1989 Ranger Passenger Fender get super hot??

[militarydave]

hello all,

what would cause my 89 ford ranger to completely heat up the passenger's side (RH) fender, the relays, the bumper, the battery, and everything to a scorching 113 degrees with a thermal temp gun. would it be the ignition relay, fuel relays, the wiring? it doesn't blow any fuses, it just gets SUPER HOT??? also, it's draining my battery. brand new battery, drains it completely even when the switch is off?

any thoughts?

bad wiring? bad ground? faulty alternator ?

please advise,

thanks,

 

[superds]

There's a lot of electrical stuff up in that area. The solenoid is up there as well as the stuff you mentioned. I would start by checking if the cables from the battery to the solenoid are grounding out along the way. If they are frayed or corroded it would be a good time to clean them or replace them. If that doesn't solve it, I would think the solenoid is bad, causing a short to the ground. Either way, I'd put money on there being a ground short somewhere in that area.

 

[militarydave]

cool beans. just bought a borg-warner starter relay solenoid from O'reilly's. gonna wire it up tomorrow.

thanks for the input!

 

[superds]

No problem. I can't specifically think how the solenoid could cause a ground short since it doesn't get connected to the ground by wire but it is plausible if something weird happened to it where it got damaged and it allows current to flow to the body (which would create the heat you're experiencing).

Good luck and let us know how it turns out!

 

[militarydave]

Well the fuel pump relays would get super hot. i pulled the bed off, put a new pump, a new fuel pump pigtail, all new wires from the fuel pump pigtail up to the fusebox. $200 motorcraft FP and Starter Relays from the ford house, all new fuses, new battery, new ignition coil, ignition module, wires/plugs, distributor, cap/rotor, and alternator.

but the relays get hot, and the engine dies.

i figure it cuts the power off due to excessive heat.

either way i'll replace the starter solenoid. we'll see what happens.