Day 7 and I’m only in Arizona.
the short of it. Bought the van and moved to Oklahoma
replaced radiator coolant hoses and thermostat
replaced alt&belts. Smog pump po removed
replaced fuel pump and filter
rebuilt carburetor
Replaced oil, filter and oil filter adapter
replaced muffler
Cleaned out egr plate and replaced egr valve
^ not sure about the egr valve as I don’t know what vacuum to use, not much hooked up : (
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Here’s where I am now. Outside Marana Arizona on the side of i10
replaced battery as it was overcharging and blew the top off.
replaced starter Solenoid (since I was there)
replaced voltage regulator
and went to start the truck started right up and as soon as I let that key go it shut off. Won’t stay running unless I hold the key on start. I’ve read to replace starter switch and check wires and grounds.
ordered new ignition switch and lock cylinder as well as new ecm
napa auto parts in Marana said they will bring me the parts tomorrow to the side of the interstate 🙌.
My question is could the battery blowing and me changing the starter solenoid and voltage regulator cause the ignition switch to go bad?
if not what else should I check
thank you for reading and helping.

 

Here is another diagram from my 1981 EVTM. It is the start-ignition diagram. Your ignition switch is mounted on the left side dash near the headlight switch? The 1981 is on the steering column but both years use the same duraspark Ignition control module (ICM) so the ignition wiring should be the same.. Maybe the wire colors are different..

A starting place might be the power to the ignition coil. Using the diagram for the 1981, #14 and #15 on the ignition switch supply power to the coil. When starting the engine the coil needs 12 volts which is supplied by #15, Brown, wire 262. After the engine starts and you release the ignition switch, the switch terminals swap to #14 and the power feeding the coil goes through the 1.1 ohm resistance wire red/green #16. The resistance wire reduces the 12volts down to 8 or 9 volts if I remember correctly. the coil does not need 12 volts after the engine is running and will overheat if it has constant 12 volts.
What you can do though is use a jumper wire from the battery to the Battery terminal on the coil and then try to start the engine. If it stays running then you know the problem is between the switch, resistance wire, of wire to the coil. If it runs the disconnect the jumper to cut the engine off.

If you have a voltage tester you should be able to turn the ignition switch to the run position and see if you have 12 volts at the battery terminal on the coil.. If I remember correctly, even though the power is going through the 1.1 ohm resistance wire, you will still read 12volts with a meter. If you have power to the coil then the next place to look might be then ICM.


There are two different Duraspark systems Duraspark II and Duraspark III... I am not familiar with Duraspark III system but it does have a EEC according to a diagram I have.. So the info below applies to the DS II ignition.. The information for the coil applies to both systems.
I am somewhat familiar with the DSII ignition because I had to build a new harness for one of my vans with the DS II.. That has been 5 years ago and I forgot a good bit of it!

If you notice on the diagram, the ICM also needs 12 volts from the ignition switch when in run from the same #14 feeding the resistance wire to the coil. Red with yellow stripe #640. On the diagram you can see Red and White wire coming off the top of the ignition module (ICM) The red wire coming off of the ICM changed to White at the connector. the white wire is the one feeding power from the ignition switch when it is in the run position. So you can check for 12 volts at that white wire. If yo have 12 volts at the coil and the ICM with the ignition switch in the run position then the problem is elsewhere, maybe the ICM. BUT it runs when the switch is in the start position so we can guess that the ignition coil should be good..




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BTW The ICM has a grommet where the wires come out of the module. What color is the grommet on your ICM? I have one with a Brown grommet here in front of me and when looking it up, from what I am reading the brown one is Duraspark III and was used with an ECC

I came across this list.

Red - Duraspark I (California cars 1977, California 302 V8 only, 1978-1979)
higher output, considered the module to use back in the '70s and '80s. Does
not employ a balast resistor. Senses current flow through the coil & adjusts
dwell for maximum spark intensity.
Blue - Duraspark II (49 state 1977, 50 state 1978 and later)
Yellow - Duraspark II with "dual mode" (except 1981)
White - Duraspark II with "cranking retard"
Brown - Duraspark III and other EEC controlled systems
Yellow - universal ignition module (1981)
Green - early solid state ignition (pre-1977) similar to Duraspark II, but
never popular for retrofitting, probably because the Duraspark I was
superior.

 

Just got a ride into town. Picked up the icm, starter switch and ign lock cylinder. Gotta charge my phone up. Before I try to get a ride back out to the truck. Been there 2 days now. Yes the ignition switch is located on lower left dash with lights and hvac. Not sure on the grommet yet I’ll check when I get out there. Your diagrams really help me understand how it works. I’ll update when I get the parts installed. Thanks so much

 

Not the ignition switch or ignition cylinder, put in new ones and same issue. Changed icm and she fired right up. (Btw blue grommet on icm) Drove her into town but she’s still overcharging the battery. Gonna wait tell the alternator cools down and pull it off and make sure everything is plugged in correctly. Big thanks 🙏
I’m not sure you know how good it feels to get off the side of the interstate. 2 nights sleeping there.
Will upload pic of back of alt and wiring soon.

 

You are very welcome... I am glad that you got it running and were able to get off the interstate. I hope you were in a wide area off the emergency lane? 2 Just stopping in the emergency lane can e deadly so I don't think I could have slept!

Try to clean the wires as best you can without cracking the insulation. The old wires can be brittle after years of being next to the heat from the engine. Sometimes the colors will be off due to heat, age, and grease so you might have to pull back the wrapping tape just enough to verify the wire colors. You don't have to get a pic of the color if you have to pull back the tape, just post the correct colors. That way you want need to unwrap it very far. Since the oldest book I have with me is the 1981, the wire colors may be a bit different.

Did you already change the voltage regulator?

Blue grommet... The you do not have a ECC only the ICM. The blue grommet is the most common from what I understand. Also if you had to buy an aftermarket brand ICM then I suggest that when you can, order a Mortorcraft brand ICM and they hold up much longer then parts store aftermarket brands seem to. Below are the part numbers Motorcraft has used over the years and if you search Ebay then you may be able to find one fairly cheap by searching the different part numbers individually.
MOTORCRAFT DY893, 1U2Z-12A199-AA, D9VZ-12A199-A, DY683

 

I have a question about the wiring at the starter solenoid. Is the tape melted or just damaged that covers the wire in the rectangle? If so then you desperately need to fix that before you have a fire
Also it looks like there are 3 wires coming in and one that has a spade lug that is connected to the positive battery side post of the solenoid?

What is the voltage at the battery when the engine is running?

Its hard to help diagnose some problems without being there so I am just taking little bits from your pics and putting it together.... The larger of the 3 wires should go to the batt terminal on the alternator (I believe).. It also should have a FUSE LINK in the line to protect it from burning up if.

The wire on the field terminal of the alternator should go directly to the F connector on the voltage regulator.

The S terminal on the alternator is the stator terminal and is "normally" white. I do not know what it does on your van. In my 85 it is not hooked to the regulator. Instead it goes to the electric choke heater but I do not know if your 79 used an electric choke heater.

 

The plastic looked burned. The previous owner twisted in some speaker wire to power the after market stereo and attached it on that side of the starter solinoid. It was a hack job. I removed all the speaker wire (I don’t need a stereo, and don’t need extra wires causing issues) I cut back the damaged original which was a solid (maybe copper) wire and reinstalled it to that side of the new solenoid.
The mechanic I originally had the truck with also did a hack job. The spade lug to the batt on alt was also touching the fld bolt. The fld wire was just hanging out not plugged in and the stator was plugged into the ground bolt. Not really sure how I even made it to Arizona. I’ll check the voltage in the morning. But with the way it was I was getting around 15 volts at the battery when running and it was rising so I shut her off and I took the alt off and set it up with the help of your diagrams. I’ll check the voltage in the morning and update. Thanks again

 

I seems to be working. Battery is at 12.4 to 12.8. I drove it about 22 miles and stopped and checked and battery is still at 12.between 12.4 and 12.8. But I just realized the blinkers aren’t working so gotta check that. Fuses look good and bulbs look good. Headlights work and wipers work and some light in cabin works

 

Did you check the voltage at the battery terminals while the engine is running? If the engine is running then you should read 13.6 to 14.7 I believe... A fully charged battery should read 12.6 so you are in range, but in order to charge it, the input voltage has to be higher.. Too high and it can damage the battery.
BTW did you clean the caps? They have vents in them and are not supposed to blow off if the vent is clear..

As to your lights, have you read the thread you started about the fuse block?
https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...-fuse-box.html

You showed a blown fuse and that fuse goes to the turn signals, windshield washer motor, and back up lights...

Testing the turn signal circuit may require a little studying diagrams.. The stop lights and hazard lights use fused circuit #8 while the turn signals use fused circuit #11.
The rear tail light bulbs are bulb #1157 and that same bulb is for the stop/hazard lights as well as the turn signals though they are separate circuits!

Something caused the fuse to blow to start with. Are you towing anything or is there a trailer towing connector at the rear of your RV that could be shorted out?

 

Also here is where I posted some 1981 diagrams of the turn signals to help another person...

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...l-problem.html

 

The other day when fiddling with my '78 Van, after changing the voltage regulator with engine idling I was seeing 14.6 volts.
A note here: after several years of my battery boiling over in my cj-7 jeep, I took it into the local starter / alternator shop and they said my regulator was way high, causing the battery to always seep fluid.
They said it is not uncommon to have to check 3 or 4 regulators to find one regulating to 14.5 max.

Must be nice to be off of the side of the interstate, where it is noisy for sleeping.

 

Hi Greaser007 I agree 100 % with you that the upper limits "can" cause batteries to seep and even boil out depending on the condition of the battery. I have 2 different batteries I swap around just to keep one from sitting for long periods. My new NAPA alternator puts out 14.6 to 14.7 (when checking at the terminals with the engine running) depending on the load. One of the batteries seems to collect dust and dirt around the vents while the other battery stays dry. My preferred voltage, like you, is 14.5.
I wonder if one could use the older style voltage regulator instead of the solid state ones as the older ones were adjustable..


The ideal voltage with the engine running is between 13.7 and 14.7V.
https://shop.advanceautoparts.com/r/...-voltage-range
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When the engine is turned ON, the alternator charges the battery and its voltage should be in the 13.7 to 14.7 volts range.
https://www.batteryequivalents.com/c...r-battery.html
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Here is a really good page to read about testing and they recommend just under 14.7
Exerts.
The battery terminal charging voltage must be less than 14.7 volts to prevent excessive gassing. Charging voltages over 14.7 volts can prematurely dry the battery by boiling out electrolyte, and increase risk of a battery hydrogen gas explosion.
https://www.w8ji.com/battery_and_charging_system.htm