Electrical hacks. Maybe.

[FL86BRONCO]

Hi there, I just bought myself an 86 bronco and couldn't be more excited to get to work on it. I do need to get the lights all working first. A bit of background, I work on Toyotas for a living and have for 16 years so I should be familiar with some of the terms used but I don't work on anything that's carbureted. This truck has been through a lot of hacks, none off the electronics work at all. The fuse panel doesn't get voltage to it. It starts and runs and drives, alternator has 13v but there are a lot of wires cut under the hood. I printed out some wiring diagrams from alldata and identifix at work but it doesn't really show me power going to the fuse panel. Could someone please give me some direction that maybe has some knowledge? These pictures don't seem to be very big but I can get more detailed ones. Thank you for this great resource!

[Gary Lewis]

You are a candidate for the Electrical & Vacuum Troubleshooting Manual (EVTM) from Ford.  It breaks the wiring diagram into systems.  And the specific set of pages you need are here: http://www.garysgaragemahal.com/charge--power-distribution---gasoline-engines.html, the significant pages of which I'll paste below.

I'm going to guess that you have a blown fuse link.  Most of those are attached to the starter relay on the fender, and the easiest way to check them is to pull on them.  A blown one will stretch like a rubber band 'cause the wire inside is blown.  A good one is a solid piece of wire.

[ArdWrknTrk]

. I hate when people leave razor sharp points on zipties.

Circuit 37 is a thicker yellow wire that provides power to the fuse panel.
Note that fusible link (M) comes after the splice where it splits.
And (L) provides power to the light switch.

[FL86BRONCO]

Thank you for the info guys. There are a lot of things zip tied on the passenger side of the engine bay that I haven't unraveled. Is that what side those links will be on?

[FL86BRONCO]

There isn't much connected to the starter relay right now.

[ArdWrknTrk]

You may not have all four fuse links for your truck.
The manual is showing all options. Like if you have DuraSpark ignition the EEC fuselink will not be present.

Yes, if you can find the thicker yellow wire wrapped up, follow it through connector 610 and to splice 101 where the two fuse links split .

If you follow the greenn wire back from your alternator, you will find 610 with red, orange, green and yellow wires.

The EVTM is not always that intuitive, but it should be okay for someone used to working on cars.

[FL86BRONCO]

So after working on cars for 12 hours at the dealer today it took all of 15 minutes of being home on the couch before I had to go track that black and orange wire down.
I did and it's intact! But it leads to an oval connector that I do not have anything to plug into. Perhaps the original starter relay? Here's a picture maybe someone would recognize it. I sure do love this thing. Thank you for the responses/help!

[Gary Lewis]

I think that is C610, which you can see on this page:

[ArdWrknTrk]

If you have a connector with two black/orange wires I think your truck came with a 2G alternator.
That would be the infamous "Fire Plug"!

Can you post a picture of the back of your alternator?
And maybe the front as well.

The connector you have in your hand is definitely C610.
Is it coming from the cab, or the starter relay and alternator?

[FL86BRONCO]

Yeah it's c610, so there is not the other end of this harness and it's missing all the eyelets that connect to the starter relay, I watched a guy change a starter relay on YouTube to get a better look at things. Since it's missing a whole section of harness I was looking in junkyards, they have an 86 f150. Would that trucks harness be the same? Thank you for your help

[ArdWrknTrk]

If it has an ammeter (instead of just a charge failure light) it should have the other side of the C610 connector.

[Gary Lewis]

A little-known fact is that in '86 Ford finally dropped the idiot lights and all the trucks came with ammeters.  So yes, it should work.  But, it is a large and long harness, so...

[ArdWrknTrk]

Well, now I know!  💡

Only to drop ammeters entirely for the '87 model year and go with a voltmeter. (which is at least effective)
And have a charge indicator lamp.

[Gary Lewis]

Yes, the voltmeter and charge indicator lamp is the best solution.  I've looked more than one to see how easy it would be to put a charge indicator lamp in an ammeter hole on the Bullnose gauges, but it wouldn't be easy.  

[FL86BRONCO]

I'd like to thank you guys, I went to the pull a part here in Jacksonville and found the end of c610 connector. Got home cleaned it all up and we have power! I at least have brake lights now, headlights work but previous owners put a 25 amp fuse in there so I swapped it out and it blows as soon as I turn on the lights. So I'll have to figure out whats going on there. I wanted to give an update and a thank you for the help and the site!

[Gary Lewis]

Excellent!  Glad you figured that much out.  It is one layer at a time peeling these onions, but pretty soon you'll have enough to have a Bloomin' Onion!  

[ArdWrknTrk]

Maybe one of those missing marker lights is grounding out?

I have a feeling you'll be following a bunch of harness to rectify whatever the previous owner did.
It's great you were able to get a good section of harness at the junkyard. V

[grumpin]

Great! Coming together!