need help Identifying wires

[MattSorrells]

I need some help with some wires. My son and I have almost finished reassembling his bronco II with the 2.9 in it after a head gasket replacement, and we've come up with several wires without homes. The main one I'm concerned about is 3 wires going into it,but only 2 contacts on the plug side and the 2 large wires are black and pink, with the small white wire with a black stripe. there are two more in the picture here, with me holding one of them, but both are on the same wire grouping.

Any and all help would be greatly appreciated.

Also, perhaps allow me to pick your brains on something else. When we assembled it, I brought what I thought was #1 cylinder (on a chevy v8 and dodge v8 it is at least!) up to top dead center and took stock of where the distributor rotor button was pointing (toward what I thought was cylinder 1). After assembly, I noticed that the haynes manual calls the front left cylinder number 1. we wired the distributor following that order - is this going to cause problems? Do I have the distributor in wrong?


I hope this picture attachment thing works. ...

 

[Mark_88]

Not sure about the one you are holding, but the one to the right of it looks like the one that goes into the alternator. The one you are holding actually could be also for the alternator.

Do you not have an alternator installed in the truck?

 

[RonD]

Year of the vehicle might help?
Automatic or manual?

Ford use this V6 numbering
3 6
2 5
1 4
Front

This is a good link to bookmark, wiring diagrams for Rangers and b2;
http://www.therangerstation.com/tech_library/EDiagrams/index.htm

I see the SPOUT connector has a Pink wire, it's about the only thing I see that is pink and in that area of the engine

 

[MattSorrells]

Sorry, it is an 88 model with 2.9. manual

I do have an alternator, and this is not the wire for it as its already plugged up.

Whats a SPOUT?

 

[Mark_88]

SPOUT stands for Spark Out...related to timing/firing order...there should be a plug inside of that to jump the connector after timing is set. Looks like the end of a baby pacifier with two male prongs inside.

There are a couple of sources for the 88 wiring diagrams that might be helpful...there are some in the Tech Articles and there is a link near the top of the page...and there is always a Haynes manual that shows wire colours to help trace them to the sensors/connections...or backwards

I know from my own experience the diagrams don't always make sense...but if you take the time eventually you will know it well enough.

 

[MattSorrells]

yes, the wiring diagrams just blow my mind after searching them for 30 mins or more. for some reason, the car I've got always seems to be the one that has an odd harness.

 

[MattSorrells]

for some reason, the wiring diagrams link is dead and it wont let me click on it.

 

[Mark_88]

Just tried it...the diagrams are actually under the Ignition section...and on the right...Jim just recently modified the site so some links may not be working or he hasn't moved things around...I will post a note to the Site Problems section to remind him...

 

[adsm08]

None of those is for the SPOUT.

The big one with 3 wires I am 100% sure does go to the alternator (I just went and looked). You say you have plugged in the alternator. There are two plugs, you have the voltage regulator plugged in, you have not plugged in the main charging plug. Stand beside the vehicle on the passenger side, look at the alternator plug that you already have in, then go down around it's case about 1 inch, there is another plug.

The other two seem a bit farther from their homes. The small one you are not holding I can only think of two places that style plug is used on the 88. The first is the washer pump, the second is the switch for the reverse lights.

Now the one you are holding, I can only think of one place it is used, the VSS sensor on the transfer case. Since those two plugs are tied up to each other so they can't go very far apart, I would say those are probably for the VSS and reverse lights. My only problem with that idea is that it means those two are VERY far from home, and I am not sure they can be that far away if everything else is in place. I am also not sure why you would be unplugging things on the transmission to do head gaskets.

While I was confirming my suspicions about your large plug out looking at my BII I looked around the engine bay for other plugs that match last two mystery plugs and didn't see anything. Check over around the washer tank first, as the one you are holding might go to something over there that I just don't have.

 

[MattSorrells]

nice response, man! I appreciate it, I'll jump on that in the morning. I thought it was a main charging plug, but for the life of me I couldnt find the receptacle on the alternator.

The other two may very well be far from home.

You see, my 15 year old son has done 98% of the work so far on it with only me poking in occasionally to make sure no big problems. Here at the end, we had these random plugs. I considered that they may have come from down low in the engine, but my crabby and (perhaps lazy) self have not crawled under it and looked, but now that you mention it, I remember some getting unplugged from down there. They were on the wiring harness (I think) going across the engine, so thats why they were unplugged.

Thanks again!

 

[adsm08]

I will try to take another look again tomorrow when it is light out and see if I can find a more likely home for those plugs, but the quick test to to check the reverse lights and washers. I'm betting one of them won't work.

 

[MattSorrells]

We got it going, thanks to ya'lls help! After finding the plugs (alternator and two on the right side of the trans) she fired right up! no valve noise, no out of firing order, and no smoke!

Austin is VERY happy, as you can see.

 

[Mark_88]

Thanks for the update...