Wire caught in parking brake, engine died and wont start.

[Lovely Bunny]

Hi all, very fresh newbie here so please be gentle. 88 Econoline 350 7.3. This morning I drove my kid to daycare and when I parked and set the parking brake a spark or ten issued forth and the engine died. I could smell burned plastic. Upon inspection found that a fairly thickish (18 gauge?) yellow wire had gotten caught in the parking brake mechanism and gotten mangled. I traced the wire as best I could under the hood and found myself at the starter relay, where I could also smell a bit of fresh char. I also found three fusable links on yellow wires of the same gauge--two leading to the starter relay and the other bundled with some other wires and plugged into a little black box just to the drivers side of the relay. I ended up replacing all three fusible links but still have no sign of a start. The wait to start light doesn't turn on, engine doesn't crank at all, basically nothing happens.

Also the hazard lights stopped working.

Any help would be much appreciated!

 

[Thewespaul]

That’s a bummer. Welcome to the forum! The yellow wires supply power to the fuse block and the majority of the power for your accessories. Double check your fuses, and make sure your batteries have proper voltage, it’s possible they slowly drained over time since the hot at all times circuit was damaged.

 

[Selahdoor]

This may be obvious, but did you simply pull the wire out of the parking brake assembly and leave it be, or did you cut it and splice it back together, to be sure you had good solid wire, all the way through?

Also, did you test that wire, both directions to see whether or not it simply burned up somewhere else in the run? You could have good wire at both ends, and no obvious damage anywhere else in between... And still have a wire that will not carry current. Don't ask me how many times I know this...

 

[Lovely Bunny]

Good to know, thanks guys! I will return tomorrow and check this stuff.

Also yes, lol, I forgot to mention that I did indeed fix the mangled wire.

 

[Selahdoor]

And tested it from one end to the other? (Basic ohms test from one end of the wire to the other, should be enough.)

 

[Lovely Bunny]

No not yet! But I will when I get a chance tomorrow. Thanks

 

[nj_m715]

is there a fusable link protecting that wire?

 

[IDIBRONCO]

This may sound crazy, but on my first 1985 F250, I had the radio short out and damaged the wire that ran from the alternator to the starter solenoid. This is also a fusible link. The really crazy thing was that the insulation on the outside looked fine. No signs of being hot at all. I just got lucky and found it while I was looking at the wires under the hood. There was one spot where I could bend that wire with no resistance.

 

[Selahdoor]

This may sound crazy, but on my first 1985 F250, I had the radio short out and damaged the wire that ran from the alternator to the starter solenoid. This is also a fusible link. The really crazy thing was that the insulation on the outside looked fine. No signs of being hot at all. I just got lucky and found it while I was looking at the wires under the hood. There was one spot where I could bend that wire with no resistance.

Exactly my point. I've found several of those on many different types of vehicles... Wire really seems fine. But passes zero current.

 

[IDIBRONCO]

Exactly my point. I've found several of those on many different types of vehicles... Wire really seems fine. But passes zero current.

The unbelievable part was that it also took out my FSS. If it didn't happen to me, I wouldn't have believed it so I can't blame any one who doesn't believe me.

 

[laserjock]

is there a fusable link protecting that wire?

This!! At the relay end, there should be a fusible link wire that’s probably now burnt in two. Cut it out and put a fuse in it.

 

[Lovely Bunny]

Yes, I mentioned in my original post that I replaced three fusable links on yellow wires leading to the solenoid. None of them looked shot but I had the stuff in hand so I just went for it.

Tested all three new fusable links today and they’re fine. Also tested the yellow wire where I fixed it and the splice was fine. Tested other parts of the wore that I could access and there seems to be continuity everywhere I can reach. Batteries are charged up at 12.7 each.

I’m at a bit of a loss! Tomorrow I will take some of the dashboard out so I can test further up the wire and I will also inspect less likely areas to see if something weird blew somewhere in the system. This thing has been through a lot in its 31 years and everything is jammed with nests of wires, many of which go nowhere.

 

[Lovely Bunny]

Update: Found it! It was indeed a fusable link that blew, further back in the harness, buried among a ton of other stuff so I didn't notice at first. Tested it and there was no continuity, put in a new link and she fired right up.

Thanks a million for your help!

 

[IDIBRONCO]

Glad to hear it.