Starting wiring

[6 Round Bales]

So i looked at the starter wiring diagrams on the forum, and i have no idea why my ranger wont turn on still. Its a 1987 ford ranger with the 2.3 2brl 5spd, i swapped it over to a 5.0 5spd, but the dang thing wont start with the keys, basically i was wondering which wires or wire i can kinda mess with and go straight to the solenoid to start it in the on position. or do i have to make a button or something work with it? any help would be much appreciated, thanks. also its not a starter problem itself because i had it running with just arching over the solenoid manually.

 

[Curious Hound]

Do you get 12 volts to the small terminal on the starter relay when you turn the key to the start position?

And, is the body of the starter relay connected to ground? Ie; is it firmly bolted to the metal body of the truck with a good clean connection.

 

[6 Round Bales]

no, when i turn it to start, it has nothing

 

[RonD]

On the clutch pedal pushrod, in the cab, there will be a Clutch Switch with a 4 or 5 wire connector
There will be 2 red/blue stripe wires

One comes from the ignition switch and should have 12volts when key is turned to START
The other red/blue wire runs to the Starter Relay on the inner fender

When you press down the clutch pedal all the way the Clutch Switch should connect these 2 wire together so the 12v can run from ignition switch to starter relay

You can connect these 2 wires together, but then starter would work "in gear" which can be dangerous



And it could be bad ignition switch, its under the steering column above brake pedal, it may not be sending 12v OUT on red/blue wire when key is turned to START

Does the key turning feel loose or "odd", it could be the key is not moving ignition switch all the way to START so 12v is never sent out

 

[Curious Hound]

Thats the wire you need to fix. I don’t have a diagram in front of me. But i would expect that circuit to be kinda like this....

12volts to a fuse, then to ignition switch, then to clutch position switch then to starter relay. I think there might be something else in there but cant remember right now.

 

[6 Round Bales]

i tried cheating it and putting a peice of metal between the two peices, but it still has no power, what might be going on, should i get a picture for you guys to see what ive done to try it, also i dont need to worry about it being started without clutch being down, because none but me will drive it, ive stated very clear to my friends and family nones gunna touch this love child abononation XD, also ill check the fuses, maybe i blew one, kinda dumb but i didnt check that lol

 

[RonD]

There are no fuses in the starting circuit in 1987 Ranger

You will need to get a volt meter or test light to see if you have 12v on that "metal plate" with key turned to START

If not then ignition switch is next stop


You can BLOCK THE WHEELS, put trans in NEUTRAL and then apply 12v to the Red/blue wire in cab to see if wire is OK, starter should activate
If not then you will be running a new wire thru the firewall to starter relay


Wiring in 1987 manual trans is

ignition switch-----------clutch switch-------------------starter relay

So not much to it

If your starter relay has 4 posts, 2 large and 2 small, MAKE SURE the red/blue wire is on the small "S" post NOT the small "I" post, these posts are ALWAYS labelled
"I" post was used for coil in earlier vehicles, just FYI, so nothing should be on that post

 

[6 Round Bales]

ok well i tested it, and it gets 12v to the neutral safety, but when i cross it to the other, it gets nothing, maybe i dont have a good enough bridge, i just used a flat wire connector to do so, also thanks soo much you guys, this forum has to be the best ive been too, and one of the most friendliest, ill try all you said RonD. and again thanks.

 

[RonD]

Good work so far

 

[6 Round Bales]

ok i did it, turns out it wasnt getting enough of the metal to arc, so i made it work now, thanks guys, your the bomb

 

[RonD]

Hey, you did all the work, we just typed, lol