4.0L Grounds.... Need help!

abrush · 11-19-2007, 09:29 AM

O.k., finally got the 4.0L completely hooked up in my 1988 Bronco II. I tried to start it yesterday and have no power at all when I turn the key. My test light was out so I couldn't see if I had power to anything but I am assuming I don't have a ground hooked up so here is my question.....

My donor vehicle, a 1994 Explorer, had the negative battery cable bolted to the frame and the motor. When I put the engine in my Bronco II I only hooked it up to the motor as the old 2.9L wasn't grounded to the frame, just the motor only. Would this make a difference???? If not, what other grounds would I have possibly missed? As far as I can tell, they are all hooked up. Are there any overlooked grounds that I might have forgotten? I am pretty positive I wired everything correctly. Any advice??

swamprat · 11-19-2007, 06:35 PM

could you list where the grounds you have? Having the ground from the battery to the engine is fine. Do you have a ground from the driver side wiper motor to the engine connected. This one gave me fits when I did my body lift. I thought it was just for the wiper motor. My truck would not start with out it.

Give more details on you problem

1. does it crank?

2. fuel pump working?

3. Do you have spark?

My swap had a similar problem, my fuel pump came on with key in the on position. When I turned to the start position I had nothing. I had a couple of wires wrong. Get your test light fixed or a good multi tester. I checked for wires that were hot in the on and start position. With out a test light you are only guessing

abrush · 11-19-2007, 07:30 PM

O.k., I think my grounds are fine. I do have the ground hooked to the firewall by the wiper motor. I am starting to think that my wiring is a mess. I used the article in the tech library by Steve Butler. This is what I did....

1. I used the Explorer starter solenoid and hooked all the cables going to it from the Explorer harness in the same locations as they were when in the Explorer. I then spliced the pink ignition wire out of the explorer harness that goes to the drivers side firewall to the red/blue wire on the 2.9L harness coming out of the driver's side firewall.

2. I then spliced both the red/green wires in the bronco II and explorer harnesses together as the article says that this powers everything in the 4.0 harness.

Nothing happens when I try to start the ignition.

I got my test light fixed and found that several of the fatter wires in the explorer harness have constant power without the key on. This included the black and white wire, yellow, etc. My pink ignition wire does not have power even when I turn the key on. There are so many wires that I am not even sure where to start. I looked at both my ETVM manuals and thought I had it down but obviously not.

I had my dad who used to work on cars look at it but he was confused as well as I. We could get the motor to turn over by crossing the pink ignition wire to one of the constant hot wires. I also noticed when we crossed it with the blue wire going to the firewall in the bronco II that my light up guages would come on, the vehicle would try to turn over and my headlights came on.

This is looking like a complete mess. I wish I knew someone close that I could come look at theirs. If anyone could give me some detailed help, I would highly appreciate it.

abrush · 11-19-2007, 07:32 PM

I forgot to mention, my fuel pump does not come on. I hooked the pink/black wires together from both harnesses on this.

swamprat · 11-19-2007, 08:57 PM

I believe your fuel pump wires is yellow with a black stripe. Can you turn your head light on? Is the 4.0 out of an auto or 5 sp and is your truck auto or 5 sp?

CopyKat · 11-19-2007, 09:25 PM

The black/white is your sensor ground. You need this one.

Check to make sure your inertia switch is not tripped. This may be your FP issue.

CopyKat · 11-19-2007, 09:32 PM

hope you got the diagrams

abrush · 11-20-2007, 08:45 AM

No, I can't turn my headlights on. It is like I don't have power to anything unless I take a constant hot wire and start touching other ones. I guess this is why I am totally confused as to why nothing works. My 4.0 is out of an auto Explorer. My bronco II is an auto as well.

I checked my inertia switch. The red button is flat even with the top. I noticed that you can push it down so I am sure that it isn't tripped.

Regarding the black and white wire being the sensor ground, I will check to see if that one is hooked up.

abrush · 11-20-2007, 09:08 AM

Maybe I am overlooking this but where is the black/white sensor ground located?

CopyKat · 11-20-2007, 12:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by abrush

I checked my inertia switch. The red button is flat even with the top. I noticed that you can push it down so I am sure that it isn't tripped.

That means it is bad if it doesn't stay down. Replace it or temp bypass it.

The sensor ground should be in one of the plugs on the drivers fender connecting the engine to the body.

Make sure all your grounds are good, and secure. I had similar issues and I found that I was missing a ground at the battery. It was hiding under the tray.

That missing ground resulted in the truck cranking over when I turned the headlights on.

11-19-2007, 09:29 AM	#1
abrush Junior Member Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Nebraska Year: 1988 Make: Ford Model: Bronco II Posts: 97 Rep Power: 12 iTrader: (0)	4.0L Grounds.... Need help! O.k., finally got the 4.0L completely hooked up in my 1988 Bronco II. I tried to start it yesterday and have no power at all when I turn the key. My test light was out so I couldn't see if I had power to anything but I am assuming I don't have a ground hooked up so here is my question..... My donor vehicle, a 1994 Explorer, had the negative battery cable bolted to the frame and the motor. When I put the engine in my Bronco II I only hooked it up to the motor as the old 2.9L wasn't grounded to the frame, just the motor only. Would this make a difference???? If not, what other grounds would I have possibly missed? As far as I can tell, they are all hooked up. Are there any overlooked grounds that I might have forgotten? I am pretty positive I wired everything correctly. Any advice??
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11-19-2007, 06:35 PM	#2
swamprat Member Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: lexington KY Year: 1994 Make: Ford Model: Ranger Engine: 4.0 Class: 4x4 Used For: dripping oil in driveway Posts: 672 Rep Power: 13 iTrader: (3)	could you list where the grounds you have? Having the ground from the battery to the engine is fine. Do you have a ground from the driver side wiper motor to the engine connected. This one gave me fits when I did my body lift. I thought it was just for the wiper motor. My truck would not start with out it. Give more details on you problem 1. does it crank? 2. fuel pump working? 3. Do you have spark? My swap had a similar problem, my fuel pump came on with key in the on position. When I turned to the start position I had nothing. I had a couple of wires wrong. Get your test light fixed or a good multi tester. I checked for wires that were hot in the on and start position. With out a test light you are only guessing
	Tweet

11-19-2007, 07:30 PM	#3
abrush Junior Member Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Nebraska Year: 1988 Make: Ford Model: Bronco II Posts: 97 Rep Power: 12 iTrader: (0)	O.k., I think my grounds are fine. I do have the ground hooked to the firewall by the wiper motor. I am starting to think that my wiring is a mess. I used the article in the tech library by Steve Butler. This is what I did.... 1. I used the Explorer starter solenoid and hooked all the cables going to it from the Explorer harness in the same locations as they were when in the Explorer. I then spliced the pink ignition wire out of the explorer harness that goes to the drivers side firewall to the red/blue wire on the 2.9L harness coming out of the driver's side firewall. 2. I then spliced both the red/green wires in the bronco II and explorer harnesses together as the article says that this powers everything in the 4.0 harness. Nothing happens when I try to start the ignition. I got my test light fixed and found that several of the fatter wires in the explorer harness have constant power without the key on. This included the black and white wire, yellow, etc. My pink ignition wire does not have power even when I turn the key on. There are so many wires that I am not even sure where to start. I looked at both my ETVM manuals and thought I had it down but obviously not. I had my dad who used to work on cars look at it but he was confused as well as I. We could get the motor to turn over by crossing the pink ignition wire to one of the constant hot wires. I also noticed when we crossed it with the blue wire going to the firewall in the bronco II that my light up guages would come on, the vehicle would try to turn over and my headlights came on. This is looking like a complete mess. I wish I knew someone close that I could come look at theirs. If anyone could give me some detailed help, I would highly appreciate it.
	Tweet

11-19-2007, 07:32 PM	#4
abrush Junior Member Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Nebraska Year: 1988 Make: Ford Model: Bronco II Posts: 97 Rep Power: 12 iTrader: (0)	I forgot to mention, my fuel pump does not come on. I hooked the pink/black wires together from both harnesses on this.
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11-19-2007, 08:57 PM	#5
swamprat Member Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: lexington KY Year: 1994 Make: Ford Model: Ranger Engine: 4.0 Class: 4x4 Used For: dripping oil in driveway Posts: 672 Rep Power: 13 iTrader: (3)	I believe your fuel pump wires is yellow with a black stripe. Can you turn your head light on? Is the 4.0 out of an auto or 5 sp and is your truck auto or 5 sp?
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11-19-2007, 09:25 PM	#6
CopyKat Member Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Manitoba, Coldest place in Canada Year: 1987 Make: Ford Model: BroncoIV Engine: 4.0L Class: 4x4 Extreme Used For: DD/Wheeler Posts: 2,274 Rep Power: 0 iTrader: (1)	The black/white is your sensor ground. You need this one. Check to make sure your inertia switch is not tripped. This may be your FP issue. Last edited by CopyKat; 11-26-2007 at 02:07 PM.
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11-19-2007, 09:32 PM	#7
CopyKat Member Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Manitoba, Coldest place in Canada Year: 1987 Make: Ford Model: BroncoIV Engine: 4.0L Class: 4x4 Extreme Used For: DD/Wheeler Posts: 2,274 Rep Power: 0 iTrader: (1)	hope you got the diagrams Last edited by CopyKat; 11-26-2007 at 02:06 PM.
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11-20-2007, 08:45 AM	#8
abrush Junior Member Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Nebraska Year: 1988 Make: Ford Model: Bronco II Posts: 97 Rep Power: 12 iTrader: (0)	No, I can't turn my headlights on. It is like I don't have power to anything unless I take a constant hot wire and start touching other ones. I guess this is why I am totally confused as to why nothing works. My 4.0 is out of an auto Explorer. My bronco II is an auto as well. I checked my inertia switch. The red button is flat even with the top. I noticed that you can push it down so I am sure that it isn't tripped. Regarding the black and white wire being the sensor ground, I will check to see if that one is hooked up.
	Tweet

11-20-2007, 09:08 AM	#9
abrush Junior Member Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Nebraska Year: 1988 Make: Ford Model: Bronco II Posts: 97 Rep Power: 12 iTrader: (0)	Maybe I am overlooking this but where is the black/white sensor ground located?
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