Electrical Issues - 84 F250

[Gary Lewis]

Sam,

I'm not absolutely sure of your '84's wiring, but you can easily tap the choke wire (bk/w) to trigger the relay.

I think that is what Gary is doing for the voltmeter in Big Blue, so there may be a diagram there....

Just sub your 'extra' wires for his Rocketman Innovations voltmeter.

I'm late to the party, but have read the posts and see two things to address:

• "(ignition switch dropdown link)": I can't find what is broken. Can you give me a link to it?

• Relay: I'm not using the stator output on the alternator to pull in a relay on Big Blue now, but I did previously. The "S" terminal, for stator, puts out just enough juice to pull in a Bosch relay when the alternator comes on line. That's the white/black wire.

Anything I missed?

[swampedout]

That red wire is a dead end. White that Ts off it goes to aftermarket switch under steering column, with 1 Wb wire that goes into a big relay under pass side battery.

The other white wire in the switch dead ends at the same battery

White wires eliminated. Old fog light switch and relay.

I probably pulled 100 ft of wire today.

[swampedout]

White wires eliminated. Old fog light switch and relay.

I probably pulled 100 ft of wire today.

Ok,

Thanks Gary. I see what youre saying. Sounds like a neat trick for organizing your power.

I lost the trail on the ignition switch link, but it was somewhere in the main electrical dropdown menu.

Got the truck running again. Love the sound of that big block!

[ArdWrknTrk]

I'm late to the party, but have read the posts and see two things to address:

• "(ignition switch dropdown link)": I can't find what is broken. Can you give me a link to it?

• Relay: I'm not using the stator output on the alternator to pull in a relay on Big Blue now, but I did previously. The "S" terminal, for stator, puts out just enough juice to pull in a Bosch relay when the alternator comes on line. That's the white/black wire.

Anything I missed?

Sam needs to find what killed his batteries while sitting.

(It was NOT a malfunctioning battery tender)

I don't know yet what "accessories"

he has, or if any of them need constant power (clock, for example)

But whatever doesn't belong should be eliminated entirely.

What are your thoughts on the "big relay" beneath the starting battery???

[Gary Lewis]

Sam needs to find what killed his batteries while sitting.

(It was NOT a malfunctioning battery tender)

I don't know yet what "accessories"

he has, or if any of them need constant power (clock, for example)

But whatever doesn't belong should be eliminated entirely.

What are your thoughts on the "big relay" beneath the starting battery???

Yeah, only one Battery Tender problem per year.

I'm guessing that the "big relay" is to parallel the batteries since it has a switch in the cab.

[ArdWrknTrk]

Yeah, only one Battery Tender problem per year.

I'm guessing that the "big relay" is to parallel the batteries since it has a switch in the cab.

💡 Maybe the switch was on, and that was the draw that killed both batteries????

I agree, that it is likely to isolate, or parallel the batteries.

But without seeing the actual circuit it's hard for me to reach conclusions.

[swampedout]

💡 Maybe the switch was on, and that was the draw that killed both batteries????

I agree, that it is likely to isolate, or parallel the batteries.

But without seeing the actual circuit it's hard for me to reach conclusions.

That relay was for the fog lights. There were 2 wires with insulation rubbed off and 1 cut completely in the circuit. Its all been eliminated. Im thinking my draw was in this circuit but Ill verify that soon.

Ive almost got all the constant 12v wires figured out, except the fusible links. Each time I track something down, I find another dead end, or a wire that goes in one direction and splits from the one loom into another loom, or one wire that gets soldered into 3 wires. Like I said, Im getting used to how Ford ran wires.

But the engine bay is getting cleaned up.

I appreciate all the help on this, especially knowing its pretty much a guessing game with all the aftermarket circuits I have.

 

[Gary Lewis]

That relay was for the fog lights. There were 2 wires with insulation rubbed off and 1 cut completely in the circuit. Its all been eliminated. Im thinking my draw was in this circuit but Ill verify that soon.

Ive almost got all the constant 12v wires figured out, except the fusible links. Each time I track something down, I find another dead end, or a wire that goes in one direction and splits from the one loom into another loom, or one wire that gets soldered into 3 wires. Like I said, Im getting used to how Ford ran wires.

But the engine bay is getting cleaned up.

I appreciate all the help on this, especially knowing its pretty much a guessing game with all the aftermarket circuits I have.

Glad you got it figured out. But is there a question about fusible links?

Also, completely aside, have there been any discussions of which you are aware regarding relaxing the travel quarantine? IOW, if you come in from out of state you have to quarantine for 14 days? We were thinking about coming in October, but....

[ArdWrknTrk]

That relay was for the fog lights. There were 2 wires with insulation rubbed off and 1 cut completely in the circuit. Its all been eliminated. Im thinking my draw was in this circuit but Ill verify that soon.

Ive almost got all the constant 12v wires figured out, except the fusible links. Each time I track something down, I find another dead end, or a wire that goes in one direction and splits from the one loom into another loom, or one wire that gets soldered into 3 wires. Like I said, Im getting used to how Ford ran wires.

But the engine bay is getting cleaned up.

I appreciate all the help on this, especially knowing its pretty much a guessing game with all the aftermarket circuits I have.

Sam, just the relay holding in could draw your batteries down.

Have you looked at the 1985 EVTM on this site?

That should tell you what fusible links there may be, what colour they are, and where they go.

Have a look under charge and power distribution.

The links are usually in the upper left corner.

Sounds like you're getting a better handle on it!

[swampedout]

Sam, just the relay holding in could draw your batteries down.

Have you looked at the 1985 EVTM on this site?

That should tell you what fusible links there may be, what colour they are, and where they go.

Have a look under charge and power distribution.

The links are usually in the upper left corner.

Sounds like you're getting a better handle on it!

Jim,

I have looked at the EVTM. I believe theres 5 fusible links?

I have 3, plus 1 that might have been converted to an inline glass fuse. So Im slowly sorting through the manual but at least 1 link has probably been eliminated. And as my weekend has officially ended, I have to wait 5 more days to continue.

I appreciate your help on it!

Gary,

Thanks for your help as well.

As far as the travel restriction, it seems like thats a big part of the Governors strategy to protect the state right now. I can tell you first hand there are a lot of people who dont quarantine or interpret this restriction very loosely. My wife says theyve closed state parks for camping but BLM land and National Parks are still open.

We had a friend visit this weekend, and they'd been recently tested and we basically tailgated at our property for the day.

So with that said, I think right now their focus is keeping numbers down with kids going back to school so I dont expect anything to change for a while.

Is this for your TransAmerica Trail ride?