Archived fuel shutoff solenoid not actuating, please help new guy!

[angelbay]

Hello, I am new and thankful for this site! I have read some past posts concerning this problem and done some troubleshooting. I can manually activate FSO solenoid so it is somewhat drivable. The solenoid will actuate if I apply 12v to the warring harness to the solenoid so I am assuming the solenoid is ok. I have checked the FSO solenoid relay, on the firewall, nearest the driver's side, the bigger one, and it reads continuity on the 2 large terminals when power is applied to the 2 small terminals, so I assume that it is ok. However it doesn't click when ignition is turned on or cranked. One thing strange is while checking fuses, when I check voltage at the fuel pump fuse terminals, I have 12v on one and some voltage on the other that is constantly diminishing. That is with the neg. of the voltmeter on the battery and the positive on the fuse block terminal??? Where is the fuel pump? Anyway, I am hoping that it is not a wiring problem. I am going to try a new relay from radio shack anyway, just in case as it is cheap. BTW, I found some on e-bay, 70a, for $4! What is this discussion about the "blue" wire I read while searching on this problem? Thanks so much, angelbay!

 

[Joe G.]

The blue wire is from the positive post of the driver's side battery. It's a fusable link and is known to fail. If it's bad you get the symptoms you report.

 

[angelbay]

Thanks Joe, I will look into it. As of now the truck cranks. I must have done something, what I don't know - which makes it more scary, when I was disconnecting and connecting things. I plan on replacing the relay as it is cheap, if this happens more often I like the idea of a manual cable, like a choke cable. Thanks for you help, Steve

 

[bmoeller]

Originally posted by angelbay

Where is the fuel pump?

The lift pump on the 12v is mechanical, as is the fuel injection pump.



#ad




There are more fuses behind the cover on the left hand side of the dash (with the door open).

 

[Deezul1]

The factory relay can be taken apart and the contacts cleaned good and its good to go. I did mine 2 years ago and its still working fine. The cover snaps over little tabs, one on each side. Take something like a thick feeler gauge and slide it between the base and the cover but do all 4 sides at once.

 

[angelbay]

Thanks for all of your help! I have a relay from e-bay, 70amp, on its way, for 8. 99 delivered. So far all is well. It has been a great learning experience. I guess we can archive this post. Thanks again, Steve