All right fellas here's one for ya. I have a 1990 F-150 with 300 straight six fuel injected 5 speed. Last week I jumped in the truck after a visit to Advance for parts for another car I am fixing. I turned the key and nothing. I have no working guages, no power to instruments, no power to even the radio with the key in the on/run position. I had it towed home, thank god for AAA. While I was waiting on the tow, I got a new lock cylinder thinking that was it, as I had problems with it in the past. Nope, not it. I can turn the engine over by jumping the solenoid. I have power if turn the key to accessory. If I turn they key to start position I can here something click on under the hood but it does not start. This is my first FOrd and I am really hoping to get it running as it has more power than the old 82 Dodge 318 I got. Not to mention my dodge is quickly rusting apart. Any help would be great.
Thanks,
Tom

 

I would say you have a bad Ignition Switch.
The Ignition Switch is located down near the floorboard.

 

To be able to find it can I follow the wires from the ignition down the column? Is this the switch that looks like it is connected to the rod that comes down the steering column? I also noticed that there is no spring back if I turn the key to the start position. Does this switch control wethere or not the keys relaxes into the on position?

Thanks for all of the help,
Tom

 

Yep , that's the switch Tom.

It's held on to the column with two 1/2 inch nuts I believe.
It will lift right off of that actuator rod.

 

Okay guys. First thanks in advance for all of the help. I replaced the ignition switch. I now have power to the accessory position and power in the on/run position. It will still not turn the starter over. Keep in mind that I can jump the solenoid and the starter turns over. Any ideas? Can I put in a toggle switch from the starter to the solenoid and start it that way if I can't figure out the glitch?
Frustration sets in quicker than rational thought sometimes. LOL!

Tom

 

Your actuator is toast. Very common on those.

 

Thanks Jas, As I said I am new to Ford Trucks. Can you explain where the acuator is and what it looks like? Are you refering to the solenoid or some other type of electrical part? Is this why the check engine light now comes on and the starter turns over when jumped by the solenid but does not fire the engine?
Rational thought is now taking over.LOL!
Tom

 

You know the rod that runs down your steering column that controls the ignition switch? The actuator is what pushes that rod down towards the firewall when you turn the key. It's a kind of an aluminum/pot metal thing and it snaps in two quite often and then it cannot exert enough force on the switch to make it go to "start". You pretty much have to disassemble the upper part of the column to replace it. I assume you have tilt wheel? If you will search the forums for "actuator" you will find many, many threads, some with pics, that describe how to replace it. This comes up about once a week it seems because they break all the time. I've done 3 of them myself on my trucks over the years.

 

Jas, Thanks. This truck does not have tilt but being the ever curious individual I am, I took it all apart anyway. I placed the new electronic ignition switch on the bottom of the column and inserted the actuator. It has slots instead of holes on the ignition switch to be able to move it north to south. I slid the electronic ignition all the way north because I noticed that it did not "click" the second time when I turned the key into the start position. I can hear it click twice, and it still won't turn over. I am going to assume that since it is a new electronic ignition switch and I know it is going all the way in to the start position that I am quickly exhausting my options. Any other ideas. Like I said I have the entire column taken apart already. Took off the steering wheel cover, disconnected the cruise, the turn signal switch, and horn button wires, Pulled off the steering wheel, took off the 2 bottom shroud pieces, pulled out the three little aluminum clips with allen bolts that keep the column in place, disconnected the main wiring harness, and took out the lock cylinder. The actuator rod is not broken or weak as I checked when I put the new ign. switch on. Any thoughts as to where I should go from here. Could I have the lock cylinder out of whack? I noticed while taking it apart that the gear inside, that moves the actuator rod up and down, is spring loaded. Do I have to spin the gear back a little before putting the brass gear in it for the lock cylinder? I will check the previous forums in the mean time.

Thanks,
Tom

 

Are you pressing the clutch in when you manually slide the ignition switch to "start"? If so, could your clutch safety switch be bad, or unplugged? If you put the ignition switch into the "run" position, and then jump the solenoid, will the truck start and run? When you say "jump the solenoid", do you mean you apply 12V to the little terminal, or do you jump across the 2 big terminals?

 

If you have power to everything (Radio) in the ACC position and not in the run position then if it is not the Ignition Switch it just about has to be its plug.

Here is a link to a diagram of the Ignition Switch for a 1992 but yours should be the same I think.
http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g91/subford/Electrical/Ignition/1992IgnitionSwitch.gif

 

I would like to thank you all for helping. I finally got it. Here is what happend. After trying everything suggested it was combination of things. THe electronic ignition switch went bad, along with the lock cylinder. After trying everything mentioned I started to really look hard at the lock cylinder because it just didn't feel right. There are contact points on the lock cylinder. One of the brass strips that is a contact point was not touching on the inside. Hence no contact being made. I would get power after I jiggled it a little bit. I replaced both and I am now up and running. Whooo, hoooo!!! Now I can go get mulch and my wife will quit nagging me about it. Thanks for all of your help guys. I truly appreciate it. You have definately made me a believer in this site. Kudos to all.

Sincerely,
Tom

 

I don't want to rain on your parade, but the little contact strip on the lock cylinder is just to trigger the chime when you leave your keys in the ignition. No power flows thru that, it triggers by grounding the strip. But, whatever, as long as it works.

 

Jas, It has already rained here. You are correct. I ended up having the same problem happen again. This time I replaced the actuator and it seems to work fine now. Once I got the guts out of the steering column I could see that it was bent. It was going down far enough to light everything up and had enough life left just to fool me. I took step by step pics of how to take it apart for anyone that has a fixed steering column. Let me know and I can either post them or e-mail them to you. You were right Jas, I can see you have replaced a few of these in your experience. I really appreciate the help.

THanks,
Tom

 

just a thought how about posting pics in your gallery and let people know you did so , so others can use them in the future