Hi guys, new here. I have an 85 b-150 318.

Last week, I was warming up my engine, with the doghouse off checking on another problem. The engine died, and I smelled burnt rubber strongly, not electrical burnage. All ignition on electrical was out. The lights, hazards, cig lighter worked fine. I havent been able to find any fuseable links, and I figured it was the ignition switch, so I got one, but it was the in steering wheel kind, which is wrong. Mine is an external switch on the bottom of the steering wheel column. (I needlessly spent hours taking my steering wheel apart.) a buddy of mine figured out how to hotwire the thing, so I can drive it now. Either by jumping an always on fuse, to the ignition on side, or by jumping three wires in the harness of the ignition switch.

I got another ignitions switch from piknpull, but it hasnt helped, and I haven't noticed anything wrong with my old one anyway. It really seems like its something in the switch, though.

I cant find any useful wiring diagrams for the ignition harness anywhere. I have haynes manual, and an old chiltons, that is missing a bunch of pages.
I would like to figure out which color of wire is shorted out. I DO know that the pink with black stripe is hot. none of the other ones show any voltage, whether the ignition is on or not. Does anyone know if one of the other colors is supposed to be hot? I would assume there is only one hot wire, and the switch sends the current where it needs to go.

When I hotwire it, I jump the pnk/blk wire to both the red and light blue wires. This gives me full power except the heater, which I have jumped in the fuse box. I thin touch a screwdriver to the orange wire to start it. There is also a heavy gauge blue/black wire that I dont know what it does, and a smaller gauge blue/white wire as well as a black. Im trying to find the fuseable links, but havent so far. If anyone has any advice/diagrams, that would be super.

Thanx a lot.

 

The fusable links are stuffed behind the brake booster.

I have not yet had to tinker with my '89's ignition switch and am not familiar with it.

You do need a wiring diagram. Forget the Haynes or Chiltons. Get the Factory service manual. It will have pages and pages of electrical diagrams specific to your model year.

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Thank you. I just came back inside, after an hour of tinkering to say I finally found the fuseable links. Behind the brake booster, as you've stated. Off to piknpull to clip the whole set.

Thanx.

 

I would put in new ones instead of hoping on the salvage yard fuse links. They are just as old and may have more corrosion in them.

 

I think he should get the bundle of salvage yard fuse links anyway and toss them in a gallon zip-lok baggie and keep them in the van. Priceless if he has a roadside situation. If he's blown one one link already there may be more gremlins lurking underhood.

 

Great idea.