The wiring gods must be angry with me

Topic: The wiring gods must be angry with me (Read 2623 times) previous topic - next topic

The wiring gods must be angry with me

Reply #15 – March 14, 2008, 08:20:27 PM

Two more things to consider -

1) I forgot to mention when first troubleshooting, the two small gauge wires (w/out fusable links) that run to the starter solenoid were burned through and corroded. I don't know for sure, but I think they were corroded because of the heat. I replaced those wires, no effect on the voltage reading.

2) the fuel pump might be making more noise than usual. Could a pump going bad draw enough current to make it look like the charging system isn't working?

The wiring gods must be angry with me

Reply #16 – March 14, 2008, 10:19:03 PM

You need to get voltage to the I input on your alternator to "turn on" the alternator. You need to have this voltage when the ignition switch is in RUN.

Refer to the diagram I posted. I can't tell from your discription whether the circuit from the Batt terminal of the solenoid through the fuse link and the ammeter to the ignition swt. is still there or not.

At the old VR plug remove your jumper from S to A.

See if you have voltage at S of the old plug when the ignition is in run. (and no voltage with ignition off.)

If you have voltage, turn the ignition off, put the jumper between S and F of the old VR plug.
The instructions in the link you posted had you hook the other end of the F wire to the I input on the 3G.

You stated you had nothing hooked to the A input on the Alt.
Hook the A to the big output terminal with the 4g wire.

Use the hacksaw blade trick I posted earlier to see if the alternator is "turning on" with the ignition in RUN.

If you have magnetism start it up it should start charging.

Were the two burned little wires on the Battery terminal of the solenoid? If so are they part of the factory harness?

The wiring gods must be angry with me

Reply #17 – March 14, 2008, 11:58:26 PM

The "I" terminal is connected to the orange/light blue stripe wire from the original harness. That's one of the two wires that fried, I think.

The two burned wires were replaced wires of the original harness. At some point before I got the car, the factory wiring at that point had been replaced with similar gauge wire.

I'll try your suggestions and post the results. Thanks.

The wiring gods must be angry with me

Reply #18 – March 15, 2008, 10:17:17 PM

hey guys
just for the record , and if memory serves me correctly,,
We never really came to a group conclusion as to how the 3g would properly be done on the TC due to the wiring being different.

I think i had as an action item when doing that 3g thread.

Ill ask again,,,,,,,,
Does anyone here have a 3g upgrade on a stock 2.3?

The wiring gods must be angry with me

Reply #19 – May 03, 2008, 04:12:30 PM

The daily driver hasn't been for a couple of months now. I took it to a mechanic, who gave up on it. Asked around, got recommended to a "Ford expert". He's had it over a month. I spoke with him today. It appears that the ignition switch isn't affecting power routing. The ignition and fuel systems are energized whenever the battery is connected, hence the constant drain and the car running when it's "turned off".

Also, I haven't seen any evidence of a remote alarm being installed (but who knows).

My question is, where would be some places that the wiring would bypass ignition switch?

The wiring gods must be angry with me

Reply #20 – May 03, 2008, 05:26:18 PM

Beside the 3g is the wiring stock?
Are you up for some trouble shooting with your meter?

The wiring gods must be angry with me

Reply #21 – May 03, 2008, 07:22:22 PM

Is the wiring stock? No. How far from not stock I don't know, but I'd guess "mostly original".

The car is still with the mechanic. If he (also) gives up, then yes, I'll be up for some troubleshooting.

six months later...

Reply #22 – September 28, 2008, 11:12:09 PM

Got the "DD" back from the mechanic, finally. I didn't get all the details, but one thing that might be of interest to you, the battery is bad. It slowly loses it's charge, so it works fine so long as the car is used daily. Let it sit a few days, and maybe the car won't start.