Electrical Issues Help Please! - Page 3

rallypanam · 03-24-2016, 05:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bassfarm

Well that's a negative, I just checked and it IS hooked to the alternator. I just want to pull the fuse on this fan. Does anyone have a guess as to where another fuse box might be in a 1989 Ford Econoline Sportsmobile?

Rest assured, this is not a big gremlin.. Just frustrating that you can't find it.

You've got two problems, probably unrelated.

1. The fan. Find the 12v Sportsmobile fusebox (follow the positive lead from the house battery) and you'll find it. Then you can pull the fuse and either fix the heater fan later, or just stick the fuse back in when you want to use it.

2. The van starting battery dying. If the alternator tested bad in the van, but ok on the bench, that leads one to think connection. And you may have already fixed that, based on you replacing one of the cables. Still charging well?

bassfarm · 03-24-2016, 06:01 PM

The thermostat was removed by the previous owner. I have pulled all the wires I can get to yet it still runs! I'm not sure how to post pictures in here...

bassfarm · 03-24-2016, 06:12 PM

I'm going out to test the newly reconnected (with a new wire and connector) alternator while it is in the van. Will report. Thanks to everyone for the help! It was so much easier for me to fix my charging issues on my 76 Firebird -- less things to run and a MUCH bigger engine bay! I got that alternator out so much quicker than this one!

bassfarm · 03-24-2016, 06:40 PM

The alternator seems to work - I found the wire to EVERYTHING inside the van and unhooked it. Now the fan doesn't run but neither do the inside lights. Tomorrow I'm gonna see bout putting a toggle on that fan!

rallypanam · 03-24-2016, 07:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bassfarm

The alternator seems to work - I found the wire to EVERYTHING inside the van and unhooked it. Now the fan doesn't run but neither do the inside lights. Tomorrow I'm gonna see bout putting a toggle on that fan!

You might as well find the fuses, you'll need them sooner or later. Or if there are none, you van will burn to the ground sooner or later...

bassfarm · 03-24-2016, 07:31 PM

Hope we ain't in it if it does! Think the fuses could be under the doghouse engine compartment?

rallypanam · 03-24-2016, 07:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bassfarm

Hope we ain't in it if it does! Think the fuses could be under the doghouse engine compartment?

Unlikely. Just follow the big red wire on the house battery, it will lead to the fuses.

86Scotty · 03-25-2016, 07:36 AM

Look on the Sportsmobile website and find the floor plan that matches yours. Let us know and we can tell you where the fuses are, most likely.

Got a smartphone? Download Tapatalk and adding pics is really simple. Or use Photobucket or any other link.

I hate to do this, but you've left me no choice.

**daveb** · 03-25-2016, 01:32 PM

First off I can not understand why anybody would wire a heater fan to a source W/O some kind of switch incorporated and that's if it's hooked up to either the house OR starting battery system. My guess is you're missing something simple but hidden. Forgive me if I missed something in the thread, but if the thing is wired to the starting battery system and both batteries went dead, that would suggest the isolator has failed unless there is something else in the van that pulls off the house battery and it continues to run like the fan.

My van has a fuse panel at the engine under the hood, a panel under the dash on the drivers side, and the main conversion fuse panel under the bench seat. I understand each build is different. In this case I'd start at the heater and work your way back. I'd also make sure the isolator is working OK... you might have two things going on at once. Those isolators have been known to corrode and leak current. Hopefully you can trace the heater wires w/o pulling stuff out of the way.

bassfarm · 03-25-2016, 03:18 PM

Thanks, Daveb, I tried the testing system of the isolator as shown earlier in the thread but not sure my ohmmeter (set to diode) was the correct tool as nothin read when I did it - or it worked correctly and that's my issue. Anyhow, so far, I've only located the main van fuse panel under the dash. The wire to the accessories was located and I removed that, so my fan doesn't run anymore. I guess when I park it camping, I can hook it back up (as well as external power cord) so the lights work inside. The previous owner removed the toilet, the stove, the fridge, the sink - so really it is basically like my Westfalia Weekender I loved so much, save for it has a big 351 Cleveland that zips us over the mountain passes (if getting 10mpg). I don't need or want an RV, so this has worked well for us, basically "princess camping". I just don't want it to not start or leave us stranded as it did last summer and fall. It cost us around 2k, so I could put $ into it, but I like that it is just a vessel to camp in when it rains. I put another bed/couch in I got for $50, so now, each kid has a bed, and my wife and I are upstairs. We dig it. Thanks for the input and new spots to check out!