last weekend my ignition key fell back and grounded itself on hot side of ignition key and the gauge for battery was heated window turned a little glossy and now i dont know wuts goin on does not turn over or anything i put old ignition key back on nothing replaced started solonoid still nothing any ideas plus these trucks dont have any fuses? well the previous owner must of hard wired everything together on my side please any ideas?

 

DDIADQ

Hello and welcome to FTE! If the ammeter got hot enough that it fogged the gauge glass, then I would say that you burnt up either the main power supply wire from the starter solenoid to the ignition switch and/or the ammeter itself. I'm not familiar with the '55 instrument cluster. The older trucks that I own have a loop on the back of the ammeter that the wire just runs through and it isn't possible to burn them up with a short. If that's the way yours is, then the wire itself is probably burnt in two somewhere. If the ammeter on your cluster actually has two terminals where the wires physically connect under nuts, then you may have lucked out and just cooked the ammeter. Have you checked with a voltmeter to see if you still have power supplied to the ignition switch?

 

And the key didn't melt?: Ok, can you find power anywhere in the dash gauge cluster? Your best bet is to test backwards from the ignition switch towards the battery for power and line integrity. Like Blueoval said, you might have melted somewhere from the battery to the ignition. Good Luck

 

I did that with my 55 some years ago however, I got an updated wiring harness immediately afterwards. I burnt up the starter, solenoid, and voltage regulator, replaced all that and it ran fine. As mentioned above you have have burned some wire in half also, if you have never rewired the truck now is the time.

 

yea i am lmc truck has a wiring for $500 i didnt know if i should wait cuz eventually i wanna tear apart and put back with new stuff i been buying parts everytimi i get paid but i used a voltmeter and i get no source of power to key but i didnt smell burnt wire think it might be voltage regulater like jay said but before i had time to get hand up there and pull it out was there for atleast 10 seconds before i pulled it away from hotside from the metal

 

may have fried the circuit breaker cube that's attached to the left side of the instrument cluster (given you have all original wiring). slight possibility you meltied it at the solenoid too. I'd start with the battery, make sure it didn't get cooked, then start following the power wire from the solenoid across and thru the firewall to the back of the instrument cluster. the wire will run thru the ammeter and to the breaker cubes. from the breaker cubes out to the ignition, etc. Remember, this is positive ground if original.

BTW!!! remember to disconnect the positive cable from the battery before pulling the instrument cluster as it will be easy to ground out one of the breaker cube posts wigglin the cluster out.

 

I can tell you with some certainty that it is not your voltage regulator. This isn't a problem that you're going to fix by shotgunning parts at it. Since you have no voltage at all at the ignition switch, your next step would be to pull the instrument cluster out and see what the ammeter connections look like. If there are two separate wires connected to the ammeter like I mentioned before, then you probably just burnt up the ammeter. All the power for the entire truck runs through that ammeter and if you french fried it and it burnt open, you will get no power anywhere. You did mention that the guage got hot and fogged up. That's the obvious place to check. Make sense? You can check to see if it's burnt up by checking voltage on both wires attached to it. If you have power on one but not the other, then it's a goner. If that's the case, then you can just connect the two ammeter wires together on one post to get the truck going until you can replace the ammeter.

 

If that ever happens again, don't reach up there with your hand, you'll burn a hole in it - go out and disconnect the battery post that goes to ground (positive on a 6 volt system, negative on a 12 volt system).

We need a little bit more information here and to clarify some things you mentioned.

First, I assume that by "ignition key" you mean the ignition switch - and it popped out of it's hole in the dash and the hot terminal on it grounded out and there were lots of sparks and stuff.

Second, is there still a 6 volt positive ground electrical system on this truck? In other words does it still have the stock electrical system in it?

The reason I ask about the electrical system is because if it was stock, the ignition switch doesn't get hot power from the battery, it comers off the headlight switch - which also is the connection point for your generator. The headlight switch contains two circuit breakers for the 6 volt electrical system.

So in order to figure out what you fried, we need to know your wiring flow. But I would venture to say that your ignition switch is toast, and possibly your headlight switch. If yo uhave a stock Ammeter, then th esmioke in it is probably residual from the wire overheating, or the ignition switch trying to weld itself to the dash.

 

well its a 12 volt with a alternater and everything is all meesed up the guy who had before must of mickey moused together ok nothing is connected in back of cluster nothing works up there it has a separate volt oil and temp gauge off to the side thats the gauge that was glossy of the time it was arching am sure it was sparking but i didnt see i get power from battery to starter solonoid but not to key and also my voltage regulater is not connected to anything later i will post pics when wife gets home

 

and how would i post pics on the post reply? so everybody could see?

 

Hi KOS!

Well, unfortunately, since it's not the OEM wiring, we don't have a clue what your previous owner did.

But, he had to run the power coming down from the battery (via the starter solenoid) or in from the alternator and distribute it out from someplace - God knows where.

In the regular 55 set up that is done at the headlight switch. So, if he copy catted the original wiring flow, then he ran power into the headlight switch and then over to the ignition switch from there probelm with that is the circuit breakers in the headlight switch are all 6 volt.

The second alternative is he wired it like a GM product and sent the alternator power directly over to the battery (again possibly through the starter solenoid), then powered down from there to the ignition switch and out to everything.

Third is that he has a fuse panel someplace - which you already said you didn't think he had; or

Fourth, he just totally hosed up everything!

I know this isn't what you want to hear, but it will probably be much easier to rewire the truck, than to try and troubleshoot this problem (and fix it wired the way it is) then have to put up with all the future problems this is going to present you with. Rewiring is not at all difficult if you take it one step at a time. I have complete diagrams and a step by step rewiring guide.

As far as posting photos, there is a "READ FIRST" thread on the Forum Main Page that will tell you all about it. Here's the link if you can't find it on the main page:

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/6...-pictures.html

 

well i wanted to buy a new wiring harness for 500 bucks of lmc truck .com mainly for 12 volt systems i want it just right fuse block and wut not but where else do u guys shop any ideas besides lmctruck am interested?

 

have a look at www.ezwiring.com, there is a 21 circuit wiring harness for around 185 bucks. There are several companies producing similar products. I'm thinking you don't need to be paying 500 for a wiring harness. Best best is to pick up a couple hot rod mags and have a gander.

mervy49

 

There are a few good wiring kits out there. EZ is one of them.

But why do you need a fabricated harness? Why not just run your own wire and fuse blocks? You could rewire for less than $150? There's just not that much wiring to be done on these trucks.

All you need is a good diagram, and like i said those are available.

 

ok i messed up my lights do turn on but everything on dash but still no crank?