[First89Bronco]

I need some input to see if I did this correctly and if my assessment is correct.

So I recently had to take apart and put back together my cylinder lock. I made sure the key was in the RUN position when I put it back in and that the actuator was fully forward (towards the fire wall). When I went to start the engine, I got ACC and in the RUN position (fuel pump engaged, had instrument lights etc..) When I went to start position nothing not even a click.
I have also been digging into a bad blower switch, that had me researching how to do a voltage drop test. So I thought what a "great time" to apply what I think I know.

So I opened my electrical schematic and started at source the ignition switch. I double check bat voltage it was 12.40V. Went to the ignition switch checked voltage across the Yellow wire (brings in the power) and R/LB (what takes the power to the starter relay) Voltage was 12.37V and when put the key into Start it dropped to 12.00V right at the limit of what I was told of allowing only a 0.4 drop in volts.
I then I placed one probe on the POS Bat terminal then the other probe on each connector (front and backside) back probing all along the R/LB wire through each connector. I went from the Ignition switch to connector 100 (52 pin terminal to C114 that leads down to the neutral safety switch. I could not get to the actual component of the NS ( I just did the R/LB coming to the pigtail C276 and back up to C114) I then followed C114 to the S-terminal to the Ignition Relay. All along the way I read 12.4-12.39 Volts with a drop of 0.35 - 0.27 to the S-Terminal.

Once at the relay and the key in Start I wanted to test the relay between the S-terminal and cable leading to the starter to see if it was still good. So I removed the R/LB wire from the S-terminal and took a screw driver and jumped the S-terminal and positive battery cable hooked to the solenoid and the Bronco cranked right up.

So if voltage is getting from the ignition to the S-Terminal with a drop of no more than .35volts (reading from positive batt post to the connection) and the relay from the S-Terminal to Start Cable works what am I missing?

Should I take apart the lock cylinder again pull the actuator all the way to the back (towards the driver seat) to allow just a little more turn of the lock cylinder in case the ignition switch was not hitting start, but that would not make sense because I get power to the S-terminal ?

Again what am I missing?

 

[para]

If I am reading your post correctly, it sounds to me that you somehow got that whole assembly mis-indexed

 

[First89Bronco]

Para,
Where should the actuator arm be all the way towards the driver seat? When I moved it by hand back and forth it moved maybe half an inch? Looking at the shop manual the only thing I found about the brass gear and acuator alignment was it said have the brass gear on the last tooth of the actuator. But the actuator still has about 3 teeth left that do not come forward?

Not sure how to reindex the lock cylinder?

 

[miesk5]

Yo First,
85 to 91 Ignition Actuator & Lock Cylinder Replacement by Chris B @ Steering_Column

Also fyi,

 

[First89Bronco]

Miesk5,

In step 4 of adjustment what is the rod-lash? Are they talking about the rod that goes from the ignition switch to the lower actuator?

If the key will not turn back(towards the driver seat) past LOCK to get to ACC. Is that a lock cylinder problem or lock cylinder GEAR and upper actuator alignment problem. I am thinking lock cylinder?

 

[miesk5]

Yo,
Rod lash: Ford should have written that adjustment is to find mid-point of the switch.

This may help by Jkossarides (RIP friend) in an 86 tilt column:
"...the "gear" mates with a "lower actuator" in it's own slot next to key cylinder which has a specific shape/design on it's end and will only fit into the center of the "gear/washer" one way.....the lower actuator has a loop and hooks on to the upper ignition actuator which has a little nipple ...
... Now if you have the key cylinder out you'll notice inside the "metal column collar" there are tracks top and bottom for the key cylinder to slide into, I use a flat screwdriver head cocked in the center hole for placing the gear into position. With the snap ring off, washer and gear out, REPLACE the gear back in with the 3rd gear tooth on top counting in from right to left so that 3rd tooth lines up directly in the center of the top track....replace the washer, snap ring and put the key cylinder back in and all function should work....so when you rotate the key to "RUN/START" everything rotates forward to trigger the ignition switch......which is adjustable on the lower part of the column, also part of the "rod" timing/travel......

 

[pfun41]

Voltage drop is mostly used when dealing with sensors,actuators, or grounds where too much voltage drop is more likely to cause issues. For chassis wiring (non sensor stuff and the like). Simply testing for voltage at certain points will often get you the info you need. A voltage drop would be employed if the voltage you were receiving was too low and you needed to verify a wire or connection. it can also be used to check the integrity of battery terminals and cables.
That being said it sounds like you're not reading it right. When you test voltage drop across a wire or switch, if its conducting current the drop should be as low as possible, the closer to 0 the better. If you're dropping 12 volts you're loosing all the voltage and it's not making it to where it needs to go. what you should do is connect the negative lead to chassis ground, then test for voltage with the positive lead at various points along the circuit until you find where it stops.

 

[First89Bronco]

Pfun41,

Would connecting to the Positive battery post not give you the same information. In that you see battery prior to component being engaged, then engage and see how much voltage it uses?

 

[nra1ifer]

I recently replaced the starter solenoid relay on our 1969 Falcon wagon.... and have done the same on our 1981 Bronco...... a very similar issue involving the glow plug relay on our 1995 PowerStroke...... if you have any question about that relay, replace it. They are relatively cheap, and it is not unusual for relay contacts to get burned or build up resistance over time.

 

[packagerjr]

So I opened my electrical schematic and started at source the ignition switch. I double check bat voltage it was 12.40V. Went to the ignition switch checked voltage across the Yellow wire (brings in the power) and R/LB (what takes the power to the starter relay) Voltage was 12.37V and when put the key into Start it dropped to 12.00V right at the limit of what I was told of allowing only a 0.4 drop in volts.

You should have zero voltage showing across the yellow wire and red/blue wire when the key is in Start. In other words, they’ll both have battery voltage, so the difference is zero. If the system is working correctly, both wires will show 12.xx relative to ground, but zero volts relative to each other.

It sounds like your switch is still out of time.

 

[miesk5]

Yo,
Ensure starter relay body is tight against clean, rust/grime free fender liner area becuse it's grounded there.

 

[First89Bronco]

Should the accuator arm be all the towards the fire wall or towards the driver seat when the key is in the run position?

 

[First89Bronco]

Sweet mother of Bronco well yes it was the ignition switch. I never thought of checking it because I never touched it. When I went to remove the bolts they were not even figure tight. So I went back to square one:

1. Removed cylinder lock, so I knew it was in the RUN position.
2.Then removed the brass gear and pushed the lower actuator all the way forward to where the spring pushed it back from START position to RUN.
3.Then put the brass gear back in with the cylinder lock.
4. Then put the key in lock position.
5. Moved the ignition switch all the way to the fire wall for ACC, then moved it back to see when the radio would turn off. I played with it for a bit to see if going more to the firewall would give me something un expected. But as I pressed further to the firewall I heard each click and expected functionality with electrical components. Then put the ignition switch back to the LOCK position and tightened down the ignition switch
6. Turned the key to ACC, got windows and radio, went to Lock everything turned off, when to RUN got fuel pump and radio again. Start got start, and key turned back to RUN position. Turned key off and everything turned off.

 

[pfun41]

Pfun41,

Would connecting to the Positive battery post not give you the same information. In that you see battery prior to component being engaged, then engage and see how much voltage it uses?

Your making the test more complicated than it needs to be. Voltage drop is something you test after preliminary testing. Essentially yes you'll get the same information, but the readings will be inversed. Just makes it more confusing.