Power should run through the coil and points to ground. When the points open, the field in the primary windings of the coil collapses and a high voltage is then generated in the secondary windings.
YES your neighbor is right, if the coil is in the circut.
Were you testing at the coil with it still hooked up, or just the incoming wire?
You can test the coil itself w/ an ohmmeter.

As has been said you could do away w/ all this crap by installing the one wire HEI distributor. To a wire that's hot in 'start' and 'run'. (the red/ light green wire, if I looked at the right schematic)
Ugggg, Good luck with that.
I hope you're good with a soldering iron and a multimeter. (you will be soon )
Shrink tubing is your friend!
Maybe you'd be better off stripping a known good harness out of a similar truck at the boneyard.

Like I said, I'd suggest you figure out how this chassis was set up to begin with and that you find a schematic appropriate to that model, at least then you have a baseline to work from.

Have you tried jumping the pump to see if it is indeed still working?
Wow, this thread is drifting far off topic....

-------------
Jim

 

Yeah, the wires under the dash look like a rat's nest...plus to make matters worse, they are all red including the grounds. Whoever did this must have been a knuckle head. The least he could have done was left the stereo, gauges, and lights when he sold the truck :-)

I ordered the HEI distributor that Scottie2hottie recommended (from Ebay). It should be here in a few days. I'm hoping that will make the fix for this truck easier. I still wonder what exactly went wrong though. THANKS Scottie for recommending this option! $93.10 shipped...cant beat that!!

Yes, I did my voltage test with the coil connected. I'll check just the wire tonight. I was in a hurry last night so i just grabbed a stepladder (truck has 6 in lift) and a voltmeter and just checked it real quick.

According to the emissions tags/labels still on the truck, it is an original 460, 4bbl truck. I have checked the vin # yet.

Boy, you're not kidding! This thread has really went way off the orignal topic. I guess I should have called it "I cant start my truck!!!Wiring Nightmare!! Help!!" Getting back to the original topic, I am curious of why the replacement (aftermarket) fuel tank selector valve I looked at is called a "Niehoff Ignition Fuel Selector Valve". This was from Checker Auto Parts (partsamerica.com). The fact that word ignition is mentioned made me think that maybe it had something to do with my problem since I not only was NOT getting the proper amount of fuel, but also NO spark.... Funny what comes out in the wash when we start talking about things.

No I have not tried jumping the pump. How do I do that? The tanks look easy enough to drop one they are drained.

how bout the cruise control...were the control switches on the steering column or mounted in the factory steering wheel?

Thanks again!

 

Cool! That's a start. I was confused because my '87 has a mechanical pump on the timing case. Had no idea that an older truck would have electric pumps.That's why I thought to check the ignition switch, but it seems you are getting voltage to the coil.
I would think you'd try jumping power directly to the fuel pump plug before going through dropping the tanks. Given all the electrical ratsnest you've got going on there, who knows.....they might be fine.
Have you tried replacing the dashboard switch? That's what killed fuel on one of my tanks.
What did you save yourself @ Checker over the genuine Ford fuel tank selector valve that Bill (numberdummy) mentioned?
Is it worth it?
Sorry, I have no idea, I've never dealt with one in a '85. My '87 was the first year of the new body/interior style.

Do you have a proper manual for your truck?

 

I ordered a new chiltons from Checker but have not received it yet. I'm sure it will be pretty vague as it covers 1966-1986 model trucks

I did not buy the selector valve from checker. I was merely checking it out on-line when I thought that it might be part of my problem. I will most likely buy the original ford part if I end up have to replace it. Archion said in one of his replies that "There is a filter in the base of this "valve" that will block the system if clogged. Last time I got one, i wanna say it was 7 bucks from napa". I think I will also look for this on the weekend and see if that might be clogged. With my luck though, it never is that simple :-)

As for the fuel tank switch, I have not checked it yet. However, when I switch tanks, the fuel level reflected on the gauge changes to show approx what should be in each tank (3/4 in rear, 1/3 in front). Regardless of the amount of gas in the rear, it would not ever run in that positon. Only the front tank would work. Now, who knows...

My HEI should be here in a few days, so hopefully that will cure the "no spark" problem and I can turn my full attention to getting fuel through the new carb. Would it be possbile to put a mechanical pump in and eliminate the electric pumps? Or at least have it as a back up if the electrical pumps ever failed?

 

I don't see why it wouldn't work, unless the dead pump in your tank would block flow . You'd also have to see if the pump operating "lobe" is bolted to the front of the camshaft, or purchase one along with a timing case gasket set in addition to the pump itself.

My Haynes manual only covers '80-'88 IIRC.

 

What you need most is a copy of the Ford Shop manual "1985 Bronco/F150/F350 Electrical & Vacuum Trouble-Shooting Manual". It is an excellent tool for working on electrical problems since the diagrams are organized pretty much by function and are very easy to follow. I found mine on Ebay Motors Auction for about $10 but they may be available from many other sources. Google Ford Manuals. Here's one at: http://www.books4cars.com/result2.as...ageField2.y=11 .

 

One other minor thing would be to check the fuse for the fule selector switch. I had mine blow on me and only realized after I replaced a perfectly good tank selector valve!

 

Strange thing happened last night...I'm still waiting on the HEI distributor to arrive. So I turned my atttention to the fuel problem. I tried cranking the engine to see if I could get fuel moving. At first, nothing happened. Then after about 5 min of cranking in 10 sec on, 30 sec off intervals, fuel started to flow from the front tank. It filled the fuel filter up and started making it's way though the carb. I have no idea what happened to start it flowing again. Still nothing from the rear tank though.

Next, I checked the voltage to the coil 12vdc power wire with the coil taken out of the circut. It measured 11.97 volts with the key in the run position. Direct check of the battery measured 12.6 volts. Then I swapped in a old coil from my 66 F-250 just to see what happend....turned the key and the engine started. It was running rough, but it was running. I let it idle for about 10 min then turned it off. When I tried to restart, it took about 1-2 min again before it would run. Hopefully, when the new distributor is in, things will be more consistent. I may just go ahead and change both fuel pumps and the selector valve for piece of mind that the fuel system is squared away. More to follow as I get time to work on it.