89 bronco help

I just bought an 89 bronco with a 302 efi in it and he said it started before he changed the steering column and now it doesnt. Sounds good turning over though. The wiring is rigged under the hood from the guy before him. Any advice or direction? Thanks.

Have you determined if the problem is spark or gas? If not, start there. Pull a plug and see if you have a good solid spark when it is turning over. Pull a plug and hold it against the intake or head so you can see the spark.

Good luck,

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If the problem is spark and if the wiring is rigged, one thing you can try to do is get a wiring schematic (haynes manual should have it) and try to trace wires in the ignition area to see what you can find out.

just bought that today..thanks. if its not the wires, which hopefully it is, what would be the next thing to look for?

Seabronc said:

Have you determined if the problem is spark or gas? If not, start there. Pull a plug and see if you have a good solid spark when it is turning over. Pull a plug and hold it against the intake or head so you can see the spark.

Good luck,

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Click to expand...

Thanks, i'm gonna try that..if it is gettin spark what should i try next?

You have to consider that something changed when the steering column was changed. The ignition switch is in there. If not properly adjusted, you may not get power to the coil, the EEC relay or fuel pump relay.

You may also test for blown fuses.

yo;

Does it have tilt steering wheel?

No Start Troubleshooting; "...

check your upper ignition actuator. Find the ignition rod (on top of the column, running from the steering wheel down to the ignition switch at the base of the column) and make sure it's moving back and forth when you turn the key, through all positions. If it is, your upper actuator is probably not the problem.

check your ignition switch (again, at the base of the column). Manually push the switch back and forth through the different positions. Push it all the way forward (or down) and see if it will engage the starter. If it does, then your ignition rod is probably bent, which can be remedied quite easily. & If it's an auto, try starting in neutral or while pulling up on the lever while it's in park. If that works, look to the Park/NSS/MLPS. If it's a stick, check the clutch switch.

Next,

Between the large posts of your starter relay (it's not a solenoid) should be a smaller post with a wire attached. This is the wire from your ignition switch through the Park/Neutral Safety Switch (NSS)/Manual Lever Position Sensor (MLPS), Or clutch safety switch on a manual trans, or NSS/MLPS with an AOD/E4OD, to the starter relay and the on to the starter solenoid (if equipped) and starter. Check this wire for cracks, open insulation, or anything that could possibly cause an open circuit.

You could try jumping from hot to the small terminal on the starter relay to test it's operation. Sometimes new ones are bad out of the box. If it won't turn over when jumped to the small terminal, you'll know that it's a starter relay issue (Bad part, bad ground or a bad starter. Check to see if da relay is tight to inner fender with no corrosion because the relay's body is ground path via inner fender). If it does turns over jumped to the small terminal, then you'll be looking for something in the small circuit that includes the ignition switch & the park/neutral safety switch (NSS/MLPS) Or clutch safety switch.

There should be 12v running from the ignition switch, thru the NSS/MLPS, to the small terminal on the starter relay. Disconnect the small wire to the starter relay (So it doesn't start by surprise, I'd pull the coil wire too). With someone holding the key in the start position, you should be able to read 12v between any point on that small circuit & ground. When you find where you lose 12v, then you'll know where the issue is...

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This includes all Ign Switch info posted by Bill here for 87-91 including Wiring Diagram, Switch Location & Adjustment, etc.((from Factory manual and the Factory EVTM guide (Electrical, Vacuum Troubleshooting Manual) Source: by Broncobill78 (Dave) at Bronco Zone Forums

I may have missed something but the first post said " Sounds good turning over though." Which indicates to me that the electric and adjustment in the steering column is probably OK. The exception is the line that feeds power to the coil. If it is coincident with the steering column change, it would most likely be the Red/Lgr line from the starter switch to the coil (+). So a quick check is to put the key in the Run position and check for 12V at the coil (+). This could only be true if you don't have spark as it is needed to make the coil operate .

Good luck,

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