Thread: Something's Stuck!

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I didn't mean to but in I just wanted to post what was sent to me by ford you two have it under control to many outrageous thoughts will just confuse the pour guy see ya

Yeah....thanks a lot for alll the advice. It's a 4.9 with Calafornia emissions. I don't understand that with the original engine,a lot of the parts line up with the 90 models replacements. i just write it off to that crazy California stuff. Hard to fined the replacement fan and clutch for it. Ended up being a 92 that fit. Any way, I didn't get to work on it today,but I will tomorrow. Selenoid is not my focus now. Now it's the issue of why the battery began to smoke. What would the cause the premature "death" of my battery? Obviously,it was a massive drain or a short that went back to the battery. The second is most likely the cause. Is that battery really dead now? I know it probably is,just hoping for a miracle. What could cause a short like that? Let me retrace my steps. The entire issue began when the battery went down so low that it caused the selenoid to weld. I simply replaced the battery. Found the selenoid was bad, (with the help of you guys),and replaced it. At the same time, I replaced the alternator,which has two main plugs,which are in two different formations on the alternator and can only be plugged in one way to the alternator wiring harnesses. These three,main parts were replaced,basically at the same time. Reattached the exact same way as they were before. And this new issue arose. But it was not an issue before the battery initially went bad and caused the selenoid to weld. No false starting and no shorts. That was the start of all this. What else could have gone bad by having a low battery that welded selenoid contacts? By the way, I would like to thank you Denny for the drawings and wiring guides you supplied. I really appreciated them.

did the starter check ok? i dont know but with the drawings you have you should be able to find a dead short. i still think its the starter. you can try to charging the bat. back up but it might be cooked. take the wires off of the alt or you gonna cook that to you dont need the alt hooked up to check for a short and if the short goes a way when you unplug the alt then thats you problem.

Thanks. Pretty sure the battery is cooked. Didn't get to test the batt or selenoid today. How would the starter cause a short? Please explain the priciple behind this so i know what to look for.

Oh man!!! I have an epiphany. A little piece of the puzzle that was missing and is in some way linked I think to this whole fiasco. I have gone through four batteries,four,in the last six months. Everytime I take them in,they test bad. There is NO way that I have luck like that. Obviously the short has been there,but with the new alternator in place supplying a charge,it caused the short to become more volitile and caused damage to the battery more rapidly than before! The issue has always been there, I just never knew it. Now. If I only knew what that issue was. Ready to give that starter theory a try.

Rather than keep guessing, and buying parts that may or may not fix the problem, you might be money and time ahead to take it to a competent electrical shop and pay an hours labor for them to diagnose it. They have the test equipment and knowledge to find it. Then you spend the money on the right fix, whether you pay them to fix it or do it yourself and you are back on the road knowing it is fixed this time.

"A man's got to know his limitations"
Dirty Harry Callahan

Pat