not sure how they did it on the vans. But since the engine/trans/rearend are all mounted in rubber mounts, and the main ground wire goes to the engine block, this ground strap is very important.

 

I turned on the headlights for a load so I didn't need a helper and figured out it was a ground issue. Checked em and they all seemed good and good connections. Made a quick jumper from the battery negative to the radiator support and bam everything worked and it started right up. So I made a permanent engine to frame wire (never could find the factory one). I also made the negative terminal to body wire permanent. I thought it was the negative wire to the motor but with just adding the wire from the end of it on the motor to the frame it still did fine (no wire from battery terminal to body up top). So for now I'm up and running but really wish I could find the factory strap from the motor to the frame and replace it.

 

On the trucks the factory took some of the insulation off the large negative battery cable, and put a metal band around it and bolted it to the frame. Then they usually had a cable running from the rear intake or the bellhousing bolts to the firewall. But a van is probably different.

Running new grounds is not a big deal if they work. Just make sure you have a ground from the block to the body sheetmetal. The body is mounted to the frame through isolated rubber mounts, so even though you have grounded the frame, the body needs a ground also.

The engine/tranny/rear springs are all mounted in rubber mounts, that's why you had to run the wire to the frame.

 

There is a strap on the negative that I unhooked to move the wire cause I had the wrong battery in there and that was the start of the issues. I rehooked that bracket on the negative wire to the body but it didn't help. I may need to clean it off some. I made a wire from the negative post to the body. So put on two new ground wires.