Will not start.....
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Will not start.....
We have hit our first brick wall. Today was start it up day (so we thought). Turn the key nothing. Check to see if its getting any fire, ok yes but not like it should. Dad says its getting enough spark to start, but still nothing. He ran a wire from the distributor, to the battery , got it started, but that’s the only way it will start. He changed the ignition out, ok blond moment forgot the name of the part, the one that you put the battery cable, and starter wire to, any ways he changed that out and still nothing. Both trucks started up fine. The only thing different is it has been painted. Could we simple not have a good ground somewhere? Or maybe with all the betting and banging, could have we fried something?
Hotshot
Joined: May 2004
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From: The hills of No. Calif.
You're talking about the solenoid? And when you say "Turn the key nothing" you mean it cranks but won't fire? I presume so since you say it fires by running a wire directly to the battery from the distributor...(you mean to the coil, perhaps...?)
Anyway, a couple of things occur to me: there's a resistor built into the system, it's usually a special wire known as a resistance wire. When you run a jumper wire from ther battery to the coil you're bypassing that resistance wire and giving full voltage to the coil. If the resistor is bad, then it won't be getting power. But the solenoid has an extra small terminal that's got a wire hooked up to it, that's to bypass the resistor for starting so it should still have good spark when cranking...
Also, it's not unknown for the ignition switch to get corrosion on the contacts and not complete the ignition circuit when switched on. You could borrow the ignition switch out of the other truck you refer to and see if that works, they're very easy to change.
Anyway, a couple of things occur to me: there's a resistor built into the system, it's usually a special wire known as a resistance wire. When you run a jumper wire from ther battery to the coil you're bypassing that resistance wire and giving full voltage to the coil. If the resistor is bad, then it won't be getting power. But the solenoid has an extra small terminal that's got a wire hooked up to it, that's to bypass the resistor for starting so it should still have good spark when cranking...
Also, it's not unknown for the ignition switch to get corrosion on the contacts and not complete the ignition circuit when switched on. You could borrow the ignition switch out of the other truck you refer to and see if that works, they're very easy to change.
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YES that’s it. Sorry it’s a new world to me. They changed out the ignition switch and solenoid, went over the ground, still nothing. No it dose not even try to crank when they try the key, it’s died to the world. But fires right up when they bypass this like before. I’m not 100% sure this small terminal was even on this truck. There was a wire from (what dad and DH says the lights) running strait to the battery. From what you say, this makes me think that wire was not for them lights. Nether of them knows much about wiring. This resistance wire, where would it be located at? Dad swears it’s a simple fix once he finds the problem. I think it would be better to replace the wiring. Sorry for not explaining better, I’m learning as I go.
Ford Parts Specialist
Joined: Nov 2006
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From: Simi Valley, CA
C0LF-12250-A .. Resistor Wire (Motorcraft DY-37) 61.50 inches long-color coded PINK. No.20 wire. FITS: all Ford trucks 1960 through 1972-most Ford cars-1960/72.
Ford no longer carries it, but NAPA does.
Ford no longer carries it, but NAPA does.
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You may have the small 90 degree wires on the solenoid reversed. One of them should light up (when using a test light) when the key is turned to the start position. The one that lights up goes on the stud marked "s".
Also check to make sure the neutral safty switch (mounted low on the top side of the steering column down near the pedals) is properly adjusted.
Also check to make sure the neutral safty switch (mounted low on the top side of the steering column down near the pedals) is properly adjusted.
Hotshot
Joined: May 2004
Posts: 12,170
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From: The hills of No. Calif.
That certainly does clarify things. At first I was indeed thinking it wouldn't crank when you hit the key, but it confused me when you said it started by running a jumper wire so I fixated on ignition circuit problems rather than starting circuit. Forget about the resistance wire for now, your problem is the no-crank condition.
Check the two small wires to the solenoid as mentioned above, and if the truck has an automatic transmission then check the neutral safety switch and associated wiring. If you don't have a 12V autmotive test light, get one. They're cheap, and it's almost impossible to find wiring problems without one.
Check the two small wires to the solenoid as mentioned above, and if the truck has an automatic transmission then check the neutral safety switch and associated wiring. If you don't have a 12V autmotive test light, get one. They're cheap, and it's almost impossible to find wiring problems without one.
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Thanks, I’ll print this off for them. Ya know, I asked them if there was a tester that we could get, both said no. There is an old school ford guru that lives here. I think I’m going to track him down and see if he will look at it for me. By know I just don’t know if I wont dad and dh to fix any wiring. I know that sounds bad, but if you don’t know what your doing its better to get some one that dose. Thanks again
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Hotshot
Joined: May 2004
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From: The hills of No. Calif.
They were probably thinking along the lines of a modern plug-in code scanner or something like that, and of course there's nothing like that availble for our old non-computerized trucks. But all I'm talking about is a test light, which looks sort of like an ice pick with a see-through plastic handle which has a 12V light bulb inside and a wire coming out the handle end with an alligator clip on it. If you clamp the clip to a metal grounded surface on the truck and then touch the sharp end to a hot wire, the bulb lights up to let you know that the wire is hot. You can also clamp the clip end to a known 12V hot source and use the sharp end to probe for ground wires. It's a simple device, and I keep a couple of them around:
But yes, if you know someone who's familiar with automotive wiring, get their help. And watch, and ask questions...way better than learning from someone who hasn't got a clue...
But yes, if you know someone who's familiar with automotive wiring, get their help. And watch, and ask questions...way better than learning from someone who hasn't got a clue...
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Got it fixed!!!!!! Found the guru guy, turns out dad forgot this very important detail. We used the cab from an automatic, there forth the wiring for an automatic, but we used the strait shift. So it was the whole I ant starting cause I’m not in park thing. They got a big old laugh out of this one. Thanks for all your help.
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