electrical confusion

[BroncoBrad]

OK everyone i have a little problem. I have a 1994 bronco xlt 5.8L and about two months ago my battery died overnight. Knowing that my starter was bad i replaced it with a new one. When we got the starter all hooked up, we put the jumper cables on and it automatically tried to turn its self over(no keys in the igniton and ignition was turned off). We got confused and switched some wires around and tried to jump it again. Well when we did that the starter engaged and sounded like it was spinning at 1000 miles an hour. So we took the jumper cables off and i called the local auto parts store, they told me that it sounded like the way we had it setup the first time was right. We put the wires back how it was the first time(when it tried to turn its self over) and we fiddled with they key in the ignition and it jumped without any flaws. The next week or two was fine and then my battery died again, if i fiddled with the igniton before i got out of the truck i could make it so the battery would not die. Knowing that the key lock cylinder was bad i got a new one, i took the old one out and the new one went in without any complications. once i got the bronco jumped again i let it run for about 45 min, i took the keys out and the door chime was going. I checked the lights interior and exterior and i cant figure out why it was going. So i thought maybe it would just chime and be fine. About 6 hours later battery was dead again. I have taken out the aftermarket cd player that was installed in November of 1994and took the steering colum shroud off and visually checked the wires and didnt see anything out of the ordinary. After being stumped for a day i checked the starter wires. After checking them i noticed that the wire that i had to splice into the the positive battery cable, the connection look fried. i am going to attach some pics to this and let you see what im talking about. My question is if the wires are set up wrong is it going to make the door chime when the keys are out of the ignition. If not then i have a feeling this is going to cost me allot of money. any input anyone has will be greatly appreciated. thank you everyone

 

[Justshootme84]

Kinda hard to tell what's going on from the pics, but it sounds like you have a constant draw on the battery with the ignition off? The starter should be connect by a cable to the starter solenoid on the passenger-side fender, then the positve cable from the solnoid to the battery. There is a smaller wire taht comes from your ignition switch, which energizes the solenoid when you turn the key to the "START" position. tracing a short in this circuit can be a bear, but it helps to have a multimeter to test for any breaks in the wiring. If youv'e had to splice any cables you may be getting alot of resistance, too, which will overheat or melt the wiring. You can find a wiring diagram in a HAynes or Chilton's repair manual, which will list what color wire goes to what circuit. Seabronc has also posted several wiring diagrams in previous posts, you may come across one for your year model. There's also some good tech info in the link to "Miesk5's Homepage" in the Tech Articles forum. JSM84

 

[BroncoJoe19]

My first thought was a sticking starter solinoid, but after you mentioned that you had an issue with the ignition switch also, I am leaning towards that. Everything JSM84 is true and meaningful, and I agree. There is also a thread on how to adjust the ignition switch, that you may want to look at. If the door chime did not sound until after you changed the switch, perhaps it is caused by the "key left in ignition switch" circuit, and not "door ajar" circuit.

 

[Seabronc]

The key cylinder has nothing to do with electrical. It is only a means of operating the ignition switch that is located at the top of the steering column under the dash. From the sound of the problem, it could very well be that the switch is out of adjustment. Here is the procedure to adjust it so that when the key is in a certain position the switch is also in that position. The cylinder only operates a push rod between it and the switch. http://broncozone.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=7243

Good luck,

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[Seabronc]

Here are some diagrams of the electrical system that relate to starting the truck and how it is wired. Get yourself a multimeter and check out the wiring you did.

Good luck and good troubleshooting,

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