Think this might be my first post in the "What Have You Done To Your Truck Today?" thread, after buying my truck in October of 2016:

Ran new ground cables. When I got it last week, it had the negative battery cable fastened to a manifold stud. I'm used to smallblock Fords rather than inline sixes, so I got a new cable and moved the grounding point to one of the alternator bracket bolts. Not optimal, but the McParts cable terminals wouldn't fit a thick bolt for the accessory bracket holes at the passenger side front of the engine down by the pan rail, (and I didn't have a short one of those bolts) so I'll go with the alt bracket bolt for now.

And seeing as how I couldn't find a ground-strap anywhere on the firewall, I ran another cable, from that bracket bolt, back to the firewall.
I then installed an older McParts solenoid out of a '72 LTD at U-Pull-&-Pray, as the existing one had been sticking and keeping the starter running - hopefully because of the lack of body ground. Afterward, I drove the truck around and the starter never stuck, so hopefully that's fixed. Unfortunately, the previous owner or his mechanic changed out the original ignition lock cylinder/switch chasing the problem.

My gauge lights were dim, (including after I did the grounds) and the turn signal indicators were out, so I pulled the cluster, and cleaned all of the lighting contacts with some sand paper. I sanded the copper contacts on the Instrument Panel Printed Circuit Board until they were shiny, (they had been dark and cruddy) and then slightly bent up the metal contacts in the bulb holders and sanded them. I then cleaned the working light bulbs, grabbed some more out of the house, and put all of the bulbs back in. Lastly I sanded the copper contacts on the IC PCB where the wiring harness plugs into it.
The gauge lights are brighter, but still slightly dim. Still, it's readable now.
I also changed the passenger side rear marker light - by reaching up through the bottom of the bed, because the screws are frozen... By now, I think that the only light not working on the truck is the driver side reverse lamp. That lens's screws are stuck too...
I also got my dome light working, but it only comes on with the headlight switch, and not when the doors are open, even though there is a switch in the driver's door jamb - didn't check the passenger side. And the switch in the driver's door jamb is a metal one like from the '80s, rather than the large dark plastic cylinder.
I capped off the day by gluing the mirror button from that '72 LTD, to the windshield of the truck. Tomorrow I'll mount the LTD's mirror. It's exactly the same as what was in the truck, except the the truck's was lying on the floor broken - and its mirror glass had been in better shape.

Tomorrow I will go back to U-P-&-P and snag the high beam switch from the LTD and put it in the truck, as the truck's switch seems to not click, and yield either low beams or no beams...


Look at how pristine that blue paint toward the top of the choke stove riser is!


And my truck:

 

I bent the reverse light switch bracket back to where the column linkage will push in the switch when in reverse.

 

Today I did a bunch of little things.
My heater/defrost lever and cable were stiff, so I squirted a little PB Blaster into each end of the cable, and worked it back and forth. It's still squeaky and not as smooth as it was 40 years ago, but it is a little better.
The temperature selector lever and cable were stiff, and disconnected from the crank-lever deal at the bottom of the heater box. So I sprayed some PB Blaster into that cable, and bent the end of the cable so that it would travel more smoothly, and stay on the crank lever. So now my temperature selector works!
I then turned my attention to the driver side door light switch. I unbolted it from the door jamb and pulled it out and inspected it. I discovered that the contacts are visible when the switch is open, (which is when the door is closed) so I messed around with it until the dome light came on. I then held the switch open, and sanded all of the contacts with some folded sand paper. Light comes on every time now!


The passenger side switch is AWOL, so there's one for the U-Pull-&-Pray list.

I then removed my driver side tail light lense and discovered that my inoperative back-up lamp is a result of a broken contact inside the socket, and that the bulb is fine. Another one for the U-Pull-&-Pray list...

I then investigated my floppy passenger side headlight. The upper/side adjuster screw was disengaged from the bulb bucket, and would not unthread when I turned it. I then broke the clip for the bottom adjuster screw while turning it. Think I might have a couple of those squirreled away, if not, I'll just hit up the McParts store.
Then I cleaned my mirrors and the insides of my windows.

I then turned my attention to the carb. The PO told me that they had put another carb on it, so that's often a red flag. The carb seems to work well, but the choke was inoperative. I messed around with it, and figured out how it works the fast idle cam. I turned the bi-metal spring housing until I got the blade to move, and then set it closed. Then I straightened the lever to the fast idle cam so that a closed choke plate will push the cam down to where the screw on the throttle arm will catch/engage it. I will need to devote many more cold starts to getting all of that dialed in... When I got it, the wire to the choke was disconnected. I'm not sure if the choke plate was opening quickly enough or all the way, so I plan to test for continuity from the choke connector to the terminal on the alternator which I can't remember...
I capped it all off by changing the oil.

I then went for a drive!

Only things I can think of which don't work on the truck now, are that driver side back up lamp, (needs socket) the horn, (relay AWOL) and the passenger side door switch (AWOL).
When I got it there was a rear marker light out, numerous lights out in the gauge cluster, the dome light didn't work at all, the speedometer didn't work, and the starter solenoid was hanging up.

 

I hit up You-Pull-&-Pray and grabbed a passenger side door light switch from an early mid '90s F250, and a back-up lamp socket and pigtail from a first-gen Ranger extended cab which had had its roof cut off - and not EMS style either! It looked like someone made theirself a convertible! I also nabbed a speedometer gear from an '82 F250, but I think that it's not the one I want.

So last week I'd found the wires and connector for my passenger side door switch under the dash, and today I carefully snaked them back through the hole in the door jamb. I was lucky (and somewhat skilled) and got it through in two minutes or less. I then plugged in the switch and threaded it into the cab. I already knew it worked, because I'd plugged it in when the wires/connector were still hanging down under the dash...

Then I pulled my driver side tail light lens and bared a small spot on each of the wires to the back-up lamp. I wrapped the wires from the Ranger's socket/pigtail around my truck's bared wires, and taped them up - after I determined that there was room in there for the original, now unused, socket as well. I don't like cutting wires. The Ranger socket went into the dentside housing fine, but didn't tighten up when twisted. Still, it will do for a while.
I also picked up some headlight adjusters (which I hope are the right ones) and license plate screws at O'Reilly's.
So now every light works on my truck except for the seat belt light and the brake warning light.
Don't they illuminate with the Key On and Engine Off, and then turn off with the Key On and Engine Running? Mine don't come on at all, but I know that the bulbs are good and I believe that I tested their continuity all the way to the end of the Instrument Panel Printed Circuit Board - where the wiring harness plugs in. Is there a "prove out" period where the stay illuminated for a few seconds, once the engine is running?

Would the seat belt light not illuminate because the buzzer has been removed?

Would the brake light not illuminate because the switch is broken off and hanging under the truck?





Is that what this is? I discovered that when changing my oil yesterday.

Other than that, i drove my dentside close to 100 miles today!

 

This '77 F150 is eerily similar to my old '68 Cougar, in the technology sense!
I forgot to look closely at the proportioning valve today, but no biggie. It's not like I have to put it on jackstands or anything...

What I did do today was install my McParts headlight adjusters on the passenger side. They aren't the right size to clip in, but are large enough to not pull through, so I snugged them down, and noticed that the aim was pretty close, when I drove home tonight.

I also fiddled with the choke. If it opens too far, it hangs up, but I also suspect that it's not getting the proper AC voltage from the alternator post which I still haven't remembered the designation of... I'll look it up though. I tested it for AC voltage - if grounding the meter to the negative battery post is how it's done - and got no voltage. The wire runs from the female spade terminal on the choke to a brown plastic connector which houses another spade-style terminal. That one plugs in to its corresponding connector, which is hanging from a wire which hangs down out of a harness - I think it's the harness which goes into the near center of the firewall. Who knows if it's right or wrong? Another thing I noticed is that there were one or two unused terminals on my alternator, so maybe I should just look for the one which came from the choke... It's probably cut off short. The factory Ford alt connector is long gone, and there are now ring terminals. I think I can see slight movement of my ammeter needle. I've never tested the voltage, but it seems to charge fine.
I also pondered over the rusted bullet nuts securing the clamp on my driver side mirror. The nuts are frozen, and the mirror is too loose. Someone drilled a hole in the tube, so I drove a screw in, in order to hold the mirror at a good height, and for now I have a paper clip to hold the mirror against the tubing near the cab, and that gives me a proper view. I just need to get those nuts loose and shift or replace the friction pad between the tubing and the mirror clamp.
I then drove it over to my friend's shop, to show it off. He liked it and told me he has an F250 his Grandfather bought new, in the same color as mine, but it's been sitting outside, and had parts robbed off of it.
When I got home, my domelight lens had arrived, so I went and popped it in, for a fully functional domelight which had zero functionality a week ago...

 

Yesterday I troubleshooted my non-working horn. When I bought the truck, the wires from the horn switch weren't even connected to the steering wheel. I connected them, but already knew it wouldn't work, because there also was no horn relay, so I crimped some male spade terminals onto the wires from a socket and relay out of a Ford at the junk yard, plugged it in, and had a horn.
Then I used it one night and it worked, and then the next time I went to use it, it didn't work. I messed around with it and second-guessed how I had the relay plugged into the truck's socket/plug. Then a few nights ago, I got serious and jumpered the 12+ and wire-to-the-horn, at the relay connector, and the horn sounded. Today I brought the relay in the house and tested it with power from a phone adapter, and determined that it was good. So I put it in the truck, and still no horn. I connected my meter, set to continuity, to what I thought was a good ground, and to the wire from the wheel/switch at the relay connector, and tried pushing the horn buttons, but no chirping from the meter. I thought my connection might've been suspect, so I kept digging. I pulled the switch/pad from the wheel, and it was connected as it should be. Next I tried testing the steering wheel hub for continuity to ground, and got nothing. "It has to be that ground jumper on the rag-joint," I thought. So I got up and looked at it, and sure enough, one of the ring terminals had snapped off, where the wire connects.
I started making another, but it started raining, and was getting dark. I will finish it up soon though.

Before all of this, I used the truck to move the last of my stuff from my old place.


I let it sit today, because last night it blew the main fusible link, causing me to get a ride home and do some googling. Of course the hits were all this site, and I got a better idea of what it could be, so I went back to the truck (at 1:00 AM...) and straight wired it and drove it straight home. Forgot to pick up a new one tonight...
And I'd just been bragging to a buddy that I now had everything working on the truck...

However, what I did do over the previous days prior to yesterday was to remove my malfunctioning headlight switch, and spray it with WD40. I then cleaned the terminals on the switch, and on its wiring harness. I also made sure to get the switch fastened tightly to the dash, as it was loose when I got the truck.
So I was rewarded with still slightly brighter gauge lights! They are starting to get close to being as bright as they were 40 years ago.
And I haven't had the breaker in the switch trip, with the low beams on, since! But the headlights will still still start flashing if I leave the high beams on too long.

Then I went through my stash of relays from the Fords at U-Pull-&-Pray, and found a newer style orange plastic E5xx-something three-terminal relay with socket/harness, and crimped on some male spade terminals, and plugged in that baby in place of my MIA horn relay. It worked, although I unplugged it while panic-mode-troubleshooting the no-power condition caused by the fusible link...
I also pulled my steering wheel, and oriented it properly.

 

I installed a new fusible link in place of the straight wire which I put in when the old fusible link blowed.

Then I drove it 20 or 30 miles to buy a 28 foot ladder, which it then hauled the 20 or 30 miles home!

 

From a few days later:
I installed a driver side front marker light, as my old one was cracked. I then installed some new-to-me windshield washer discharge tubes/jets along with their hoses and the F connector, as my existing ones were clogged by a repaint, and the F connector was broken.
I also installed a Seatbelt Warning Indicator Switch which attaches to upper 'kick' panel up behind the dash, near one of the flashers. It plugs into the orange connector with four wires, and now my seatbelt warning light goes though the prove-out. It didn't add a warning buzzer. This module doesn't look big enough for one, and that's fine with me. The brake light however seems to be burnt out - coulda sworn it looked good when I went through the cluster... I am going to get in there and check that brake warning light bulb.
I also tried removing what's left of my old brake pressure warning switch from the junction block, but it was dark and I wasn't making any headway. I'll try again tomorrow, because I have a new-to-me BPW switch waiting in the wings...

 

I went after my broken Brake Warning Lamp switch. The top was plugged into the wire harness connector, and the bottom was threaded into the metering/proportioning/pressure differential valve.
So I took a flat blade screwdriver, and heated it with a torch, and then pushed it down through the threaded stub in the PV. I then let it cool down and set up, and simply unscrewed/unthreaded it on out!
I figured this might work, because I experimented with some torch-heated implements, and the other half of the switch, which had been plugged into the wiring harness...


New-to-me switch went right in.

 

I cracked loose all four of my brake bleeders, to see if they would open.
Then I took a pic of the jack retainer bracket I got at the junkyard:

 

Finally got my brake warning light to come on for its prove out. Bad connection at the brown two wire connectors near the driver side hood hinge. It makes contact when it's half plugged in, but not when fully plugged in. More attention is required.

But now the only electrical item which doesn't work is the cigarette lighter, and I don't smoke or use gizmos which plug into the socket, so I can live with that for a while.
So on mine, the brake warning light proves out when the key is turned to start, and the seatbelt warning light is on a timer, and comes for 5-or-so seconds on when the key is first turned to run.

I then used the truck to haul a file cabinet, a desk chair, a steamer trunk, some pots and pans, a Char-Broil grill, some lawn chairs and a small table, a couple of tool boxes and a bar stool, about two miles. No way I could've fit all of that in a car. The truck didn't feel like it noticed the load...

 

I unfastened my radio antenna from the cowl, pulled it out and fished out the cable. No wonder I hadn't been able to find it behind the dash.
The antenna is curious, because the truck has no radio to the point of having a radio-delete dash bezel, like it never had a radio.
I got one out of a '96 Probe, (AM/FM/cassette/clock) and hung it under my dash last week. I had been using a long wire in the cab for an antenna.
So I removed the rubber access plug (which crumbled) from behind the glove box, and fished the cable into the cab.
I then sanded the contacts on the antenna's plug before plugging it into the radio, and it's now getting better reception sitting in my driveway. We'll see what it does when out on the road.
Yesterday I used the truck to haul home a rust-free roof and a spare tire carrier.

 

I fixed my rear axle vent.
Last night I was driving it, and I noticed a gear-oil smell. I figured it was the transmission, but it looked OK, as did the engine. Finally, I thought to check the insides of the rear tires, and there on the driver side was my leak. I googled the problem and didn't like what I saw.
The one thing I saw which I didn't hate, was the advice that if your axle seals are leaking, you should check your axle housing vent. Today I did, and it was clogged. When I unbolted it, there was the hiss of pressure escaping... It was so clogged that I couldn't poke it free. So I used a drill. The hose had torn off, so I removed what was left, and popped on some hose from the bottom of an old Explorer 5.0 intake manifold, which should suffice for now.
I just hope that my axle seals aren't totally shot.
Now I gotta get in the left rear brake with some brake parts cleaner and sandpaper.

It's been a year since I typed this, and still no more leakage!

 

Put a new ground strap on my rag joint, so now my horn should work once again. I guess that little wire did a lot of grounding while the truck had no body ground, before I got it...



I then pulled my driver side left rear brake drum and cleaned everything with some brake parts cleaner and sanded the shoes. The axle housing had relieved itself through that seal... I already fixed the axle housing vent last week.

Then I messed around with my brake proportioning valve assembly and kind of freed up the metering valve plunger thing. I had begun to suspect that the plunger was stuck in the "out" position, so I tried tapping on it and sure enough, it went in. I worked it back and forth a bit, and left it in the "in" position. I guess they can get gummed up? I can clean that.
It stays where ever I leave it, so I left it in, as the truck's GVW is 6050 lbs. I bled the brakes several weeks ago, so I guess I'm good there because the plunger was out. I couldn't get the plunger to move at that time.

I am itching to throw the battery in it and test my horn, and see if I feel any difference in the braking.

Yesterday I used it to haul a nice little bed-full of garbage off my property.

 

Today I changed out my speedometer driven gear. The truck has a three-speed manual with a 3.00:1 rear end, but someone put 235/75/15s on there, and I think they are taller than what Henry first put on it 40 years ago.
I'd had the gear out when I first got the truck, and was ferreting out the cause of my non-working speedo. (Disconnected at the head.) When I had it out, I saw that it was an off-white color, so I assumed it was the same as the one I saved from my old '92 Mustang GT.
I had one other extra driven gear, so today I went ahead and pulled the cable out of the trans, and removed the gear. The truck's gear is more of a tan color and has 19 teeth. The gear from the Mustang has 18 teeth and they are pitched in the correct direction, so I figured it was at least a step in the right direction. It is an off-white color too. Side by side, the one of them looked yellow compared to the other. I made sure the teeth were facing the same direction and put it on the cable and into the trans, and went for a short drive., Now my speedo seems much more accurate. It registered about 8 MPH slow before, but now seems to read slightly fast. I'll have a better idea of its accuracy when I drive it farther, and on the highway.