Quote:

Originally Posted by fordtruckman80

Yes,here's a pic of it in fact..




The color of the hash marks is yellow.

I can find absolutely no reference to a neutral safety switch in my 1981 Ford
factory wiring diagram manual, this leads me to believe that this feature just
didn't exist in my 1981 truck and I therefore surmise it didn't exist in 1980
trucks, either. From what I remember of Ford vehicles during this era, the cars
were always first to get the creature comforts; for example, it wasn't until 1982
that a truck would buzz at you if you left the key in the ignition and opened the
driver's-side door. (However, I think even a 1980 could optionally buzz at you
if you left your headlights/parking lights on.)

The closest thing I can find is the backup lamp switch and the various
connectors used, all dependent on the transmission in use. The wire colors are
the same, though - purple/orange-hash and black/pink.

Nowhere did I come across a brown/yellow-hash coloring scheme in a
1981 truck. Because 1980s are known to be different at least in the dash
wiring, I guess it's also possible they're different in this area, too, but I don't
have a 1980 manual to know for certain.

There'd be no way I'd trust any 3rd-party wiring diagrams (Haynes, Chiltons,
etc.) there are just too many variations & possibilities to account for. Those
3rd party things are just like the Reader's Digest condensed versions of popular
novels - a quick & dirty summary that gives you a general idea of the actual
publication.

At this point, I can think of only two possibilities:

1) 1980 models are vastly different in their wiring and offer more features
than/conveniences/comforts than later models. Possible, but doubtful.

2) This truck has been Frankensteined - original factory components replaced
with God only knows what. There's a strong possibility of this, especially
considering the thing is ~30yo and has had any number of owners.

Shaun - check out:

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/3...r-post-up.html

You'll read about all kinds of stuff that people do to these things.

Wading through these wiring diagram books is something of a pain in the *** -
each page unfolds to be around 25" wide, having two pages open at once takes
up the entire desk/table top. Sometimes the same component (e.g. ignition
switch) is on multiple pages; in every case, all of the different variations &
possibilities (those associated with the various options & packages available)
are drawn out and presented to you all on the same wiring diagram. We'll see
what others have to say but I kinda suspect you're gonna have to figure out
what somebody else has done and try to fix it. A VOM (volt/ohm meter) is real
helpful, as is a circuit tester (a lamp in a screwdriver handle) and a wiring
diagram.

 

They did.

They were federaly mandated by the NHTSA (National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration back in 1967. 1967-1977 had the NSS on the steering column. 1978 and newer had them on the transmission. Automatic only. 1984 was the first year a Start Interlock switch was mandated for Manual transmissions.



1984 was again the year that stuff was mandated. However, the 1980-1983 had an optional headlamp on warning buzzer.


I found the same.

I have the 1980 diagram, and they are the same in this area.

I even checked the 1978 and 1979 diagrams, and they are relatively the same circut placement. The colors are different however.

1978-1979...
White/Purple from fuse panel.
Black/red to backup lamp sockets.

The white/purple wire changed to Purple/Orange in 1980.

Other than that, the circuts are identicle.

On the factory diagram, look where connector C-1017 is.

There are two sections where the NSS is located. One showing the "Back-up Lamp Switch", and one showing the "Gear Shift Neutral Switch". Both of these "Switches" are actually the same "single" unit. The "NSS". Just labled seperately in the diagram. (Which can be confusing).

The Wires going into the NSS are labled.
Circut #298: Purple/Orange Hash (From Fuse panel (F-15) )
Circut #32: Red/Lt. Blue stripe (From Ignition Switch)

The wires leading out of the NSS are labled.
Circut #140: Black/Pink stripe. (To backup lamp sockets)
Circut #32: Red/Lt. Blue stripe (Going to Starter Solenoid)


I agree. Sounds like somebody swapped something around.
And Who's to say that the NSS is original. Aftermarket parts sometimes use their own color schemes.



Now you know why I don't like to scan the things. They are massive. To scan one I have to scan multiple sections and piece it back together in photoshop. A pain in the *** indeed.

I don't think the standard factory wiring diagram will help much in this case.

 

My truck is just a base truck,and only has the seatbelt buzzer.


Are the wires that lead into the NSS supposed to be wrapped in the bundle along with the ones leading out?Or do the wires leading into the NSS come from a different source?

I have found a couple of the wires elsewhere on the truck to be cut and missing,but i'd say 3/4 of everything looks to be original.Also,the NSS has the Ford logo stamped into the side,which leads me to think it's original.If it helps,the plug says "Essex".

 

Manual transmissions didn't have one untill 1984.

Automatics started, as I said in 1967.

 

I went out this afternoon and took out the rear harness so I could take it apart and trace the wires.After removing all the electrical tape,I started tracing the wiring.Some of it matched up with my manuals,and some of it didn't.I found a couple interesting looking connectors,and also another part of the harness where 4 different wires meet.I took some pics so ya'll could see what i'm dealing with....

Here's the whole harness.



Here's one of the interesting connectors,I believe there were 3 or 4.I don't think i've seen these anywhere else on the truck.They look aftermarket to me..



And here's 4 wires that are just somehow together.This is exactly what the wires from my reverse light looked like.There's no connectors,just copper parts of the wires stuck together under the cloth.It really confuses me,because I've never seen this before...I think one or two of these wires should go to me license lights,but I'm not sure.

 

Quote:

Originally Posted by 81-F-150-Explorer

On the factory diagram, look where connector C-1017 is.

There are two sections where the NSS is located. One showing the "Back-up Lamp Switch", and one showing the "Gear Shift Neutral Switch". Both of these "Switches" are actually the same "single" unit. The "NSS". Just labled seperately in the diagram. (Which can be confusing).

The Wires going into the NSS are labled.
Circut #298: Purple/Orange Hash (From Fuse panel (F-15) )
Circut #32: Red/Lt. Blue stripe (From Ignition Switch)

The wires leading out of the NSS are labled.
Circut #140: Black/Pink stripe. (To backup lamp sockets)
Circut #32: Red/Lt. Blue stripe (Going to Starter Solenoid)

[In the voice of Tim Allen as Tim Taylor on Home Improvement]
Huh???
[/In the voice of Tim Allen as Tim Taylor on Home Improvement]

I could find I think only one page with C-1017 on it, I think that's on Page 7
(assuming the section starts at Page 0 (why can't they number these damn
pages?)).

Because I don't expect anybody to believe just my words + pictures sometimes
say more than words, I went through the (significant, I don't know if I'll ever
do this again) grief & agony of scanning Page 7 (with C-1017) and the
neighboring Page 8 with the backup lamps on it.

Yes, I agree, what a pain in the ***!

I cannot find this elusive "Gear Shift Neutral Switch" of which you speak, can
you find it anywhere on those two pages? Maybe I'm missing it? Then again, no
such thing is listed under the SWITCH heading on Page 0.

60% renditions of the two pages are at:
http://img18.imageshack.us/img18/7899/pg760pct.gif
http://img18.imageshack.us/img18/3919/pg860pct.gif
Be careful if your browser automatically shrinks images to fit in your window;
these things are kinda big but much smaller and they become hard to read.

Quote:

Now you know why I don't like to scan the things. They are massive. To scan one I have to scan multiple sections and piece it back together in photoshop. A pain in the *** indeed.

Yup!!!

But, ya know what? There really aren't that many pages to the F150-F350
section, perhaps if I felt like being nice, I'd scan the rest of 'em and put 'em all
up on some sort of image hosting service, they'll conveniently be there if/when
anybody wants to refer to them.

Quote:

I don't think the standard factory wiring diagram will help much in this case.

Oh, I dunno... it might be helpful for the guy to be able to see what is plugged
into what out of the factory. You know, the thigh bone connects to the hip
bone-kind of thing.

On another note, I noticed somewhere that the BK/PK backup lamp wire
changes to BK/RD at C-1211 (presumably, this is someplace around the rear
bumper).

 

Wow,that looks like alien writing.I'm not the best at reading wiring diagrams,but after awhile I can get used to it.As far as the rear harness goes i'm just gonna try and grab one from an unmolested truck at the local junkyard.I still wanna know why my NSS doesn't have the 4 wires though....

 

Quote:

Originally Posted by fordtruckman80

Wow,that looks like alien writing.I'm not the best at reading wiring diagrams,but after awhile I can get used to it.

Heh...
My uncle got me started in electronics at 11-12 yo so I'm pretty used to those
things but they're generally not too awful hard. In fact, Ford does some cool
things with 'em! Notice how up in the top half - where all the actual wiring
diagrams are - you'll see various connectors (indicated with C-some-number).
The bottom half of the page shows you those connectors in detail, that's pretty
cool that they draw 'em out & describe 'em like that!

Despite what I said above, I didn't spend too much time trying to figure out the
ammeter wiring from those damn diagrams... there is too much intertwined
into one diagram to make it easy to figure out. IOW the dash & alternator
diagrams are shown once with various notions as things are intermixed... W/O
GAGES... WITH GAGES... yes, that's the way they spell "gauge." It can be a
PITA if you want to ty and build something non-existent using those diagrams
as a guide but they're probably the best thing to help ya.

Quote:

As far as the rear harness goes i'm just gonna try and grab one from an unmolested truck at the local junkyard.I still wanna know why my NSS doesn't have the 4 wires though....

I remember looking for an unmolested harness at one time, never found one
and eventually gave up and fixed what I had.

Ya know what... after a while, all those colored wires start to make sense and
you begin to understand the different circuits. And, you'll be able to recognize
what most any random wire is for as you see it someplace in the truck.

 

Back in the day whenever I looked at the wiring diagrams in the Haynes and Chilton manuals,I always thought there's no way I can read them.But now that i'm actually messing with the wiring,i'm learning alot more about it,and I can understand these wiring diagrams.Of course,Haynes and Chilton manuals aren't anywhere near as good as factory manuals.

I would actually rather fix this harness,but I honestly don't see how it'd be possible.Almost every single wire has been cut by the PO.When I go out to the junkyard,i'm gonna bring my Haynes and try to match up the wiring best I can,and also,if I see a truck with trailer wiring,i'm just gonna keep looking.I sure hope I can find something to fix it.If I can't,then i'm gonna have to start learning more about wiring and just rewire the rear harness somehow.

 

Base model has nothing to do with that. It was an option on all trim levels. But a option your truck lacks.



According to the diagrams, they are in the same bundle. Same connector Connector 1019.

That doesn't help unfortunately. Just because it says Ford, doesn't mean it's original. It just means it's a factory replacement part. Part Number or engineering number would help though if it's marked.

 

I know a pain in the ***.

It's actually Connector 1019. Sorry about that. I'll scan the appropriate section shortly.


No, that's only the Reverse lamp part. If you notice if you look at connector 1019 it has a place for 4 wires. But it only shows two in that section. This is because the other two wires don't belong in the reverse circut, so it's split up in different sections on the diagrams.

I'm going to scan the other section with the other half of the NSS wiring. So watch this space...

I believe that is for flaresides only. C-1211. If you notice the other side is for stylesides.

 

From those pictures, that harness has been frankenstiened. No wonder you are having problems.

Here is the relevant page with the Gear Shift neutral switch, part of the NSS.

http://i447.photobucket.com/albums/q...scan0002-2.jpg

Notice the same connector number. C-1019.

Why Ford has the same component listed twice in different sections, I dunno...

 

Once I took the harness apart,I realized it was worse than I thought.lol.

Well,looking at the connector(C-1019),there is only a place for the two wires.It doesn't look like there was ever 4 wires going into that connector.What I don't understand,is my reverse light on the passenger side worked,and so does my Neutral Safety Switch.I'm confused on how it still works,but is missing two wires...

Also,is one of those two wires I don't have on my NSS Red(with maybe a stripe)?There's a loose wire in my engine compartment that I have no idea where it goes.I think the PO used it to power the electric fuel pump,but I'm not sure cause my dad replaced the fuel pump with a mechanical while I was at school...Not sure if it helps,but the wire comes out of the harness right near the coil.I had a pic,but I can't seem to find it...

 

Quote:

Originally Posted by fordtruckman80

Also,is one of those two wires I don't have on my NSS Red(with maybe a stripe)?There's a loose wire in my engine compartment that I have no idea where it goes.I think the PO used it to power the electric fuel pump,but I'm not sure cause my dad replaced the fuel pump with a mechanical while I was at school...Not sure if it helps,but the wire comes out of the harness right near the coil.I had a pic,but I can't seem to find it...

Shaun,
If you look at these diagrams, you'll see all the colors of all the wires are listed
for you. For example, looking at 81-f-150's diagram, look at C-1019, the
elusive NSS. Notice it has two wires connecting to it, both R/LB (red with a
light blue stripe) and they each belong to Circuit #32.

On your starter solenoid - as is also shown in these diagrams - is a R/LB /
Circuit #32 wire; turning the key switch to START energizes that wire and,
therefore, the solenoid, which, in turn, supplies power to the starter motor. The
NSS keeps power from being applied to the solenoid.

Sorry if I'm being overly-simplistic here, just trying to explain that all your
answers are in those scans.

EDIT: Find & post the pix of that wire, and describe the colors....

 

Thanks man,I keep overlooking the links.My fault.

I can't seem to find the pic,so i'll go out tomorrow and snap it again.