'92 Ford Bronco 302CI battery Wiring - Ford Forums - Mustang Forum, Ford Trucks, Ford Focus and Ford Cars

daman4469 · 08-02-2009, 18:38

Hello All,

I have a 1992 Ford Bronco XLT with a 5.0L engine. I pulled the battery out a few months ago in the winter time because it was bad, but am just now putting a new one in. I attached the terminals, and have no power anywhere. The wiring is odd though...I am no electrician..but there was a fork shaped, insulated piece of metal running in to the wiring. When touching the two forks together, the engine turns over. Of course, the engine doesn't start because there is no power running through the vehicle, but it has power there. Also, there are two cables with leads on them, that look like ground cables. I tried almost every combination of grounding these, etc, to see if I could get juice into the vehicle (lights, guages, anything!) but no luck. I checked the fuses in both fuse boxes (in the cab and under the hood) and they are all ok. Any ideas? Does that fork-shaped piece play a part in this, or perhaps those two other ground-wire-looking cables? I'm at a loss. Any help would be appreciated!

Steve83 · 08-10-2009, 21:05

Pics would make this a LOT easier. Did you clean the battery clamps & posts? Do you have a voltmeter, or a 12V test light? If you don't know how to use either, just take it to a pro.

847alexc · 09-07-2009, 18:04

I have to admit I am a bit unclear from you description, but I have one thought.

I had a 92 5.0L as well. I learned that only on that year the positive battery cable was very special and complicated. there were multiple circuits fed directly from the positive cable. this may be the root of the problem.

Now I am not sure if it was a great idea to be touching cables together like that as you may very easily short out the ECM, but lets hope you haven't done that.

Really, I think you need to verify power and ground to your crucial components with a proper voltmeter. as well as double check the condition of the battery.

No lights or anything would imply a simple systematic failure, tricky problems with the electrical system tend to be more subtle.