truck talk

[souperman000]

aww crap, both headlights and one turn signal stopped working at once. the wiring is all corroded

i need to get it fixed asap cause im testing for my license in a week and getting a job ill have to drive to every day



thanks!

When you have been hauling logs and scrap and stuff were you driving by yourself or with a parent? You are testing next week for a license then were you driving on your permit?

Anyways, good luck on your test and your wiring!

 

[Bluethunder3320]

When you have been hauling logs and scrap and stuff were you driving by yourself or with a parent? You are testing next week for a license then were you driving on your permit?

Anyways, good luck on your test and your wiring!

i havent drove the truck yet

































kidding i have my permit, have to drive with parents. thanks! i hope i pass. not gonna be driving the truck for my test, gonna be driving my moms little volvo haha

when i drive the truck most of the time i have the pedal 3/4 the way down to get 5,600 pounds moving. really need to adjust to the volvo. its automatic and you barely press the pedal to get moving huge difference. they handle totally different

 

[crazzywolfie]

you could get new connectors but i think i would have to agree with toystory. sound like a grounding problem. if you do replace all the connectors you may want to think about adding relays to the headlights. relays will make the headlight bright.

 

[TripleT]

It's got to suck to have to drive. I passed drivers ed and got my certificate, all i have to do is go to the court house show them and get my license.

 

[Bluethunder3320]

you could get new connectors but i think i would have to agree with toystory. sound like a grounding problem. if you do replace all the connectors you may want to think about adding relays to the headlights. relays will make the headlight bright.

whats a relay?

It's got to suck to have to drive. I passed drivers ed and got my certificate, all i have to do is go to the court house show them and get my license.

i took drivers ed. 30 hours of classroom, 8 hours on road with an instructor

you dont have to take a drivers test??

 

[crazzywolfie]

A relay is a simple electromechanical switch made up of an electromagnet and a set of contacts. power has to travel through a lot of electrical wire before it gets to the lights. installing a relay would shorten the distance that the power would have to travel which would decrease voltage loss and increase the amount of power your lights get.

 

[Bluethunder3320]

im not too good with electrical, im staring at that diagram trying to understand it

so basically a relay is like a starter solenoid? theres a trigger wire activated by the light switch?

a guy on ford truck enthusiasts forums suggests its the "MFS" (multi function switch) that overheated because of full current to the head lights going through the MFS

and he also suggested getting a relay

 

[devino246]

It's got to suck to have to drive. I passed drivers ed and got my certificate, all i have to do is go to the court house show them and get my license.

Driving isn't bad at all! Depending on what vehicle I'm driving and where, I don't mind it at all. My truck is fun on backroads and my car is a 5-speed so it's fun in traffic.

im not too good with electrical, im staring at that diagram trying to understand it

so basically a relay is like a starter solenoid? theres a trigger wire activated by the light switch?

a guy on ford truck enthusiasts forums suggests its the "MFS" (multi function switch) that overheated because of full current to the head lights going through the MFS

and he also suggested getting a relay

Technically, a solenoid is just a coil of wire. The starter "solenoid" is just a relay, and a relay contains a solenoid.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Relay

 

[crazzywolfie]

it is pretty much the same as a solenoid. a solenoid is just built to allow more draw.

in my opinion any vehicle that does not have relays on the headlight circuit should have them installed. i know there is some places that sell kit that are usually plug and play for less than $30. i know on some vehicle they tend to have multi funtion switch fail due to too much amperage going through cheap parts. i think almost every vehicle made today has a box full of relays under the hood for that reason. i know the power distribution center i pulled out of a 2000 dodge caravan had 2 relays ans 4 fuses for the headlights. talk about overkill.

 

[devino246]

it is pretty much the same as a solenoid. a solenoid is just built to allow more draw.

in my opinion any vehicle that does not have relays on the headlight circuit should have them installed. i know there is some places that sell kit that are usually plug and play for less than $30. i know on some vehicle they tend to have multi funtion switch fail due to too much amperage going through cheap parts. i think almost every vehicle made today has a box full of relays under the hood for that reason. i know the power distribution center i pulled out of a 2000 dodge caravan had 2 relays ans 4 fuses for the headlights. talk about overkill.

Like I just said, a solenoid is just a coil of wire. Add an iron core and it becomes an electromagnet. Turn the electromagnet into a switch and it becomes a relay.

+1 on the relay conversion. The voltage reaching the headlights on the stock setup is surprisingly low.

 

[Bluethunder3320]

where is this MFS? so mine is failed? and i could replace it with a relay, or do i need both? also why would one turn signal still work?

head hurts

 

[devino246]

where is this MFS? so mine is failed? and i could replace it with a relay, or do i need both? also why would one turn signal still work?

head hurts

Don't jump to conclusions. Pull out your test light and find out where you're loosing power. Start at the bulbs and work back. Considering how much rust is on this truck, you may have power at the bulbs but bad grounds.

 

[crazzywolfie]

The voltage reaching the headlights on the stock setup is surprisingly low.

its not that low. there is usually no more than a 1 volt drop. i know on my truck there was about a .5v drop between the battery and light. now that does not seem like a lot but you could still see the difference when you applied power directly to the light when you had the lights on.

 

[Bluethunder3320]

well i tested at the bulbs and no power. i started working back but couldnt even get to the wires. i have to take off the fluids containers and it got dark so i hope to get to that tomorrow.

the corrosion on the wires is bad, they're almost fallen apart in some areas the rubber coating is gone

 

[devino246]

its not that low. there is usually no more than a 1 volt drop. i know on my truck there was about a .5v drop between the battery and light. now that does not seem like a lot but you could still see the difference when you applied power directly to the light when you had the lights on.

I consider 1V on a 12V system alot.

well i tested at the bulbs and no power. i started working back but couldnt even get to the wires. i have to take off the fluids containers and it got dark so i hope to get to that tomorrow.

the corrosion on the wires is bad, they're almost fallen apart in some areas the rubber coating is gone

If the insulation is coming off, I'd get a spool of appropriately sized wire and splice in new wire.

 

[TripleT]

i took drivers ed. 30 hours of classroom, 8 hours on road with an instructor you dont have to take a drivers test??

We have to take drivers ed and if we pass that we get the piece of paper that says were good and then we can go get our license. That's basically our driver test, and i think our hours are a few different, we had to have i think 6 with the instructor and 5 with a parent.

Devino i worded it wrong i like driving i meant to have to actually drive to get your license. Like i said i just have to show them a piece of paper showing i took drivers ed and were good.

 

[souperman000]

We have to take drivers ed and if we pass that we get the piece of paper that says were good and then we can go get our license. That's basically our driver test, and i think our hours are a few different, we had to have i think 6 with the instructor and 5 with a parent.

Devino i worded it wrong i like driving i meant to have to actually drive to get your license. Like i said i just have to show them a piece of paper showing i took drivers ed and were good.

Wow, thats pretty lenient compared to other states. At least I know its about 6 months shorter than California lol

 

[devino246]

Wow, thats pretty lenient compared to other states. At least I know its about 6 months shorter than California lol

They get their permits before taking driver's ed. Virginia does it the same way and it's never made any sense to me.

 

[Bluethunder3320]

i passed my permit test before i took drivers ed. just skimmed the manual and spent a lot of time on the app. i barely passed

they used to even have a second written test PLUS on road test. now its just on road.

 

[souperman000]

In california you need a certificate from drivers ed to even take to permit test.