New purchase, HOT MESS 89 F350 dually

Hey all, I'm new here and recently purchased an 89 F350 supercab dually, with the 7.3 idi and c6 trans. So far the truck drives fantastic, all the exterior lights work, even the horn. But that's about it.. The wiring under the hood and under the dash is a HOT MESS. It has trouble starting and sometimes needs just the littlest squirt of ether. Unless thats bad and I shouldn't do that? Ive been reading into the glow plug relay and such, but moving on.. once running, it won't shut itself back off. The fuel pump is bypassed with an electric one, which I have verified shuts off with the key because its distinctive noise quits. But it keeps running. I've began looking into the shut off solenoid, which I think runs along with the glow plug solenoid? I also saw the high idle runs with that as well. BUT. After idling for a little bit cold, it idles down to normal, as if that switch was working.. I haven't the slightest whats going on there. There is shady looking wiring all over under the hood, I'll add pictures later! Next, only the tach, battery, and oil pressure gauges seem to work. Nothing else. I've investigated the speedometer and found the issue there with a messed up cable. Easy. But I'm clueless on the rest. Also cruise control doesn't work.. The radio doesn't work, but lights up. I'll add that the fuses that are present seem fine. But there are a few empty slots? Moving on.. I have trouble filling the front fuel tank.. It won't vent properly it seems. The rear tank neck isn't even there. I don't even see a second tank under the bed?? I hope I don't sound like too much of a newb.. haha. Oh yeah, on the air controls, only defrost vents seem to be functioning. The different fan speeds work for that mode, but that's it. AC doesn't do anything, and I know the heater is bypassed under the hood so hot air wont come either. I figure the heat exchanger was most likely clogged or leaked.. I know this is a lot, but it will be a fun project to tinker with for a while, and any and all advice for any of these things will be MUCH appreciated. Thanks in advance!

Well, the good news is it sounds like everything you have listed so far is fairly easily fixed. Mostly you'll have to provide pictures, answer questions, then try to actually do what is suggested.

I'm too tired to write anything more tonight.

Have patience. Others will be here to help as well.

You CAN make that truck into something you'll be proud of.

Another member here has left a treasure trove of really good stuff I think you will find extremely useful.

FORDF250HDXLT



https://www.oilburners.net/media/albums/6-9-7-3l-idi-specs-information.5/

Everything in his album ( several pages of very good stuff ) shares a helluva lot of information and wisdom. I get a " religious experience" just reading his stuff.

https://www.oilburners.net/search/39572740/?q="red+road"&t=xengallery_media&o=date

Walk the red road.

Welcome to the same gen brother, I’ve got an 88 f250 7.3 diesel so any questions you’ve got I may be able to answer even though I’m learning as well.

If your glow plug wiring is a mess, I think that this would be a good time to get a glow plug bypass relay from Thewespaul. If you get the full system, it would completely bypass the factory glow plug wining and put the glow plugs on manual control. You don't really need them most of the time in Texas, once the engine's up to temperature. As for the continuing to run after turning the key off, has the truck been sitting for quite a while? I'm going along this line of thinking because the fule shut off solenoid (FSS) could be sticking in the "run" position for some reason. This would keep the engine running despite the position if the key. I would suggest filling the fuel filter (either the current one or a new one) with ATF and starting the engine, letting it run for 30 seconds to a minute to let the ATF get into the injector pump. You can tell when this happens if you listen to the engine carefully. It will start to sound different. Then shut off the engine somehow and let it sit overnight. This can work wonders.

I've got a 93 F250, not sure how much of the wiring is the same but here's a Google drive link to some service manuals I have:
https://drive.google.com/folderview?id=1DeQem_A2jnQzFh_BjwtkNyXwxkXtIN50

To add to this all, I've noticed theres a plug on top of the fuel filter that I believe to be the fuel heater(?) that is removed for some reason. The hole is covered in some kind of rtv-like putty and is slowly seeping fuel when running.. my question is, is it worth trying to un-gum up that hole and put a new sensor in it or should I just try to re seal it and hope it holds better? I looked around for a new assembly altogether but can't seem to find one.

You're in Texas, where it never gets cold. You don't need no stinkin' heaters! Just jam a pipe plug in there and forget about it.

nelstomlinson said:

You're in Texas, where it never gets cold. You don't need no stinkin' heaters! Just jam a pipe plug in there and forget about it.

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My truck runs fine all winter here in NY with no fuel heater. If you use anti-gel when it gets REALLY cold the fuel heater is pretty pointless. Pretty sure all it would do working properly is help to de-gel the filter in the dead of winter.

Never understood the point of a fuel heater on TOP of the fuel filter.

Too little, too late...

Selahdoor said:

Never understood the point of a fuel heater on TOP of the fuel filter.

Too little, too late...

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This^^

Exhumis: Thanks for the link! This info is so old it's getting almost impossie to find!

The more of us who share, the more chance this valuable info won't be lost.

Selahdor: .I think the object was to heat the fuel as it leaves the filter. Not to heat the whole filter full of fuel. But it still eludes me as I am of the belief the incoming fuel is along the outer part of the filter and the filtered fuel is in the inner part...so that fuel pressure will tend to compress the filter pleating, not try to stretch it

BeastMaster said:

.I think the object was to heat the fuel as it leaves the filter.

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I won't argue this, but it seems like a pretty poor idea to even try. There's enough fuel flowing through the filter that I can't see where it would make a difference if it's cold outside. Engineers at work-. The rest of us-. Any questions?

JFlay said:

To add to this all, I've noticed theres a plug on top of the fuel filter that I believe to be the fuel heater(?) that is removed for some reason. The hole is covered in some kind of rtv-like putty and is slowly seeping fuel when running.. my question is, is it worth trying to un-gum up that hole and put a new sensor in it or should I just try to re seal it and hope it holds better? I looked around for a new assembly altogether but can't seem to find one.

Click to expand...

Did the previous owner drill and plug it with rtv or did they just slather rtv over it? If it's drilled I'd get all that crap out and then either plug it with a brass square head plug or Jb weld it. I Jb welded mine, hasn't leaked.

So I’ve been pretty busy with life lately, but really wanted to share this part. I ordered a new fuel shutoff solenoid from Amazon, looked it over and decided it was worth a shot. When I go to remove the old one from IP, I find it rigged with a dime and 8mm socket to stay open. No wonder the key wouldn’t shut it down.. the old solenoid didn’t look burned up or anything but I figured I may as well use the new one. Popped it in, reassembled, and went to fire it up to test it. Well.. as soon as I try and crank it I just see smoke.. the glow plug controller, fss connector, and passenger battery are HOT. I undid the double yellow wires to the glow plug controller and tried again and still smoke from the other two. I called it quits at this point because I had to get somewhere.. but does anyone have any clue what could be going on here?