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Ford PU Electrical

A

Anonymous-0

Well-known Member
A friend's son just bought a late 90's F-150, with electrical issues, and I am going to look at it in the next week or so, to at least advise her about trying to get it fixed. Just for the record, motor has been changed to one from an early 2000's.

A good battery will die overnight, so I was thinking it was just alternator diodes, but then they said the key and switch get real hot also.. Unless we can find something real simple, I am thinking this truck might be a nightmare.. There is a possibility that the seller will take it back, this probably would be the best option. Any ideas or input appreciated.
 
NOT sure of the years (nor did you post the exact year of yours), but, IIRC, Ford had some ignition switch/connector/wiring in the column issues.

You might want to GOOGLE that, once you find out the exact year.

IIRC, they had some recalls for potential fires. Wouldn't hurt to run the VIN past a dealer to see if any and all recalls ever got done... I have no idea of the time limit they'd honor a safety recall, if there even is one.

Also, it wouldn't hurt to completely disconnect the alternator and tape up the wires for safety.

A bad alternator can do some STRANGE things, backfeeding through the diodes or regulator circuitry and keeping stuff powered up when the ignition is switched OFF.
 
Switch failure is common but it's at the bottom of the column. Apparently it's another wire that's shorted in/under the steering wheel.
 
Thanks, I forgot about the Ford fire issues.. In fact a local auto shop here burned a few years back, and a Ford Explorer was suspected as the cause.. not sure what the final verdict was.. I really hope he can get the seller to take it back..
 
The late 90's-2000's trucks did not have the ignition switch issues like most people were familiar with. As for the trucks those with the recalled faulty ignition switches they were out of production in 1991.

Im not saying you don't have a problem with the ignition switch but the switch on that truck is not a common failure item. Also the ignition switch is not real close to the key and tumbler. If the plastic switch was creating enough heat to transfer through the steering column to the tumbler and key I would suspect it to be melted.
 
any signs of water leak from the windshield on the drivers side ? Look up under the dash where the fuse box is, The GEM module sits on top of the fuse box and if it gets wet , weird things happen , and corrosion sets in and more issues.
 
Standard trouble shooting stuff they've discussed here before. Start unplugging or disconnecting circuits until you loose the draw or load and then examine from there. Others have given you places to look, me I would suspect something got messed up when the engine was changed or when something else was installed or modified.
 
I will try the alternator first, all the info I have gotten is second hand... might get lucky and find a minor fix.
 
Check the cruise switch in the master cylinder for melting. That is what was recalled, they replaced the switch and added a fusible link wire. I have run into a few recently that weren't done and killed a battery overnight. If you get lucky it drains the battery, unlucky it burns the truck down.
Alternator would be an expensive long shot.
 
Ignition switch. Dads would do the key getting hot deal, and on his way to take it get fixed, the switch finally shorted out and the truck died. Before he could get the battery cable off, smoke had filled the truck, and it probably would have burned if he had been 5 seconds slower. Truck was fixed and traded the next week for a Chevrolet, step-brother still drives it.
 
I have an '88 F150 which sat for 5 days and then had a dead battery. Charging the battery, then decided to check for current drain with the battery cable disconnected. Yep! The light bulb did light. Put the battery cable back on and started feeling around for any loose connection or shorted wires. Pulled fuses but found nothing. Discovered that the alternator was warm. I have not replaced it yet, but probably will have to.
 
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