HELP!!!!!!! 1990 Bronco II

[ArcticOffRoadr]

I bought a 1990 BII from an officer who didnt know what he was doing. He said there was an electrical problem and he couldnt find the fix. He even put in a new altenator. Finally he starts cutting wires, running lights, radio.. Whoever had it before him had put in a car alarm. Well, it doesnt work and the wires are torn up and floating. Also someone put in a sound system but looks like it was ripped out before they sold it. Not even a radio in it right now. Not to mention he let it sit outside over a whole winter in Fairbanks Alaska. DUHHH. So after changing the fluids and checking the alt connections, fuses, etc... I jumped it to get it running. Ran fine....

About two months later my rear end goes. And I mean BOOM. Shredded gears. A hunt through the junk yard and I turn up a new rear end. Seriously... it had just been rebuilt b4 the unfortunate driver wrecked. MY GAIN! I replaced the rear end and yippee! I'm off again.

Driving down the highway and I smell gas. Cough sputter cough. I pull off and take a look. The feed fuel line has a hole in it you could stick a pencil in. Gas everywhere. Not to mention the exhaust isnt even attatched to the header pipe. Rusted right through. Hot exhaust coming form the engine weakened the fuel line enough to pop a hole. Sooooo, back to the hobby shop and new fuel lines and exhaust go on. Beautiful.

Next thing you know the coughing and sputtering starts again. I check the plugs and wires and guess what? They are STOCK. Thats right... STOCK. One of the wires was totally sheared. So I do a tune up. All new plugs, wires, a few vaccum tubes, distributor cap and a bottle of Sea Foam to clean out the injectors. Beautiful. He is purring.

Driving in Alaska in winter 4 wheel drive helps alot. Dont really like the push button but oh well. Push the button. NOTHING. No clicking no engaging no nothing. Just a lit up 4x4 button. Great. Throw on the studded tires and make do. Save that one for a later day.

Two days ago he dies. Fuel pump. As we all know the pump is in the tank. So back down the tank goes and a brand new pump goes in. Gorgeous. Run run run.

Yesterday he dies when I get ready to go to lunch. COMPLETELY. NO POWER. I hook up the charger and let it sit while I am at work. Ready to leave and I turn the key. CLICK CLICK CLICK. A tow rope to the hobby shop and some help from the guys there and we decide the starter relay is done. Well, NAPA here I come again. New relay goes on. Now the new relay is pretty much universal and I find out the hard way they switched terminals. Had him in gear when I wired it up but the key wasnt even in the ignition. A few panicked seconds later as I try to yank the battery cable off before I run myself over and I get him stopped. Whew. So we go over the wiring diagrams and get him wired right. CLICK CLICK CLICK. NO. Double tripple check everything. Battery drained? NOPE, a solid twelve. So we use a portable jump pack and he starts right up. Drive around for a bit before driving home. He was running a good hour. Get home, turn off and then for poops and giggles try to start him again. NOTHING. DEAD. Not even a dome light.

I love this truck and have plans for a whole line of James Duff parts. Have a few leaks here and there but nothing serious. I cant get him running right.... Oh, I have the opportunity to get a 1989 BII with a blown tranny that has been sitting. Auto tranny but can I use it for parts?

HELP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[MAKG]

I'm not sure what you're asking. It sounds like you had several problems, including electrical gremlins, and knocked most of them down.

Just venting?

If you don't already have it, an EVTM will be quite useful. Try E-bay.

 

[ArcticOffRoadr]

Not venting, just some history to help fill in anyone that could help. Checked out ebay for that evtm.... thanks! Now to wait on shipping! LOL

Guess I am asking if anyone has any ideas for the problem of no power getting to the starter. Actually, after tinkering around I can get it to fire the starter relay again with the charger hooked up but thats it. The engine wont turn over or anything. I am going to get one of those portable jump packs just to drive it to the shop for a diagnostic.

 

[RobbieD]

Check your main cables, the ones from the battery (+) to the starter relay, and the several cables from the battery (-) to the frame, block & body. When these crap out, it isn't always obviously visible, and can cause the symptoms you're describing. Could always be something else, but checking the main cables is a good starting point (seriously, no pun intended).

Good first post, man, and welcome to TRS. A '90 B2, huh? Got one myself (that is, when the Mrs. lets me drive HER truck), and you've definitely come to right place to feed that RBV addiction. Check those main cables, and let's see what you find. Good luck!

P.S.- good move on the EVTM; get one!

 

[MAKG]

Here is a general procedure for troubleshooting dead circuits.

Energize it. Get a buddy to turn the key and hold it.

Grab a voltmeter and work your way around the circuit from the battery hot to the starter to the battery ground, with the common connected to battery ground all the time. When the voltage changes, you found your problem. This is called a "voltage drop test," and it is extremely powerful. It can even detect cables that are separated internally, poor connections, and so on.

If the problem shows up at the starter relay, make sure the primary is seeing ignition voltage; if not, do the same test on the primary side circuit. If there are NO voltage drops and battery voltage is low, you have an undercharged battery.

 

[ArcticOffRoadr]

RobbieD you arent going to believe this but I went to the shop on base here and picked up a jump pack yesterday. While I was there I said.... you know what? That main positive cable is kind of hammered... I think Ill replace it. So the pack costs me 60 bucks and the cable 5. I head back to the house (riding shotgun in a limited dodge charger of all things.. a sweet ride but not my cup of tea) and pop the hood. Swap out the cable and peek inside. DOME LIGHT!! I'm thinking... NO WAY. Hop in hoping against hope and turn the key. SWEET ENGINE NOISE. HE'S ALIVE!!!!!!

So Monday he is off to Auto Trim Design here in Fairbanks to get that crappy car alarm pulled. They are top of the line detailers up here and will be doing the audio for me when I am ready. But first..... James Duff 2.5 inch body lift with polyU bushings. Ill keep everyone updated!

 

[RobbieD]

Good deal! I'm glad to hear that the fix was simple. Do keep us posted, and let's see some pics of this beast when you're ready.

 

[MAKG]

OK, that's funny.

This guy chopped his Bronco II electrical system up and then gave up, just because he couldn't figure out his battery cable was bad? It simply HAD to cost him quite a lot more than 30 minutes professional diagnosis....

Oh well, his loss, your gain.

 

[RobbieD]

OK, that's funny.

This guy chopped his Bronco II electrical system up and then gave up, just because he couldn't figure out his battery cable was bad? It simply HAD to cost him quite a lot more than 30 minutes professional diagnosis....

Oh well, his loss, your gain.

Well. . . . that's probably why they made him an officer.

 

[ArcticOffRoadr]

Well it's been over a year since my last post and boy have I worked on my Lil Hoss/I] as he is now affectionately named. I wound up not getting the old car alarm pulled and it's still in there taking up space but here is a list of things I have done since.

Last winter we had a week or so spell of -60 degrees and my radiator fluid froze solid. Needless to say I had it good for about -50 but with that cold sap EVERYTHING was freezing. Heck, it wouldnt even start even after being plugged in all night, I had to light some charcoal and let it cook then set it under the block to warm it up enough to turn over. So, with it being so cold I got away with cutting the water pump belt and running it the 12 or so miles to the hobby shop. Got a new pump from NAPA and after letting him sit overnight to thaw the fluid I drained it and replaced the water pump and hoses. Made it through the rest of winter.

Summer time 09... I had by now saved up enough money to get the 3" suspension lift from James Duff. Now I am learning as I am going. Everything I know about my Lil Hoss is from getting in my Chilton's, getting in the hobby shop on base and getting dirty. It's a pain in the a** but I can do it all blindfolded almost now! I had some leave to take and decided to put the kit on during that week. I am glad I had a week!! What a job!! Rivets are the devil! Drilling, sweat, blood, DIRT, Cursing, Rust, Sparks, Cursing, DIRT, grease...frustration, put on, take off, drilling, measuring, DIRT....happiness...Cursing! Lots of pics of that one. Soooo, 3in lift on and talk about FLEX.

Well as you all may know but I found out the hard way when you put that kind of lift on your steering gets a little whacky. I had been pricing new rims and tires on Tire Rack and found the ones I wanted but decided with the first snows now hitting (it's October by now) that I needed an allignment first and foremost. Talked to my trusty gear head friends and decided to run down to a local shop and have it done. Ok. Took it there and they called me back later that day and told me the bearings and seals and ball joints needed replaced before they would even touch it. They could do it but it would cost me. I said no thanks and decided another learning opportunity was on the horizon. They wound up charging me $65 bucks for the look and putting a new castle nut on my tie rod... REALLY?!

I rebuilt the enitre front end. Bearings, seals, dropped the diff and cleaned it out (this involved dropping the pass side traction beam from the new drop bracket because the diff wouldnt clear it..pissed me off..the fluid looked like chocolate milk... not good), took me a day and a half but at the end...I was very pleased.

So not wanting to go back to the rip off joint I decided to go to Midas. Reputable right?Midas called me with a quote of over a grand. Told me I needed to replace the pass side ball joints and install a new camber adjuster bolt and then do the allignment. I said no thanks and went to get my feelin no love Lil Hoss. Luckily MIDAS decided not to charge me for the "look" and instead gave me a the inspection sheets and the costs sheet. $25.96 for "shop supplies"?! Really? Ill do it myself thanks.

When I got into my Chiltons bible I realized that I would have to tear apart the pass side front end again to replace the ball joints. I had quite alot of choice words to say as I read this but decided to get a third opinion. I went to my friends at the hobby shop and talked to Rick, own his own shop, runs the hobby shop on base,... He is my Obi Wan Kanobi. Rick helped me check the ball joints and said I didnt need to replace them. The pass side was so minimal that it was just fine as it was. The drivers side had no tire wiggle at all. Yay for me! He then helped me adjust my tires and I learned the meaning of "toe-in" and "toe-out". Apparently my tires had been fighting each other and that was the major steering problem. I adjusted to his instructions and an hour later left the shop with greatly improved steering.

After reading online... ALOT... and talking with my gear head friends... ALOT... I decided to go to Tire Rack and look at tires and rims. I wanted the biggest tires I could fit at a decent price and some decent rims (nothing flashy as I plan on getting them REALLY DIRTY). I found what I wanted and printed off the sheets..even had pictures! I had heard of a place in Fairbanks from another friend and decided to go there to see if they could match the price. American Tire and Auto. These guys are great!! I worked with Anthony and after some checking he told me he could match the price and do the allignment. The tires I wanted retail up ehre for $265 a piece. I got them for the Tire Rack price of $160. Rims? About a hundred a piece.

Today (4 November). I just got back from AT&A. 33X10.5R15 BFG Mud-Terrain T/A KM2 and 15" Ultra Wheel rims. Computer allignment for $65 and Lil Hoss is running and looking amazing!

Next up? Gotta get beter gears in the rear cause I DEFF notice the difference (thinking 8.8 explorer?) and also thinking about selectable lockers. Any ideas?!