Electrical help...Please!

[sharkster]

1986 Bronco II, 2.9, A4LD...
My problem started out as what I call a parasitic drain. The battery went down, so I took it out to charge it up. Went to put it back in, when a yellow wire that runs from the starter solenoid across the rad support to the drivers side, started to smoke. Disconnected the negative cable, unplugged the yellow wire at the connector. Hooked the battery up, now I have no power to inside of vehicle. But at least I found the source of the drain, sort of. This yellow wire plugs into a black/orange wire which has what I would call an insulator. There are 4 wires coming out of the end of the insulator: 1 black/orange, 1 yellow/white and 2 black with fuseable links in them.

My question is, what should I be looking for that would cause that kind of power drain? Could a fuseable link that went bad cause this? Sounds like I'm reaching, but you never know.

I really could use some input on the electrical end of this. Any and all help will be greatly appreciated.

Mechanically, I can fix just about anything, but electrical problems give me nightmares...

 

[kunar]

trace that wire and see if its chaffed and grounded. i would say if it smoked, it is grounded somewhere and ran a bunch of juice through it. i cant think of any yellow wire off the top of my head, but i will look when i go back out to my truck and see what i can see.

 

[sharkster]

Thanks for the quick response. Yeah, the yellow wire in question comes right off the solenoid. It has a male connector inside a plug and connects to the wire running to that insulator I mentioned. It looked like it had a makeshift repair on it because I could see bare wire. Could it have grounded to the fender? The wire insulation is pretty cooked and hard.

Are you still parting out that ranger? And does it have manual hubs?

 

[RobbieD]

That yellow wire should have had a fusible link originally. It may have shorted out the past, and a previous owner just eliminated the fusible link to repair it. The wire itself should not have smoked. Sounds like you're on it, though. Just as kunar says, follow the wire completely and be sure to tape the crap out of any bare spots.

 

[sharkster]

Thanks RobbieD. That fuseable link, would that be a 14 gauge link or should it be higher gauge like 18? Its a pretty thick wire, so... If it should have one there, I want to put one back. Safety-wise....

 

[kunar]

Are you still parting out that ranger? And does it have manual hubs?

the trucks long gone but the hubs may still be around. you looking for a set?

 

[sharkster]

Yeah, I hate the auto hubs on my B2...

 

[kunar]

Yeah, I hate the auto hubs on my B2...

i had 4 spares but i think i've used 2 of mine already. let me look tomorrow and see what i can find. you interested in rebuilding a set?

 

[sharkster]

Yeah, I can do that. PM me when you find out what you got, k? I'm about ready to hit the sack, myself. Let me know what you got. Thanks...

 

[kunar]

Thanks RobbieD. That fuseable link, would that be a 14 gauge link or should it be higher gauge like 18? Its a pretty thick wire, so... If it should have one there, I want to put one back. Safety-wise....

the best i could find looks like its supposed to be a 20ga fusible link but the yellow wire i found on the solenoid looked like it went back toward the cab, not across the core support

(will send you a pm about the hubs tomorrow)

 

[sharkster]

Thanks for that info on the fuseable link. Check back with you tomorrow.

 

[RobbieD]

I'm glad that you're wanting to put some protection back on that wire; it's definitely a good idea (it beats the hell out of the truck catching on fire!). It sounds like the yellow wire you're having the problem with is the one which supplies power to the engine electronics; it's listed as having a red 18 gauge fusible link. You know, if you're going to be getting the replacement fusible link, it might be a good thing to pick up a spare or two, and keep them in the truck with some crimp terminals and a crimping tool, in case you have a problem later. Good luck; I hope that you've got it solved.

 

[sharkster]

Hey guys, I found the problem.

The yellow wire that I mentioned at the beginning was a replacement for the black/orange wire running from the solenoid to the drivers side fender. The p.o. never replaced the fusible link, just the wire. But replacing the wire didnt fix the problem.

The drain was coming from the diode in the alternator after all. I could just imagine the smoke that came from the original wire and fusible link when it first went up.

This may have come into play when I bought the vehicle in the first place. Maybe the p.o. couldnt get it figured out and passed the problem on to me.

Cant complain tho, the price was very right.

Thanks to all for your input. Very helpful indeed.

And Kunar, let me know about the hubs, I'd appreciate it. Thanks man.

 

[RobbieD]

All right! Glad to hear that you got it all sorted out.