# 1988 F350 7.3idi died in driveway...now no power



## Ziob34 (Oct 12, 2005)

Hi Guys,
worker put plow on and then went to leave and the truck stalled. Got it running pulled back in driveway and then turned the key off but the truck wouldn't turn off......then truck died thats where it sits now. With the door open the dome light is on...if you turn key to start dome light goes dim barely anything. There is no clicking of starter, no headlights, no radio, no power anywhere no nothing except the dome light with door open. Worker did say when he put the plow pin in it arced do you think the power wire on the plow pump maybe hit the frame along with the ground and just sucked the life out of the battery (they do both seem good so i don't think thats it) Outside of that any ideas? bad ignition (don't know why headlights wouldn't turn on though they used to come on even if key was off). any tips or things to check would be appreciated going to test the starter and starter relay in a bit and then clean all terminals and check grounds. outside of that i'm at a loss. Also no fuses burnt out


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## dieselss (Jan 3, 2008)

start with the batts. if the plow sparked with the plow on, unplug it.


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## Ziob34 (Oct 12, 2005)

plows unplugged there the truck sits now. checking the batteries and starter now if its not the batteries i'll be at a loss if the batteries are good i should be able to put the headlights on without the key and as of right now that doens't happen......no blown fuses either.


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## dieselss (Jan 3, 2008)

batts, pwr cables, gnd cables, alt


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## fhafer (Jan 31, 2014)

Batteries first, power to solenoid on passenger fender second, power out of solenoid third, ground continuity check from batteies to frame and batteries to engine, fusible link, wire loom on passenger side between inner fender and firewall, then fuses...alternator won't have anything to do with this if your batteries are charged. My hunch is solenoid or fusible link. Good luck.


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## Ziob34 (Oct 12, 2005)

starter and starter relay were good put direct power to relay and it whipped over........battery grounds were good then i look at a ground driverside firewall is melted to ****.....turns out this is the headlights i pinched it together and lights came on....is this a main wire harness ground or something that would affect the ignition, starter, etc? If so i just have to fix it and i should be good.....either the plow pump power cable was hitting the frame and caused the problem or he wired the plow solenoid wrong which would cause the arc when he put the plow pin in.


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## dieselss (Jan 3, 2008)

Should have 2 gnds. One off each batt. Just follow where the blk wire goes. Usually, one goes to the block and other to the trk frame


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## Ziob34 (Oct 12, 2005)

those grounds are fine checked them...one right on the firewall under the hood drivers side was broken in half / melted up......i have assed connected it quick and headlights worked would this be a ground that would affect not only the lights but the truck starting etc.


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## fhafer (Jan 31, 2014)

Four grounds; two to the engine and two to the frame/chassis. The passenger side battery has a wire running down to the starter and one to the solenoid as well as one across the front of the truck to the driver's side battery. Everything on the truck is powered through the cable lug on the solenoid bolted to the passenger-side fender. There are normally three or four ring lugs behing the cable lug from the battery. Make sure the connections are clean and tight. I use lots of dielectirc grease on this terminal. If the red outer sheath of the cable appears black/dark then you have a high resistance connection which should be cleaned/tightened.


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## Ziob34 (Oct 12, 2005)

i'll check those out.....any idea about that ground on the drivers side firewall thats melted? when i reconnected it that fixed the headlight issue i didn't have time to test to see if it also fixed the overall power issues like starting etc.


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## fhafer (Jan 31, 2014)

It bolts to the back of the head and it does run your headlights...if it's bad your dimmer switch will function as the headlight ground, but with poor results. After you are up and running go to The Ford Truck Enthusists website to the pre-power stroke forum and read about the relay upgrade to your headlights...it's woth the effort!


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## Ziob34 (Oct 12, 2005)

thanks for the info.....i know this will fix the headlights now its the can i get the truck to turn over again relay and starter and batteries are good so i'm guessing it popped one of the fusable links as well over by the relay solenoid
will get a better know how after the storm.


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## javaboy (Feb 15, 2014)

Does the CEL light come on when the key is turned to the on position? It sounds like a ground problem not a problem with a fusible link.

Try running a short jumper cable from the negative battery terminal to the frame/starter area.


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## javaboy (Feb 15, 2014)

Ziob34;1759885 said:


> those grounds are fine checked them...one right on the firewall under the hood drivers side was broken in half / melted up......i have assed connected it quick and headlights worked would this be a ground that would affect not only the lights but the truck starting etc.


Were you able to check them with a ohm meter? Sometimes they can be broke inside the insulation and you can't see it. Faulty grounds can cause a lot of headaches and mysterious problems.


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## fhafer (Jan 31, 2014)

javaboy;1760066 said:


> Were you able to check them with a ohm meter? Sometimes they can be broke inside the insulation and you can't see it. Faulty grounds can cause a lot of headaches and mysterious problems.


Javaboy is correct...that's why you do it measuring continuity and not voltage.


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## fhafer (Jan 31, 2014)

A bad solenoid will stop it from turning over as will bad connections on the solenoid. A bad fusible link will stop the truck from starting. Can you hear the FSS in the injection pump clicking when you turn the key to the run position? It should also click when you turn the key off. Bad connections on the solenoid can cause intermittent power to the FSS as well. I don't remember if the FSS is protected by a fuse, but it's easy enough to check for a blown fuse under the dash. 

Both batteries ground to the engine on either side and the engine grounds to the frame/chassis. The starter grounds to the engine at the mating surface and mounting bolts. It's a very rare occurance for both battery grounds to go bad unless someone was dinking around under the front of the engine...still betting on a solenoid/ solenoid connection problem.

Keep feeding us symptoms and we should be able to figure it out.


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## Ziob34 (Oct 12, 2005)

that ground on the firewall fixes the lights i doubt it fixes the starting problem. Looks like the plow pump power on the curtis was hitting the frame somehow which completed the circuit when the plow pins were installed...backfed the truck causing the issue....i'm hoping we just burnt a fusable link by the relay and thats all....if it is we lucked out going to work on it now thank god its only a backup.


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## fhafer (Jan 31, 2014)

I don't think a bad fusible link will stop your truck from turning over...those components are battery, cables (+ and -), solenoid, key switch, actuator, op-rod, start switch, and finally the starter. I don't think the key switch and start switch are fed by a fusible link.

Is power going through the solenoid when the key is in the run position?


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## Ziob34 (Oct 12, 2005)

the ground on the firewall drivers side must be the ground to a main wire harness....fixed that ground and everything is up and running again. Entire problem caused by bad wiring to the snow plow not only was the ground put on the pump and no on the frame (so if by chance the positive cable hit the frame it would complete circuit and arc.....but they mounted the plow solenoid to close to the hood hinges so when it shut it would hit the solenoid and arc....combination of these idiotic wirings must of burnt up that ground. lesson learned i'll be doing it myself next time or atleast checking it before they try and drive away. Right now all set up and running everything works we'll know tomorrow if there are any further issues or reoccurences.


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