Hi guys my first post here
Well first off, ignoring the major dilemma for a moment... Welcome to CB!
Solenoid on inner fender well melted
-Red wire got super hot
-Bronco would not stop cranking until battery disconnected (scary!)
Red wire might now be toast. Or not... This is where your favorite tool (a volt-ohm meter (yes, I read your last line!
) can come in handy.
How hot was it? If too hot to touch, yes it could still be fine, but they're cheap and sometimes battery cables are one of the few things I'd just replace out of hand anyway. Always with a larger one, unless that's been done already.
Next, what type of starter do you have now? Standard type, using only the relay/solenoid on the fender? Or a modern one with an actual solenoid mounted to the body of the starter?
Have you had the Bronco for long? Had it acted up before, or did this just start out of the blue?
Here's what I did next:
-New battery
-New MSD ignition coil
-New starter solenoid
-New plugs
-New wires
Unfortunately, new starter relays/solenoids are notorious for being crap right out of the box. So you can't rule out a bad new one causing at least some of your existing issues. Just sayin...
As Ransil said too, usually no need for that other stuff (unless the battery was killed during this event), but sometimes it's nice to just get that stuff changed. But it can add to what you have to suspect too sometimes.
Hopefully those items won't add any mystery to further no-start events. At least for now that does not seem to be the case.
Here's what happens now:
-No crank, no noise
-When you key on to acc, the fuel gauge starts to rise
-The lights work as normal
-As soon as you turn the key passed acc, as if to start it, the fuel guage drops, and no crank, no noise -nothing
-If you leave sit keyed on to acc, the pos battery wire gets warm
What could this be?
Lots of things still, but sure sounds like it could easily be a fried ignition switch. Actually the ignition switch could have caused both your first and current issues. But it could also just be a victim of the previous starter issue putting too much load on it.
They get old, but they don't really like cranking the starter excessively anyway. Especially when old!
The parts I have on deck for it is starter, ignition switch, and another solenoid
Might come in handy, but if your starter is still good there's no reason to put a new one it yet. If in doubt, you can pull the old one and connect it to a jumper cable right on the ground. You will need to put your foot on it hard, or it'll jump right out of it's skin if/when it starts to spin!
Ignition switch is probably a good idea, but you can test the old one as well. Never hurts to have a spare one (just like the solenoid/relay) but it's still a shame to just throw parts at a problem even if they're cheap.
Also I tried installing a universal ignition switch, but soon realized the bronco's has waaaay too many wires, and even with a wiring diagram I can't quite make sense as to why the bronco has so many wires, especially the wire that goes on the side of the switch.
How many wires are there? Should only be 5 or 6 if I remember. And that large Black with green stripe wire on the center post is NOT a ground! It's your accessory wire to feed most of the things that like 12v.
The one on the side is for the brake fault indicator light on the dash. It's called a "proof out" circuit and grounds the wire to the dash which turns on the dash light only during START. The rest of the time it's just sitting there waiting.
Should be a Yellow wire feeding power to the switch, the aforementioned Black w/green, that side wire (pink or gray sometimes), and a double with Green w/red and Red w/green wires, and a Red w/blue wire that starts the truck. If that one is burned out, or the switch circuit that feeds it is burned out, you won't get a click when you turn the key.
All main wires and battery wires look good and are not grounded out on the manifold or anything crazy like that
Ok, that's a good sign. How hot did the main starter and battery cables get? Do any of them look old or tired? What gauge do they look like? Bigger is better up to a point, and very minimally more expensive. Sometimes it's good to upgrade here.
Did I have my solenoid to coil wires switched?
Not if it worked fine before.
But if you mean now, then sure. The Red w/blue goes to the "S" terminal (sometimes not marked, but almost always on the left side of the relay adjacent to the battery cable) and the Brown wire is on the "I" terminal usually on the right, adjacent to the starter cable.
Is my starter stuck engaged and drawing like crazy constantly?
That's possible. But needs to be tested. If you're more comfortable with just putting the new one in, go ahead (in spite of what we were saying earlier) to see.
I recommend testing the new one BEFORE you install it though, as like so many other things these days, it could be bad right out of the box. In spite of many coming with test-sheets from the factory.
Please note I am not very good with ohms readers, voltmeters, electrical work, and overall math in general lol
Uh oh... You're in trouble now! Hah! Just kidding. None of us were at first. But Broncos will get you very familiar with this stuff in a hurry.
Maybe at this point just throwing a few more parts at it is your best option in spite of the potential for wasted money. Saves you from testing stuff when you're not familiar. But testing is what gets you familiar.
Up to you.
But let us know if there were any wires on the back of the ignition switch you think were not factory too, and we can see what else we can think of for you to check.
Good luck. Usually pretty simple, so you should be on the road in no time.
Paul
