Need Help Troubleshooting a few things!

[etniesbmx1]

So I just recently bought my first truck, its a 1990 F150 and I'd really like to have it ready for the inspection in 2 weeks. This means I definitely have a few things that need to get done in that time frame.

1. My horn doesn't work. When you hit the button a clicking noise is heard on the passenger side. I've checked the fuse under the steering column and its still good. What next? Is there another fuse box that I've missed?

2. Turn signal doesn't stick up. It sticks down but to make a right turn holding the lever up will be necessary. I don't think that that will go over too well during the inspection.

3.Tail Lights don't really work. The drivers side brake light will sometimes come on, but its very very dim. A few people have suggested checking grounds. How do I get them off so I can check?

Sorry for the extremely amatuer questions haha. But its my first truck/project and I'm really new to working on vehicles. I hope someone will be able to help a brotha out. lol

Thanks,
Tyler

[taisa899]

first replace all the bulbs. Second is a question. Do you have a multimeter?

[etniesbmx1]

Buying new bulbs tomorrow!

And no I don't unfortunately

*EDIT*

I figure this would be the best place to ask, rather then making another thread, but I'm having trouble finding any aftermarket parts for my 90. Anyone have any good recommendations as too where to look.

[shelbyx1]

if you hear a click when horn is pushed your relay is working the next thing to check would be the horn itself,just check if you have power when pressed,the signal not holding oneway can be the steering wheel is off center(need alignment)or the spring is broken in the multifunction switch,as for your lighting woes the grounds will be on the frame at rear driversside to remove the taillamps open the tailgate and there will be two 8mm head bolts remove bolts and pull outwards on lamp assm also check for broken/coroded wires at the connector at back of frame on drivers side.hope this helps:)

[taisa899]

what aftermarket parts are you looking for?

[etniesbmx1]

shelbyx1- thank you! very informative post! haha I'll check it out tomorrow.

taisa899- Pretty much anything. I'm having a hard time finding anything to do with the interior and body parts (grill, bumpers, etc). And as for the engine, google didn't help me much. haha

Thanks guys,
Tyler

[taisa899]

for engine check out my profile. For body it depends on what you are looking for

[etniesbmx1]

Did exactly that, and all it said was 5.0HO, maybe I'm looking in the wrong place? haha damn noobs eh.

[taisa899]

right below that in Engine Driveline mods

[taisa899]

hang in there seems to be a problem with my profile. Let me check with Dave

[swackly]

I had one of those fords the horn is probly rotted out or bad ground Taillights are clean contacts at plug that goes to taillight wiring and clean ground

[etniesbmx1]

taisa889- I see em now! Looks good. Did you order all of that off the net? Cuz I know for a fact we dont have anyone selling that stuff here lol.

swackly- Where abouts is the horn located? I'm not really sure what I'm looking for haha.

[taisa899]

most were ordered through my parts guys. Are you looking for performance or appearance mods for your motor?

[etniesbmx1]

Really? Hmm..

I'm looking for anything and everything man. Want to know what kind of options I have. Like I said before I'm pretty much an extreme amateur at modding and restoring haha.

Little bit of an update though!

So today I'm out trying to get my signal lights working, I go to start the truck, the rear tank is out of gas. The gauge states its about half way full. Damn thing had me so confused for the longest time haha, I couldn't for the life of me figure out why she wouldnt fire up. But yea, hit the switch to the front tank and everything was back to normal. Sept that damn gauge must be broken or something.

Also, sometimes I'll go to start the truck and it will take me like 3 tries to get it going. It usually makes a whirring kind of noise. Doesn't turn over or anything, definitely something electrical. What would cause this? Apparently the starter was recently replaced. So I'm confused haha.

So right now as the trucks sits my TO-FIX list hasn't really changed.

1. Horn: Not really sure where it is or what it looks like.

2. Tail Lights: Got the signal bulbs, and for some reason my signal lights still won't work. I'm still wating for the LED brake lights. 3-4 days! haha

3. Airbag: Keeps deflating, I think there's a hole in it. Can't see who manufactured it anywhere on the bag. Confused. lol

4. Signal Lever: Haven't really touched this. Mostly because I'm unsure of where to start. Anyone willing to offer some advice on how I'd get the steering column apart?

Anyways, that's kind of where things are standing right now. Any replies are extremely welcome and appreciated!

Thanks in advance!
Tyler

[taisa899]

that whirring noise is cause your starter is not engaging the flywheel. Spring is shot time for a new starter

[etniesbmx1]

Damnnnn. That sucks haha.

[taisa899]

for the gas gauge you're gonna have to drop the tank pull the fuel pump and check the float

[etniesbmx1]

Alright. Thats not tooo big of a deal right now though haha. Just scared me when I couldnt get er going.

But that damn horn. Like I searched high and low for it but I just couldn't find it! Anyone wanna shed some light on where this gem might be hiding? ha

And the steering column. How in the world does it come apart?! Just doesnt make sense!

Thanks in advance!

[taisa899]

horn is located under the driverside headlight

[etniesbmx1]

Haha K awesome! Found it, or them I guess.

Now! Steering column! How can I pop that off so I can get to the signal arm?

Thanks taisa899, your helping me tons man! I really apreciate it.

Thanks,
Tyler

[taisa899]

no problem. I just keep going out to my 90 parts truck to find and figure things out

[taisa899]

remove the steering wheel to access the turn signal assembly. It'll be staring you in the face

[etniesbmx1]

haha kk! How do you remove the steering wheel? It just pulls off does it not?

[taisa899]

2 screws in back to remove center cover then use a puller to remove wheel

[kidd]

My horns are located on the passenger side below headlight and behind the battery 1994 F150 XLT.

[taisa899]

same with my 96 but they're different on my 90 parts truck Kirk

[etniesbmx1]

So I got my horn off, just gotta find me a replacement. Umm, I got the steering wheel cap off, but I dont have a puller. Is there another alternative?

[taisa899]

nope. You can pick one up really cheap at crappy tire (jobmate)

[etniesbmx1]

dang haha. alright i'll check that out tomorrow! thanks again man!

[etniesbmx1]

taisa899- what kind of puller are you using? My buddy brought a gear puller over, it had 3 talon like things and the bolt in the middle. but we couldnt get it to grasp around anything. im pretty confused haha

[etniesbmx1]

So update on the steering wheel! A buddy came over the other night claiming he had this amazing technique to get the steering wheel off. I really didnt believe him but in the end I was left quite impressed.

Basically a little how-to for everyone who doesn't have a puller.

-Take the cap off by removing the 2 screw in the back of the steering wheel. Pull on the bottom, cap will pop off. There's going to be wires for the horn/cruise/etc. They're just spade connectors, pull em out.

- Loosen the nut that is right there in your face. Its a 21mm or something. Don't completely loosen it off, it is going to act as a stopper.

- Take a hammer/mallet/blunt object and give that bolt a hit or two, whilst pulling on the steering wheel with reasonable force. The steering wheel should vibrate right off! Easy Peasy.


And now for some more questions. haha

http://i698.photobucket.com/albums/vv344/etniesbmx1/S7300098.jpg

Here's the inside of my steering column. You can see where the plastic piece is broken causing the lever to not stick up. Which was my original problem. Well now I cant figure out how to remove the blue and green wires that are attached to the plastic. The seem to be riveted in there. It's all quite confusing for an amateur like myself. How should I tackle this?

Anddddd.. My hazards, when you pull it to activate them they only work like half the time. If I move the knob thing up and down, or just kinda fiddle with the wires I can make them work, only till I let them go. What could be causing this?

Andddd.. My tailights are crapping out again! Bulbs are brand new but the reverse lights is all that will work for me. What could be happening here?!

Thanks in advance guys!

[taisa899]

I'll take a look at my 90 in the morning and see what I can come up with

[etniesbmx1]

your a hero!
thanks!

[taisa899]

for your lights check to make sure your plugs are clean and check for power with a multimeter

[shelbyx1]

for the switch you have to unplug the harness at lower column and take the wires out of the connector shell than pull the wiring out with the switch,and when you do this take a spare piece of wire(long enough to come to top of column)and wrap it around the wires you are pulling out with switch(makes it easier to pull new ones through):) ps.the problem with your lighting is probably connected to the hazzard flasher issue.

[etniesbmx1]

Taisa, I'll check that tomorrow after school. I'm pretty sure there's power, because when I first put the new bulbs in it all worked, minus the hazards. So I'll check cleanliness.

Shelby, how does a guy access that lower column? And, I figure your right about my hazard issue effecting my tailights. AND, just to clarify, when you say switch you mean hazard switch, not signal light switch right?

Thanks guys

[shelbyx1]

Tyler:the lower column can be accessed by removeing the plastic panel under the steering column,the signal/hazzard switches should be a assembly,you take the hazzard button off and remove the 2 phillips head screws to remove the switch assmbly.

[etniesbmx1]

Does the plastic just pull off? Like is it secured by clips like the rest of the dash? Must be eh..

Hmm haha. Thanks. I'm gunna go look right now!

EDIT*- I now fully understand what you mean haha. I'll take a more indepth look tomorrow. Thanks man!

[Henry Ford]

Hell yah you can bang it enough times it will come off but probably smack you in the face! Damn I hate that. Make sure someone is watching you do it, so they can have a good laugh.

[etniesbmx1]

Haha! Thats why you leave the bolt on, just loose! We took some precautions! haha

But little update! I got my signal harness all out, ordered a brand-spankin'-new one, which should be here early wednesday morning! I got my airbag ordered to replace the one with the hole, should be here in 3-4 weeks :(. Which just sucks haha! Delays me driving her for a lot longer then expected.

But, on the bright side it gives me time to replace/paint my brakes, any suggestions on colour? They are currently yellow, I'm thinking yellow brakes + purple truck looks pretty gross haha. But yea, maybe white? Any suggestions are welcome!

Also, I was just thinking, you can buy spray-bomb undercoating at Crappy Tire, would it be worth it to clean the undercarriage and give it all a nice new coat of protection? It definitely wouldn't be professional or anything but it would probably be a pretty good investment would it not?


Anyhow, that's all for now. Any comments/suggestions are welcome! Thanks in advance guys!

[etniesbmx1]

Another little update if anyone cares lol.

Painted my grill!

From this:
http://i698.photobucket.com/albums/vv344/etniesbmx1/truck007.jpg

To this:
http://i698.photobucket.com/albums/vv344/etniesbmx1/S7300132.jpg

Whatcha think?

Also fixed my ghetto hood latch, made it even more ghetto!
http://i698.photobucket.com/albums/vv344/etniesbmx1/S7300133.jpg

And I'm gunna be ordering some clear corner lenses here soon!

[Henry Ford]

cool. throw an album together on here its cool too!

[SKRWZ]

Keep on Moddin'

[taisa899]

hope the grill is powder coated or has about 10 coats of clearcoat on it or it's gonna chip big time

[etniesbmx1]

hope the grill is powder coated or has about 10 coats of clearcoat on it or it's gonna chip big time

I actually just kit it with 2 coats of Krylon Rust Paint. I gaurentee it'll chip, but it looks better then "unfinished", for the time being, in my opinion. And I was also just bored haha.

But I wanna start messing with my interior. Like getting rid of the extremely comfy bench and throwing in some buckets. Along with building my own console! But any ideas on which trucks have the nicest buckets?

[taisa899]

I used Jeep Grand Cherokee power 6 way leather buckets in mine

[etniesbmx1]

Power eh? I never thought of going that route..Something to look into for sure.

[etniesbmx1]

So k, today I went out to do a little work and my battery was dead. So I jumped er, got it running and there appears to be a relay clicking the lights (interior and side markers) on at the most random times. Quite frequently though.

I tried to do a little troubleshooting myself, wiggling things here and there, checked the harness I just replaced, none of that seemed to have any effect on the relay. Im fully confused though. The only thing that is different it the steering wheel is half on (I havent completely tightened it down), but that shouldnt matter...Right?

Haha thanks in advance!