Been a long time since Ive been on the site, duty calls.
Anyhow heres the issue /rant.
Truck: 86 F150 SUPERCAB 2WD, DUAL TANK all power options FI 302 w/ AOD
Back in december my alternator burned out, i replaced that and the truck ran fine for abou a month or so. Then aroun February every now and then it would make a buzzing soung while turning the ignition and not start. I would jiggle the wires around the starter relay then , it would start. Well finally in march I catch a burning smell form the cab and then smoke coming from behind the fuseblock. Didnt make a big del of it since the truck still ran, for 2 weeks on and off. Finall I came home from work onde day with it running fine the next morning it buzzes and even with jigglin wouldnt start. I replaced the old negative battery cable along with the positve and the starter relay. I go to start it, it does a short whine then starts. I shut the truck down to tighten the wires down, go to star again, then all it doues is itstruggles to start but ends up doing a knock sound without starting. I finally changed the wires that go to the alternator since the originals were worn through. But here is where I made a stupid mistake. Did not disconnect the negative battery and while working with the alternator line, accidentally touch the wire to the battery of which started to smoke a bit. After that I got no juice to anything in the truck.
The confusing part is non of the fuses are burned out and the battery seemst o be still good if you take a probe to it.
Im at a loss. Mechanical I can do. Electrical confuses the hell out of me even with diagrams. Have wall, will bang head.
Ive got two other issues. 1 Have turn signals front and rear but no brake or hazards in the rear.
2. Rear fuel tank could be full but after fliping the swithch the guage reads empty but the truck will still run on the front as if nevered switched.
But these are issues for another time
Any help with this dasteredly delimmma.
Take Care

 

Redleg319,

Sounds like you may have a combination of problems one of them being you melted a fusible link coming from the battery. Fusible links are sections of wire that will melt when a short occurs in the wire to act like a fuse. You will need to replace the section of the fusible link in that wire. You can tell if you have melted a fusible link because the wire insulation will be burned away from the wire. Also, I would go over all of the electrical connections including at the fuse block and check for corroded and/or loose connections and also any frayed or chafed wires. Do this with the negative battery cable disconnected so you don't get anymore surprises.

John

 

Thanks for the info, I did notice a green wire with a black stripe(what was left of it) melted behind the fuse block. Most of the wiring in my truck along with most of the truck itself are original so im guessing time is finally taking its toll

Harry

 

You need to be looking for burnt fusible links over at the starter relay on the passenger side fender. There is a smaller wire hooked to the large terminal on the starter relay(the one that goes to the battery +) that feeds power to the whole truck.

 

More good info, may save a tow and a few $ to try these solutions out. Ill post with the results.
Is it possible though that Imay have killed the battery to the point where it doesnt have enough juice to power the truck but can still light up the probe? A said previously Im as dumb electriclly as I am AT computers. Mech I can do or at least rig.

 

Hello again from camp swampy,
The good news is,after it sat in my carport from march to july, that is was a simple fusible link keeping it from starting, the bad news was when it came to my brake lights.Alot of burned out and melted wiring. Confused the mechanic a little. They said it could of been from age and since it was originally a texas truck, enviroment may have played a part. It took 2 weeks to get it going again at the shop.
With that all done, time to move on to som other projects with it, like a new windshield .