Electric issues, stranded, please help!!
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5th Wheeling
Joined: Sep 2016
Posts: 36
Likes: 0
Electric issues, stranded, please help!!
I'm driving a 1989 F350 Lariat XLT. It's the 7.3 IDI with a 5-speed manual.
i replaced alternator and voltage reg because i was only getting 12.6 volts with the truck idleing, it pushed up to 13 volts when revved. The truck didn't have glow plugs working so I re-soldered and fixed glow plugs, with new GP relay, have checked and they work properly and it starts easy in sub 10 degrees. Also cut and spliced a new trailer plug directly into wiring under driverside frame. I had camper lights finally!
Before any of that work i had electrical issues in the cab:
1 heater gauge illumination light goes on and off by moving the temp dial.
2 the headlight switch has a small sweet spot you need to find in order for running lights and headlights to be on. In the wrong position only headlights come on.
3 my key ignition is sticky and the key needs to be rotated back to stop engine from cranking.
4. Speedometer bouncing all over or not working
The problem:
the truck ran fine for about 2-3 days doing short trips around town, starting great in sub zero temps. Though when i pushed on the brake pedal the gas gauge would drop and turn signals caused lights in the cab to flicker due to power loss. Then on a 2 hour drive last night all of the sudden the truck began to lose acceleration, all dash lights and running lights were working fine, but the truck somehow didn't have any acceleration and died side of road. Checked and i had 12.8 in the batteries and fuel to engine with electric fuel pump.
After 20 mins truck started again and i made it another half mile before it died. This time i cut out all new camper rewiring. I ran a wire directly from battery to injection pump to make sure IP had 12 volts. Truck ran for 30 minutes into town with just headlights on and then died again.
Today it ran a few times for several minutes but dies under acceleration amd wont start until you crank it for a good 20 seconds. now will not run.
what ive done: today
new voltage reg
Recrimped new connections into voltage reg
grounded voltage reg to battery
alternator tests fine
Recrimped new connections for alternator
Deep cleaned all positive connections on starter relay
Deep cleaned all negative connections on block, starter, relays
detachhed glow plus wiring at GP Controller
Ive basically gone back to where i started from and it still wont run
Question: can wiring in cab and under dash cause these symptoms? Clearly a loss of charging going on probably due to a ground issue, can this be caused in the cab?
why was brake pedal influencing fuel gauge?
Why did turn signals with camper attachments cause bad light flicker?
What other grounds could be the culprit? Specifically in the cab under dash?
stranded in target parking lot any suggestions are greatly appreciated!
i replaced alternator and voltage reg because i was only getting 12.6 volts with the truck idleing, it pushed up to 13 volts when revved. The truck didn't have glow plugs working so I re-soldered and fixed glow plugs, with new GP relay, have checked and they work properly and it starts easy in sub 10 degrees. Also cut and spliced a new trailer plug directly into wiring under driverside frame. I had camper lights finally!
Before any of that work i had electrical issues in the cab:
1 heater gauge illumination light goes on and off by moving the temp dial.
2 the headlight switch has a small sweet spot you need to find in order for running lights and headlights to be on. In the wrong position only headlights come on.
3 my key ignition is sticky and the key needs to be rotated back to stop engine from cranking.
4. Speedometer bouncing all over or not working
The problem:
the truck ran fine for about 2-3 days doing short trips around town, starting great in sub zero temps. Though when i pushed on the brake pedal the gas gauge would drop and turn signals caused lights in the cab to flicker due to power loss. Then on a 2 hour drive last night all of the sudden the truck began to lose acceleration, all dash lights and running lights were working fine, but the truck somehow didn't have any acceleration and died side of road. Checked and i had 12.8 in the batteries and fuel to engine with electric fuel pump.
After 20 mins truck started again and i made it another half mile before it died. This time i cut out all new camper rewiring. I ran a wire directly from battery to injection pump to make sure IP had 12 volts. Truck ran for 30 minutes into town with just headlights on and then died again.
Today it ran a few times for several minutes but dies under acceleration amd wont start until you crank it for a good 20 seconds. now will not run.
what ive done: today
new voltage reg
Recrimped new connections into voltage reg
grounded voltage reg to battery
alternator tests fine
Recrimped new connections for alternator
Deep cleaned all positive connections on starter relay
Deep cleaned all negative connections on block, starter, relays
detachhed glow plus wiring at GP Controller
Ive basically gone back to where i started from and it still wont run
Question: can wiring in cab and under dash cause these symptoms? Clearly a loss of charging going on probably due to a ground issue, can this be caused in the cab?
why was brake pedal influencing fuel gauge?
Why did turn signals with camper attachments cause bad light flicker?
What other grounds could be the culprit? Specifically in the cab under dash?
stranded in target parking lot any suggestions are greatly appreciated!
Logistics Pro
Joined: Sep 2007
Posts: 3,737
Likes: 179
From: Western Mass
Definitely sounds like some bad ground connections to me. Most of the dash probably runs off one ground spot someplace under the dash. If you don't have a good connection from that spot through the body back to the battery, all kinds of crazy things could happen. Check to make sure you have a ground connection running from the body either to the frame, or battery, if you can't find one, add one.
Thread Starter
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5th Wheeling
Joined: Sep 2016
Posts: 36
Likes: 0
Update
Yes it seems to have been a ground wire i missed coming up the driverside fender and aattaching to driver battery. I cut out old connector and reattached and it seems to have fixed the issue for now. Will keep posting. Definitely switching to 3G alternator either way soon
i ain't rite
Joined: Mar 2005
Posts: 65,564
Likes: 5,600
From: Marlboro Mental Hospital.
switching to a 3g will not solve anything if you still have bad connections.
there is a ground wire from battery to rad support or inner fender.
main ground from battery to block on both batteries.
braided ground from back of block to body, normally passenger side to cab firewall.
ground wire from block to frame.
ground wire from cab to frame.
ground wire from bed to frame.
inside the cab there is a ground wire from cab to dash mount.
there is also positive wire from battery to fender mount starter relay.
two or three fusible links off starter relay to charging system, and inside cab to run electrical components.
any one of these connections being dirty can cause electrical issues. .
there is a ground wire from battery to rad support or inner fender.
main ground from battery to block on both batteries.
braided ground from back of block to body, normally passenger side to cab firewall.
ground wire from block to frame.
ground wire from cab to frame.
ground wire from bed to frame.
inside the cab there is a ground wire from cab to dash mount.
there is also positive wire from battery to fender mount starter relay.
two or three fusible links off starter relay to charging system, and inside cab to run electrical components.
any one of these connections being dirty can cause electrical issues. .
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