87 b2 wire help from the rbv gods

[19cobia]

my 87 2.9 auto4x4 ok that out the way. This is the problem there is a wire that was just hangin under the dash my my feet it was red with a blue stripe. it melted the tack peg out motor stalled out smoke all the good stuff. Now it wont start so cleaned everything up cut out the burned parts. If i take some wire conect it the truck will start right up what i need to know is what was the looped part of the wire and is it needed. Sorry so long winded here are some pic of it

 

[adsm08]

That is your neutral safety switch by-pass plug. On the early trucks, for the sake of ease and production cost, the dash harnesses were the same. If you had a manual trans that would plug into your clutch switch. Check all your other wires too. Sounds like you had some gremlins in there. Might need a voltage flush.

You do need the looped part, and they are pretty widely available. Any 1st gen RBV with auto trans will have one, unless it's been scavenged already.

 

[19cobia]

thank you sir that was all i needed when i saw your post the frist thing i though was what a dumb*** i was i knew that what it was .
i was stuck on stupid thank you for your help very much. but my b2 will have to wait i need to put brakes on my dads 88 excab 4x4 ranger. again thank you very much

 

[master hec0]

I hate that little loop. it shorted out and would cause intermittent stalling then it melted and stayed grounded eventually i found it and just put electrical tape around it. its worked fine for over a year now.

 

[adsm08]

Glad I could help.

 

[19cobia]

i have cleaned up the wireing and have found some factory soilder joints that hsd cloth tape on them. we should call it power tape now. cleand all that up sealed everything up. now for that damn wire this may be dumb but why do i need that loop cant i just stright wire it? thank you guys for your time

 

[adsm08]

If you never ever ever plan to swap to a manual then go ahead and just hard wire it.

The loop is there just because Ford wanted to use one harness to save money, and they needed a provision for plugging it into the clutch switch.

If you do it and at some point decide you want a manual trans, don't worry about it. Just be careful not to try and fire it up in gear or without putting the clutch in.