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weird electrical situation need help


strn365

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Hey guys and ladies I just put a 3in body lift on my 89 supercab it started just fine everything ran as it should I backed up and hit a curb and the truck just died I when I say that I mean engine died radio died all gauges went to zero and it would not restart me and my neighbor pushed it into my yard put a battery charger on it because the battery read 11.5 volts. It did finally start back up but I am not sure why it started the battery doesnt seem to actually be taking a charge. I cant tell if there is a short from the body lift. Anyone had any run ins like this on a body lift
 


martin

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Check the ground cable where it attaches to the block.
 

strn365

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Where exactly is that ground wire located
 

Mark_88

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Welcome to TRS~!

I saw your intro but also saw this post...so...economizing...

The block ground comes from the firewall, usually...connects up to a bolt and uses a braided wire usually to an exhaust bolt...if you left that one off it's easy to reconnect.

Other than that one, there are actually several more depending on the motor and options...the main one I've had problems with is the one that runs from the battery or solenoid to the starter. That one is pretty easy to trace on a 4 banger but may not be so on a V6.

And...there is also the main power feed from the ignition to the battery. The 89 wire harness is a bit better than the 88 (to me anyway) and generally runs across the firewall to the battery side (depending on what side the battery is on) and what you need to check is all the connections from the firewall to the battery. It is usually a single wire running straight to the battery (maybe a fuse link somewhere), but if someone has cut the wire and spliced something in check for that...and it may be bundled with other wires but is usually black and thick (12 or 14 gauge)...could also be red, but I don't have an 89 (had a 92 3.0 which is similarly wired...I think)

Oh, and the solenoid is probably the most critical...a loose nut on that or a broken stud can cause intermittent power loss...
 
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strn365

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Come to think of it I happen to remember that braided wire on my 84 but I will look for it on this one as soon as the sun comes up the solenoid seems to be fine well atleast it was before I did the body lift thank you guys for the help so far I will update when I check the ground wires
 

strn365

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Oh good night it looks as if you guys are correct about the grounding strap from the firewall to the block it is busted and of course I touched it and go figure the inside doesnt work again so that appears to be my problem I will get it fixed here in just a bit and see if that was my only problem
 

strn365

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Ok I fixed the grounding strap from the firewall to the block since it was broke and something odd happened when you push down hard on the drivers side the engine starts to stall out I did it on the passengers side and nothing happened went back to the drivers side and pushed down again same thing started to stall out what is on the drivers side that would do that and yeah it is a 2.9l manual this has really got me confused
 

Mark_88

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Not sure what you mean by pushing down on the driver side...do you mean when you lean on the fender it starts to stall out?

That sort of action may be relieving pressure on the passenger side where a wire may be coming in contact with metal...or vise versa...pushing down on the driver side puts pressure on a bare wire that comes in contact with metal...so check where the wires run...if the battery is on the passenger side and the wire for the starter runs under the motor (like they do on the 2.3) then check that entire wire for breaks in the shielding (wire coating).
 

Kowboy

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Possibly pinching the fuel line??
 

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