Hello,
I am working on a father son project. I’ll detail first the truck as original followed by what I’ve done thus far for my swap. Just wondering if I am missing anything
Sorry if it’s a long one

original
94 f150 standard cab 351W / EFI 5spd manual transmission 4x4

Swap (already completed)
Engine is a naturally aspirated 68 429 completely rebuilt. 0.30 over bore, aluminum super CJ heads, custom ground cam and rebuilt and already curved distributor (Scotty the mad porter). edelbrock air gap intake, brawler 850 double pumper, cvf electric water pump, cvf 1 wire alternator, cvf PS pump. ZF5 5 speed with new hydraulic clutch slave/line.

using the original high pressure in the tank fuel pump but running this through a Holley bypass valve with return.

I’ve installed the painless duraspark 2 wiring harness, tied to a new blue grommet ICM. Painless fuel pump module, painless EWP module - all wired per the instructions.

all gauges inside have been replaced with mechanical gauges.

the only original wires I am still using in the engine bay are the wires that hook to the firewall solenoid to carry power back to the key. Also kept the original solenoid S wire assuming this would function as original with the key. Completely bypassed the ECM figuring it no longer served a purpose.

I put a (hot with key in run) bus bar on the fenderwell to run wires too for the ignition harness and all the modules. I used a fusable link from the radio fuse port to run juice to this bar.

when I turn the key to the on position I get the “key in ignition chime”, radio turns out, I can here the fuel pump turn on and then the fuse in my fusible link pops.

Looking for insight, thoughts, suggestions?

thanks much for your time

 

Sounds like either a bad ground or a shorted wire on the bar. I would double check all those for starters. Maybe some pics of the wiring setup on the bar and wires to it.

 

If it were me I'd power that bar through a relay. It could be as simple as too much current draw by all of the modules when they initialize all at once. The radio fuse is 15A. You could try a larger fuse, but remember that the fuse is rated to protect the wire, not the component at the end, so I wouldn't do this. You still need protection, though, so measure the current the bar is drawing, and put an in-line fuse of the next size up, and ensure your wiring is sized to that fuse, or larger.

 

The radio wire could be used at the energizer wire for the relay.

 

I wouldn't have bought a aftermarket Duraspark harness, rather, I would use the harness off a 77 or so Ford with the Duraspark setup
Duraspark is like a HEI, it only needs 1 power wire to run
I have one on my 69 Boss 302
I just got a harness off a Gernade(a) and wired that into my car
So, if you unplug the harness, does the short go away?
Start tracing the short to and from where the power goes

 

Wow! that is going to be a beast!

 

This is az/backwards, the component determines the fuse, size, and the wire size needed.

 

Ford never made that combination in a F-150. Only the 4.9L and 5.0L were available with a manual transmission. All 351W trucks were automatics.

Why did you chose the radio to supply power to the bus bar instead of a circuit that was already supplying power to the engine? What is the rating on the fusible link? I’m thinking it can’t handle whatever is on the circuit.

 

Where in the instructions does it say to wire a bus bar to power all the modules from the radio fuse port?

 

While it is important to determine load values you will(should) have done that already when sizing the wiring for the circuit. The wire should be rated for more than the current need of the load(s). I don't have the charts in front of me, but I think it's like 1.5 x maximum current load. It is up to you to ensure the wiring can carry the current, not up to the loads to limit it. In the real world the fuse should be rated above the load current needs (and don't forget to allow for start-up current which can be higher than running current) but lower than the current capacity of the wire (because you don't want the wire to be the fuse). So, there are some semantics here, but I still say the fuse protects the wires, not the load component.

 

I removed all of the original harness. Not the best at reading electrical schematics. Figured fusable link from the fuse box was something I could follow and made sense. Hate electric schematics - don’t make sense to my untrained eye

 

I removed the trigger wires for the fuel pump
Module and the electric water pump module and ran them to the + on the coil.

also removed the trigger wires for the ignition harness to its own 20amp fusable link. Trying to separate these out a little. Thought everything on one bar would be cleaner but didn’t work as planned.

I was initially popping the fuse because I had the wires incorrectly placed on the fender wall solenoid. That has been fixed and functions properly. Fuse no longer just pops.

she spins over but not getting any fuel. Inertia switch is fine. Need to do some more digging into that. Once I get that fixed I’m hoping I’m good to go

 

on the last page. Really small sprint. It says “you are not a mechanic, but a mechanically inclined hobbyist - you can try using a fusable link if you’d like to”.

 

the painless harness has two wires that run to the S and I on the coil.