'99 Stepside Frame Swap

Mark_88 · Nov 14, 2017

I purchased a bunch of braided body and engine grounds at NAPA a few years ago...still have some in a tin somewhere...

I wouldn't take them from the Junkyard unless the eyelet is in good shape and properly secured because that's where the ground is secured. The new ones are guaranteed to give proper ground and something so critical is not something you want to be playing a guessing game...

I only say this because I spent a month chasing a similar issue and spent a whack of money that I didn't need to spend if I'd went over the ground wires better in the first place...

Anyway...nice job on the work and the troubleshooting... :icon_thumby:

chvlfrk · Nov 14, 2017

>>>>

Welcome from SE TN!

Wherebouts you located as I seen your reference to goin to AL?

Lotta work, but good job.

theBlake · Nov 15, 2017

chvlfrk said:
Welcome from SE TN!

Wherebouts you located as I seen your reference to goin to AL?

Lotta work, but good job.

Bout 30 minutes south if Birmingham

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tomw · Nov 15, 2017

If you can solder the rings to the wire, and use some 'heat shrink' to prevent corrosion you should be fine using stranded wire. I would not use solid wire to connect the engine to the frame, the engine moves, and Cu will get brittle after flexing.
You can even use lamp cord to connect for a ground. The braid at the back of the cylinder head was a bit over 1/4" across, as I remember, though figuring the actual gauge is difficult for me. If you want braided, it does not matter if it is factory or from another vehicle. Copper is copper.
tom

theBlake · Nov 16, 2017

tomw said:
If you can solder the rings to the wire, and use some 'heat shrink' to prevent corrosion you should be fine using stranded wire. I would not use solid wire to connect the engine to the frame, the engine moves, and Cu will get brittle after flexing.
You can even use lamp cord to connect for a ground. The braid at the back of the cylinder head was a bit over 1/4" across, as I remember, though figuring the actual gauge is difficult for me. If you want braided, it does not matter if it is factory or from another vehicle. Copper is copper.
tom

I figured it'd be fine... I still went to the parts store to get the legit ground straps. Funny that each store (2 near me that carry them) only had 1 strap each. So now I've got 2 straps.

Found a spot for one of them, under the driver side door next to where the plastic harness bracket mounts.

The other spot, as far as I can tell, is at the back of the bed, just below/behind the tail light assembly, but I'm not seeing a spot on the frame for it to mount.

Still gotta find the one for the cylinder head -> firewall... I'm guessing there's a threaded nub sticking out somewhere on the back of the motor for it... noticed a spot on the firewall, dead center, that it could probably mount to. I just gotta look for it, been busy hanging drywall.

I'm thinking, to prevent the straps from rusting/corroding, I'll heat shrink em, mount em, and then coat the exposed ends with anti-rust stuff... that way I've still got good ground connections and I don't have to worry about em.

EGR and EVAP are still failing the i/m readiness test. Don't think my EGR is shot since my vents work, and thus my vacuum lines are correct and holding vacuum. Maybe it's something I just have to "drive-out"... I'll do some research on Ford drive cycles and see if I can find an answer.

Thanks for the compliments and info everyone. I used to worry that my truck might break down on me randomly, but next week will be it's first road trip since the rebuild... headed up to Nashville for Thanksgiving. I have a good feeling it'll do just fine.

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Mark_88 · Nov 16, 2017

I had a mixed bag Ranger on my last project and it had a 2.5 engine from a 1998 working with the 1996 fuel injection and wiring in a 1988 extended cab. The engine ground was using the 1998 head so it should be very similar to the 1999...

The engine ground strap runs from the exhaust side at the back of the head and goes up to the firewall where there is a bolt in the firewall that holds the wiper motor. This bolt sticks out (on earlier models) about 2" and you can fasten grounds from whatever is in the area (wiper motor ground was one) with the ground strap. Because the bolt is threaded full length you just need to find a nut that fits over it.

Now I do understand that afer 1997 they moved the wiring harness from below the brake booster up to where the the PCM was in previous generations (at least 1996 and 1997) that feeds through to the inside of the cabin. That means the ground for the engine may have been moved from the firewall just above the brake booster and towards the center of the firewall.

I'm pretty sure I have a picture of that location because when I fitted the 1996 wiring to the 1988 wiper motor I had to attach the extra ground wires for the wiper motor because for some reason they went from a 4 wire connector to a 6 wire and the extra two were both grounds.

I will see if I can find it and post it as an attachment...my Photobucket account is not much good for linking anymore...

theBlake · Nov 16, 2017

Mark_88 said:
I had a mixed bag Ranger on my last project and it had a 2.5 engine from a 1998 working with the 1996 fuel injection and wiring in a 1988 extended cab. The engine ground was using the 1998 head so it should be very similar to the 1999...

The engine ground strap runs from the exhaust side at the back of the head and goes up to the firewall where there is a bolt in the firewall that holds the wiper motor. This bolt sticks out (on earlier models) about 2" and you can fasten grounds from whatever is in the area (wiper motor ground was one) with the ground strap. Because the bolt is threaded full length you just need to find a nut that fits over it.

Now I do understand that afer 1997 they moved the wiring harness from below the brake booster up to where the the PCM was in previous generations (at least 1996 and 1997) that feeds through to the inside of the cabin. That means the ground for the engine may have been moved from the firewall just above the brake booster and towards the center of the firewall.

I'm pretty sure I have a picture of that location because when I fitted the 1996 wiring to the 1988 wiper motor I had to attach the extra ground wires for the wiper motor because for some reason they went from a 4 wire connector to a 6 wire and the extra two were both grounds.

I will see if I can find it and post it as an attachment...my Photobucket account is not much good for linking anymore...

Loving the info. I had seen a couple threaded nubs sticking off the valve cover, and a threaded nub in the center of the firewall (1st pic, the second pic is for reference)... Not sure about these though, they don't seem to fit the description of "from the cylinder head to the firewall", then again I'm not a master mechanic.

I've wondered about using the bracket between the transmission and the motor (3rd pic). Seems like it would make a decent backup in case I can't find/don't have a good place to ground the motor to the firewall.

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Mark_88 · Nov 16, 2017

I had some issues with trying to upload the image but the second one you provided that shows the engine bay from the passenger side across shows the point I was referring to. On the driver side up near the rubber seal for the hood to rest on...just below that there is a peg that could work for the engine ground in this case.

On the back of the intake side (I may have said exhaust side but that was mistaken) the last bolt holding the intake in place should be an extended threaded bolt. That will allow you to loop the eye of the ground strap over to fasten to the engine side...then the same on the firewall side using the top stud of the wiper motor mount. if that doesn't have a clean threaded section that you can attach a nut to then the next one over that I can see in that image does.

In some cases you can double nut them to prevent them from moving and use washers of the same diameter to sandwich the ground eyelet in. That should give you a good ground for static discharge...which is one of the main reasons for those extra grounds...but also to ground things like the wiper motor or other accessories.

Stuff like starter circuit uses the thicker 12 gauge or lighter braided copper cables and those are the critical ones for that circuit.

theBlake · Nov 16, 2017

Mark_88 said:
I had some issues with trying to upload the image but the second one you provided that shows the engine bay from the passenger side across shows the point I was referring to. On the driver side up near the rubber seal for the hood to rest on...just below that there is a peg that could work for the engine ground in this case.

On the back of the intake side (I may have said exhaust side but that was mistaken) the last bolt holding the intake in place should be an extended threaded bolt. That will allow you to loop the eye of the ground strap over to fasten to the engine side...then the same on the firewall side using the top stud of the wiper motor mount. if that doesn't have a clean threaded section that you can attach a nut to then the next one over that I can see in that image does.

In some cases you can double nut them to prevent them from moving and use washers of the same diameter to sandwich the ground eyelet in. That should give you a good ground for static discharge...which is one of the main reasons for those extra grounds...but also to ground things like the wiper motor or other accessories.

Stuff like starter circuit uses the thicker 12 gauge or lighter braided copper cables and those are the critical ones for that circuit.

I remember mixing up those bolts for the intake, ended up just eyeballing the depth and matching them up that way. I'm sure I could get a ground strap on the back one and still put the required torque on it. Thanks for the info! That's 2 out of 3 locations (that I know I need) down. Just gotta figure out exactly where the bed -> frame location is and I should be golden... or I just jinxed myself

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Mark_88 · Nov 16, 2017

OK...

The 96 had two ground straps that ran from the body to the frame just below the foot well on the cab. They were a bit different as they did not fasten to the body with screws but had a very tight clip that slid over the metal ridge that hangs down. They were both screwed into the frame though with self tapping screws that were fairly large. The problem with those were they were both broken and were hanging loose (the truck was really rusty) so they weren't doing much grounding.

I actually found two of those in the parts store and was pleasantly surprised that they were not hard to find and saved me from putting more holes in my old cab.

I still have one of them and I used the other inside the cab because they wouldn't work the same way on the older style cabs (or I was too lazy to lay down and try to fit them).

theBlake · Nov 19, 2017

Ok, so...
Got the ground strap mounted for the intake/head -> firewall.
Found where the cab -> frame ground is, next to the plastic harness bracket below the driver door, just gotta use a self-tapping screw to get it secure (the old strap, what's left of it, is still on the cab, rusty screw head, so I'll have to install nearby).
I have yet to find where the bed -> frame location is... don't see any old straps/remnants. Although the previous owner grounded the white wire for the previous hitch plug to the rear of the bed (driver side, just below the tailgate, behind the bumper)... wondering if I could just use that hole and self-tap into the frame.

I had read somewhere, somewhere, that the bed ground is on the passenger side somewhere. That may or may not be for my year though.

I read an old thread ( https://www.ranger-forums.com/general-technical-electrical-18/ground-wire-locations-144340/ ) where RonD went into some detail as to the ground locations. This particular thread OP had the same year Ranger as me.

RonD:
"There are 6 locations to check though
Battery negative terminal, never assume, lol
Starter motor bolt, this should be the other end of the battery cable
Head to firewall ground strap, computer and dash ground
Block to Frame ground strap, tail light ground, also fuel pump/gauge in some
Battery to Rad support, usually a smaller 2nd wire on battery terminal, this is for head lights.
Rad support to fender well"

I'm good on most of these he listed. However, I don't know where the block -> frame ground strap would go. Also wondering exactly where this radiator support -> fender well would be (I don't have it currently). I noticed he didn't list a bed -> frame ground. I've read that this grounds the taillights, etc. I also believe I confirmed that last night...

Went on a 10-minute trip last night. After a 1/4-mile my gauge cluster lights went out (I'm suspecting it's due to a lack of a cab -> frame ground). When I got to my buddy's house, 5 miles away, he said my taillights were out (I'm guessing due to a lack of a bed -> frame strap). Now it's got me wondering if the EVAP wasn't passing readiness tests because if that lack of ground... or due to not having one for the head -> firewall... or both.

So, I'm hoping to find some specific info on where the bed -> frame, block -> frame, and radiator support -> fender well grounds should go, as well as where I could add extra grounds to keep the gremlins away. I figure when I get these boxes checked I'll take pictures of all the locations for anyone else struggling with this (instead of reviving old, scattered discussions like I am [emoji6] )

Thanks for all the help so far.

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Mark_88 · Nov 19, 2017

Thanks for the update.

The bed actually sits right on the frame and if there are no obvious ground wires or straps then the C-clip and bolt passing through the hole would provide ground provided there was a spot cleaned for that purpose. Otherwise you may need to find an existing hole and clean it out, with a file or drill and mount a strap using a bolt and washer.

It will probably take years to rust out but it may be a good idea to get something like a silicone spray to coat the ends...although that may become a regular maintenance item if you don't want your frame to rust out eventually.

I used silicone spray on my battery terminals and it helps to keep them free from corrosion. They do require a bit of cleaning and maintenance and I did mine in spring/fall regularly. Which reminds me...need to pick some up.

The rad support ground is on the wire harness itself on older models and was on my 96 harness under the hood. It grounds to the cross member near each headlamp on either side and may also ground the horn. Check the horn wiring and around that area and you will surely find at least one screw with a wire attached.

Which leads me to the main reason for replying this time. The wire harnesses on my original 1988 regular and extended cab Ranger were a nightmare at one point because the harnesses themselves were crumbling. This caused frequent issues with lights, wipers, horn, and starting circuit that plagued me until I found the problem: the main power feed wire (black with orange stripe) was holding on by a single strand of wire.

I didn't see it until one day I decided to pull things apart for closer inspection and when I removed the wire wrap it all became apparent.

On the 1999 you may not have this problem yet but if you haven't at least checked the wire harness running from the firewall to the headlights then I would suggest that as soon as you can. Remove the plastic outer harness cover (the accordian type removable coating) and go over the connectors and wires on both sides of the connector. Check for play in the connector and see if any of the wires might be ready to fall out.

The newer connectors on my 1996 were far better than the original design and are probably not the problem but worth having a look. Mice like to chew through these things and I've found traces of something trying to build a nest around my battery tray when I left it sitting one year.

The last point would be to check the starter wire as it should skip over to the block of the engine at some point or to the frame for ground. If you have that and you are experiencing frequent power outages like headlights, or starter issues then that is the circuit to look at for bad ground or even corroded wires. Braided copper wires can corrode and fall apart just like anything else and if they are original equipment it may be time to consider replacing them.

A lot to consider but hopefully it will help you find the bad spots and clear up the problems...

Documenting all that would be a great idea and I'm sure others will find that helpful...it is one of the most common problems and I've not seen it documented properly...meant to do that myself but once I figured mine out it became less important at the time as other things sprang up to replace the old problems.

theBlake · Nov 19, 2017

Mark_88 said:
Thanks for the update.

The bed actually sits right on the frame and if there are no obvious ground wires or straps then the C-clip and bolt passing through the hole would provide ground provided there was a spot cleaned for that purpose. Otherwise you may need to find an existing hole and clean it out, with a file or drill and mount a strap using a bolt and washer.

It will probably take years to rust out but it may be a good idea to get something like a silicone spray to coat the ends...although that may become a regular maintenance item if you don't want your frame to rust out eventually.

I used silicone spray on my battery terminals and it helps to keep them free from corrosion. They do require a bit of cleaning and maintenance and I did mine in spring/fall regularly. Which reminds me...need to pick some up.

The rad support ground is on the wire harness itself on older models and was on my 96 harness under the hood. It grounds to the cross member near each headlamp on either side and may also ground the horn. Check the horn wiring and around that area and you will surely find at least one screw with a wire attached.

Which leads me to the main reason for replying this time. The wire harnesses on my original 1988 regular and extended cab Ranger were a nightmare at one point because the harnesses themselves were crumbling. This caused frequent issues with lights, wipers, horn, and starting circuit that plagued me until I found the problem: the main power feed wire (black with orange stripe) was holding on by a single strand of wire.

I didn't see it until one day I decided to pull things apart for closer inspection and when I removed the wire wrap it all became apparent.

On the 1999 you may not have this problem yet but if you haven't at least checked the wire harness running from the firewall to the headlights then I would suggest that as soon as you can. Remove the plastic outer harness cover (the accordian type removable coating) and go over the connectors and wires on both sides of the connector. Check for play in the connector and see if any of the wires might be ready to fall out.

The newer connectors on my 1996 were far better than the original design and are probably not the problem but worth having a look. Mice like to chew through these things and I've found traces of something trying to build a nest around my battery tray when I left it sitting one year.

The last point would be to check the starter wire as it should skip over to the block of the engine at some point or to the frame for ground. If you have that and you are experiencing frequent power outages like headlights, or starter issues then that is the circuit to look at for bad ground or even corroded wires. Braided copper wires can corrode and fall apart just like anything else and if they are original equipment it may be time to consider replacing them.

A lot to consider but hopefully it will help you find the bad spots and clear up the problems...

Documenting all that would be a great idea and I'm sure others will find that helpful...it is one of the most common problems and I've not seen it documented properly...meant to do that myself but once I figured mine out it became less important at the time as other things sprang up to replace the old problems.

Nice info.
I did some crawling around. Checked the starter, it seems fine and I haven't had any issues out of it (except the occasional more than a few revs and then it starts, other than that it usually revs 3-4 times and starts)... First 2 pics are of that.

Pics 3 and 4 are of the radiator support -> fender well ground, as far as I can tell (it's wrapped in the harness).

Pics 5-9 are my new ground straps, the last 2 of those being at the rear of the bed and frame.

The next pic, coincidentally, was when I first cranked it up after checking everything and mounting the ground straps. Oddly enough my EVAP suddenly passes the readiness test [emoji16]

I let the truck warn up to almost 170 and tested the brake lights a few times, seems ok, but I'll take it out tonight and run it down the back roads and see if it all checks out.

Passenger side blinkers have been blinking real fast since the rebuild. I assumed I switched up the plugs on the headlight, but it may be possible that I forgot to plug in the passenger rear or switched that up by mistake. I'll check that tonight too.

Got some bumpers from Pull-A-Part, just gotta knock out a couple small dings and a bend, prime em, hit em with some matte black, and mount em. Got the plastic wiring harness hanger bracket thing (under the driver door, where the cab harness meets the frame harness), mounted that too.

So I'm hoping the new grounds fixed all my issues, wanna make sure the starter, fender, and engine block grounds are good though (almost forgot, took a pic of the engine block ground, I think...)

Also wondering if anyone knows where this little gray plug goes, it's right next to the front coil pack plug... It's never been plugged anywhere since I've owned the truck... not for the alternator, that one's already plugged in.

And my horn isn't working. I can't remember if I've tried it since the rebuild, other than last night/today. Pretty sure I hooked it back up right

Thanks for keeping up with me, I have a good feeling the truck is almost 100%

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Mark_88 · Nov 19, 2017

Ah, I just remembered how the starter grounds...

l

The battery was moved to the passenger side after 1988 (or in third gen after 1992) so the starter grounds to the driver side of the block...that's the one that I couldn't get off when I swapped everything to the passenger side...it was pretty badly rusted and I think that's where my problems where for more than a few things. Anyway, now I see how yours is grounded so you might want to check that if you can get at it. I just cut the wire and used a spare set that the previous owner gave me. I grounded mine on the other side near the exhaust manifold since everything was moved to that side for easy access. The driver side is a bit too crowded with PS and Intake.

That little grey plug looks very much like the horn connector...but could be washer motor if that's not hooked up yet. The horns on my truck were so badly corroded that I ended up removing the horns (those two come out together) and sanding down the prong on the horn and replacing the connectors. Worked fine after that...but a really dumb place to put anything due to road spray.

So the little grey connector I'm not sure of in that location otherwise..I'm at a loss since I haven't looked under the hood of a Ranger for over a year...or more.

Someone else should be able to tell you though.

The purge canister might need a bit of rework on the hose connectors to ensure they are sealed. You may have inadvertently plugged the system if you were working in that area which would allow it to pass the test. Or maybe something needed grounding.

Good work anyway... :icon_thumby:

theBlake · Nov 19, 2017

I'm hoping the canister just needed grounding... The canister I'm using came with the donor frame, most of the stuff on my original frame was too rusted to consider using (I kept a hand-sized plate of rust from the old frame and painted it... a little souvenir). So I'm guessing either it a) needed to be grounded, b) needed to be calibrated by the computer, or c) needs to be cleaned out. Not sure yet how to clean it or otherwise service it so I'll look in to that. Seems that grounding was the issue though, unless I just happen to have completed the drive cycles needed yesterday when I put about 100 miles on the truck, but knowing me I'll end up double checking it to be sure so I don't have any gremlins popping up on the road.

As for the starter and engine grounds, I'll end up taking those connections off, sanding them decently enough, and reattaching them. I have wondered about that engine ground though, mine looks more like a harness hanger than a ground, but I'll do some digging to find out (thanks to the almighty Google... all hail Google)

Seems like the little gray plug doesn't go to the horn, wire's too short to reach there... barely reaches the coil pack. I'll check the wiring diagram and see if I can figure something out... worst-case: Google might know [emoji6]

Finally dark outside so it's almost time to test my lights, etc. Tonight should be productive... hoping to have my bumpers ready to mount by bedtime.

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'99 Stepside Frame Swap

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