Electrical Woes
Thread Starter
|
Senior User
Joined: Nov 2009
Posts: 109
Likes: 0
From: Decatur Illinois
Electrical Woes
My new Hiboy project seems to be having many electrical woes. The gages in the cluster arent working except the fuel gage, even the external tach isnt working. Also I fooled around for a while with the lights and got all except the headlights working. They are all dimmer than I think they should be and I believe the blinkers are flashing too fast. Also, I have no brakelights. The headlight plugs show more than 15V on the hot site of the low beams, yet when I click the floor button thats greatly reduced to like 2V if that and only 11V on the top of the plug where the high beams are activated...?? Even with this the headlights dont light up at all. when I plug them into the harness, for some reason it shows 15V to all three prongs including the ground. Does this indicate the headlights are shot? I hard wired them to the battery and they did infact light up...? Im confused here.
Thread Starter
|
Senior User
Joined: Nov 2009
Posts: 109
Likes: 0
From: Decatur Illinois
gosh dang it....i was in a hurry to do that and as embarassing as it is to admit it, i left the truck in gear and cranked her over. she fired and tore off into the side of my garage. son of a ***** now i have a whole other project to do.
Tuned
Joined: Mar 2009
Posts: 343
Likes: 0
From: Kalispell, MT
Don't feel bad. Noone was hurt. I have done the same thing. Just chalk it up as a lesson learned. And trust me, you will verify neutral every time now religiously!
It could be worse, unfortunately one of the members here has his truck take off into the Ohio river...
It could be worse, unfortunately one of the members here has his truck take off into the Ohio river...
Thread Starter
|
Senior User
Joined: Nov 2009
Posts: 109
Likes: 0
From: Decatur Illinois
lol, well like you said no one was hurt and I did get it stopped before too dang much damage was caused. either way its still about as embarassing as could be. my neighbors have some contractors outside im sure they got a kick out of it...hey did you see that stupid hilljack just drive that truck into his garage?? haha thats too bad about the ohio river truck, hate to hear that kind of deal and ya ill definately verify neutral.
Trending Topics
Senior User
Joined: Jul 2009
Posts: 213
Likes: 1
From: Slippery Rock, PA
You need a new voltage regulator if it is pushing that many volts at idle. That should be the first thing you replace.
FTE Stories
Ford Trucks for Ford Truck Enthusiasts
3 Best / 3 Worst Parts of Modern Ford Ownership
Brett Foote
10 Amazing Upgrades That Solve Common Ford Truck Owner Headaches
Pouria Savadkouei
Every 2026 Ford Engine Explained
Brett Foote
10 Ugly Ford Trucks That We Still Kinda Love
Joe Kucinski
10 Things Every Truck Owner NEEDS (2026 Edition)
Michael S. Palmer
Rezvani's Latest Post-Apocalyptic Monster Is a Ford F-150 Raptor Underneath
Verdad Gallardo
Top 10 Most Expensive Ford Trucks Ever Sold on Bring a Trailer
Joe Kucinski
2027 Ford Super Duty Buyer's Guide (Every Model, Engine, & Package)
Brett Foote
Top 10 Ford Truck Tragedies
Joe Kucinski
MSEE
Joined: Apr 2004
Posts: 10,386
Likes: 35
From: Austin, TX
Sorry to hear about the garage...
When you get back to the truck, you need to service the voltage regulator. Either it's faulty, or the ground is bad. Try running a jumper wire from the negative terminal of the battery to one of the regulator mounting bolts. Check the voltage again. If it's still too high (over 14 volts), you need to replace the regulator.
Then you can go back to the headlights.
When you get back to the truck, you need to service the voltage regulator. Either it's faulty, or the ground is bad. Try running a jumper wire from the negative terminal of the battery to one of the regulator mounting bolts. Check the voltage again. If it's still too high (over 14 volts), you need to replace the regulator.
Then you can go back to the headlights.
Thread Starter
|
Senior User
Joined: Nov 2009
Posts: 109
Likes: 0
From: Decatur Illinois
got something very weird for an explanation of the high voltage. I found that the headlights were not working because of a faulty dimmer switch on the floor. I replaced the switch and am now showing 11.9V at the headlights. I havent tried measuring at the battery again at an idle but, im wondering if maybe that switch was screwing up more than just the headlights?
Laughing Gas
Joined: Dec 2004
Posts: 754
Likes: 3
From: Idaho
some thing else to check these old trucks are notorious for bad grounds every where,I rewired my whole truck and added grounds from the frame to battery,engine to fire wall and battery to core support sounds like over kill but better than no ground at all