Chasing a Dead Short (Fresh Painless Harness)

eric0o1 · Jan 19, 2018

also make sure black/green #933 and black/yellow #916 are connected to the studs on the fuse block (this should have already been done here at our facilities). These 2 wires provide power from the battery(#916) and from the ignition switch (#933). I'm about to head out for the day, will try to remember to check back in throughout the weekend

ame · Jan 19, 2018

czabel said:
DirtDonk - I'm sure mr110 can upload some pictures - not being a Bronco fan I probably won't be signing up. I just happened to have experience using a Painless kit on my dad's Mustang, so here I am!

As for the solenoid - I guess I picked up some false information along the way. Looks like Ford solenoids are grounded via the mount-frame connection, yes?

mr110 will be able to better answer the question regarding the Maxi-Fuse, but I believe that is how it was connected, yes - that's the #916 wire according to the manual, correct?

eric - No, testing began with the procedure found in the manual, we broke out the DMM when nothing seemed to be happening. I think you may be right about chasing our tails though. And I stand corrected on the solenoid wiring.

I think the next step will be connecting BATT+ to the starter solenoid, unplugging the Maxi-Fuse and checking that we see 12V only on the BATT+ side of the starter solenoid. Then, plug in the Maxi-Fuse and check #972 near the Ammeter for 12V. Assuming that's good, move to #934 on the ignition switch, check it there, and check the function of that switch using that terminal E and terminal A that goes through the Neutral Safety Switch to the starter solenoid S terminal (wire #919). Switch in the START position should give 12V on S.

Should be pretty straightforward, unless I'm missing something dumb.

Thank you both for chiming in so far, this is the first time I've had to troubleshoot a car like this (the Mustang harness worked right off the bat...)

Where in Oregon are you guys? I am in Bend and have dealt with a good bit of electrical troubleshooting.

Dlish · Jan 19, 2018

mr110 said:
Thanks for all the replys.

I checked the back of the cluster. There is no yellow wire there, there is one going into the ignition. The only open yellow is unused and capped form the voltage regulator (not uses, using internally regulated 3G)

The Black/Yellow (972) and the Black (972) wire are connected through the ammeter pass though on the cluster.

I might have messed up the wiring colors from memory...in the manual the last portion highlighted on page 40 are the wires I was talking about. I have an aftermarket gauge so I had to connect them, but if you are using the stock ammeter I guess you are good there.

Only other thing that messed my install up was a good ground. Are you getting a good ground in the engine bay AND from the dash? Is dash grounded well to body?

mr110 · Jan 19, 2018

eric0o1- Thank you for your help. I will get some pictures posted before i fly out for the
weekend, So i will be reading and answering questions but not hands on.
- I will check the black/green #933 and black/yellow #916 to the fuse block
when i get home.

ame- I am in Portland.

Dlish- The wires on that page, in red, are connected. I believe the black/yellow passes through and the black connects to that, but I will double check.
- My grounds are Batt- to block, Alternator to Block, Block to frame, Dash wiring to dash, Dash to Block....Should i have gone Dash to Frame? I didn't want to risk the dash grounding just with the bolts.

73azbronco · Jan 19, 2018

So did you run the before use checks in the instruction manual as per the instruction manual, yes or no?

mr110 · Jan 19, 2018

73azbronco said:
So did you run the before use checks in the instruction manual as per the instruction manual, yes or no?

Yes, we ran all of the "Testing the System" checks on page 71 of the Painless manual.

jagbucket · Jan 19, 2018

first question i have is what type of starter do you have ? is there a solenoid on it if so that is wired a bit differently than original ford assuming its an original type (no solenoid) you should be able to jump a small wire from bat + to s terminal on the solenoid to turn the engine over if nothing check ground if all good check continuity (or just prob for 12v on the starter side terminal) on the two large terminals with the s terminal powered . this has nothing to do with the dash at this point just trying to find a starting point for you

czabel · Jan 24, 2018

For those still wondering, here's a quick update:

In an ironic twist, it was following the manual in testing that was halting our progress! This is of course through no fault of the Painless manual, but the fact that the trickle charger we were using wasn't actually supplying any voltage... So, once we hooked up the battery and gave the system 12V, everything worked correctly!

So it's a happy ending after all. Thank you to everyone who chimed in with ideas and help!

eric0o1 · Jan 24, 2018

great to hear it was an easy fix

DirtDonk · Jan 24, 2018

Yep, good to hear. The charger you use for testing is definitely important. Even on a full-size older charger, you can't use the "automatic" setting for testing. You have to set it to "manual" for it to allow something to draw 5, 10, and especially 20 amps of power.
Your trickle charger, if it was strictly a low-amp model, was just too small.
Need something with about 10 amps minimum I would think. And one that's not too fancy too. I'm not really sure, but many of these new-fangled and fancy smart chargers may be too smart for this simple duty!

Anyway, batteries work great for this, as you found out. Glad it was that simple, and not a real short or broken circuit somewhere.

Now we can't wait to hear you got it running!;D

Paul

Chasing a Dead Short (Fresh Painless Harness)

eric0o1

Sr. Member

ame

Full Member

Dlish

Sr. Member

mr110

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73azbronco

Bronco Guru

mr110

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jagbucket

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czabel

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eric0o1

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DirtDonk

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