Bronco won’t start- need your help!

[White Knight]

sorry for my ignorance.....testing meaning with the test light and am I looking for pos or neg?

 

[ba123]

sorry for my ignorance.....testing meaning with the test light and am I looking for pos or neg?

Don't apologize for not understanding, just ask like you did.

If it were me, I'd simply test continuity with a multimeter should be minimal resistance from end to end.

 

[White Knight]

i just have a circuit tester.... ca make a run to harbor freight and grab a multimeter

 

[ba123]

Yes, that's one tool that will always have a use.

 

[Oldtimer]

Ok I traced the black wire from solenoid back towards dash and found this…. It is spliced into a black wire and a yellow wire should I cut this out and replace with a fuseable link back to solenoid?

That looks like the factory splice location for the 16GA fusible link, yellow wire to regulator, and 10GA power to dash.

Appears a one wire alternator has been installed in your vehicle, not stock, but a common upgrade.
Therefore the regulator has been eliminated, and yellow wire maay not connect to anything?
You may not need the yellow wire and may be able to eliminate it, find the other end of it.


Untape the splice, and check for voltage with your test light, with blue wire connected to starter relay battery post.

I woulkd splice a 10 GA black wire to the black dash wire and yellow regulator wire and run it up near the starter relay.
Then splice in a 16GA fusible link, like you posted, and connect it to starter relay battery post.

 

[Oldtimer]

Is this a large gage red wire, and what is it connected to?

 

[White Knight]

my alternator has 2 wires plugged into the back of it and another that connect to a post in the back of the alternator... it is a Motorcraft

 

[White Knight]

that large gauge wire is a 4 gauge wire on a fuseable line to my stereo amp

 

[Oldtimer]

Does the amp have power?

 

[Oldtimer]

another that connect to a post in the back of the alternator... it is a Motorcraft

Is this wire connected to battery at other end?

 

[m_m70]

Ok, checked battery…. All good

What did you use to check the battery and what voltage is it at? Looking at the pic, there's a 3/18 sticker on it making it 6 years old. Not that old as my last battery lasted 11 years but that's not usual.

 

[m_m70]

Does the amp have power?

Great question as this is usually wired direct correct?

 

[White Knight]

I tested the power wire t the amp and it has power going to it, but is will not turn on without ignition turned on. I traced the black wire from solenoid that eventually spliced into two wire one yellow and one black..... I stripped it and the wire looks burnt. I assume I should replace it but look at the connection it had with the yellow and black wire... can I just cut tht whole connection out and re-wire the yellow and black to the single black going to the solenoid with maybe a fuse?

 

[Oldtimer]

can I just cut tht whole connection out and re-wire the yellow and black to the single black going to the solenoid with maybe a fuse?

Yes . . . maybe

Disconnect battery,
Cut all 3 wires loose at the splice,
Connect blue wire to battery post of starter relay,
Reconnect battery, and
Check the black wire coming from starter relay for power, if it has power you could just splice all three wires together.

But at this point I would run a new 10GA black wire from splice up to starter relay, splice all three wires to gether, and add a 16 GA fusible link (or a 40 amp fuse) between new black wire and battery post on starter relay.

 

[White Knight]

The blue wire was part of the black wire — PO had spliced it into the black one that was connected to the yellow wire and black wire. I will need to but all out back to the 2 wires (yellow one & black one) and connect those 2 to a new black going to solenoid. Should the new black connecting at one end with the 2 wires (yellow & black) and ultimately connecting to solenoid be 10 gauge with a fuseable link??

 

[White Knight]

Can I connect fuseable link to yellow and black wires on one end and directly to solenoid?

 

[m_m70]

Here's what I would do after reading through this again from the start.

1. Check that there is power going from the battery to the starter relay. (Cable)

2. Disconnect the battery
3. Check the continuity of the negative cable

4. Find where the yellow wire terminates. If not used for anything, cap it or remove it.
5. Cut the black wire where it splices into the black and yellow wires
6. Remove the blue wire (which is actually the black wire) from the relay battery side post.
7. Pull out the black 10 gauge wire with the blue splice from PO and throw it away
8. Splice in a new 10 gauge wire to the yellow and black wires.
9. Run the other end to a fusible link to the battery post side of the starter relay.
10. Re-connect battery

If this fixes your issue, great. Go get some good connecters and do the splices right, moon walk across the garage and kiss the dog!

 

[DirtDonk]

On the large post of the alternator (the BAT output), where does the wire on that go?
What size wire is it, and what color?

If it’s the original black wire, it’s too small and may very well be why the wire you’re inspecting now looks partially burned.
A little brown discoloration on the jacket of a wire does not mean it’s bad. But it does mean that it’s been pretty warm at some point in its life.
They lead a hard life anyway, but the more dark the brown, and the more obvious any melting, the more likely it is to need replacing.

 

[4xfun]

Here's what I would do after reading through this again from the start.

1. Check that there is power going from the battery to the starter relay. (Cable)

2. Disconnect the battery
3. Check the continuity of the negative cable

4. Find where the yellow wire terminates. If not used for anything, cap it or remove it.
5. Cut the black wire where it splices into the black and yellow wires
6. Remove the blue wire (which is actually the black wire) from the relay battery side post.
7. Pull out the black 10 gauge wire with the blue splice from PO and throw it away
8. Splice in a new 10 gauge wire to the yellow and black wires.
9. Run the other end to a fusible link to the battery post side of the starter relay.
10. Re-connect battery

If this fixes your issue, great. Go get some good connecters and do the splices right, moon walk across the garage and kiss the dog!

Did I miss the results of a battery test. You can still read 12 volts on a bad battery if there is no load. The battery needs to be load tested. If you don't have enough juice,, fixing a wire will not solve the issue. It does sound like the fusible link is the issue, but before I started cutting wires, I would check the resistance across the ends of the wire and probably temporarily remove a wire and install a temporary fused jumper wire to the ignition switch.

 

[White Knight]

There are two plug in connectors on the alternator and one small post which has a black with yellow stipe wire connected to the post. that black and yellow wire is part of a harness from the dash and has been that way for the 23 years I have owned it... circled in picture the harness that comes from dash that the black with yellow stripe wire is part of that end up connecting to a small (only) post on the alternator