Engine won't crank, dash gauges wonky

[kwyorman]

Okay guys, I've been perusing the forum for a while, but haven't found this problem yet, so I'm going to open it here for your troubleshooting pleasure. I've got a '97 Eddie Bauer, 5.4. Was working fine, then suddenly it wouldn't crank. Turn the key and the lights will come on, go all the way to start and all dash lights go out until you return the key to run. Of course if you do that several times it tries to go into programming mode. I have replaced pretty much everything electrical that had anything to do with engaging the starter, except computers. I finally put in an aftermarket start button. Now I can turn the key to run, hit the start button and she cranks right up. But after a few minutes all of the gauges will read high, especially the oil pressure gauge which pegs out. The fuel gauge wanders aimlessly from the actual level to empty and back again. The gauges don't just gradually go high, it's like someone trips a switch and they all go ballistic. Truck runs like a champ, except for the exhaust leak on the front left corner. Any ideas cowboys and bandits?

 

[IMINYOURCHAIR]

when it's in a no start via the key, does anything click when you attempt to start it?

what's your battery voltage readings while running. (measure with volt meter since gauges are going nuts)

 

[kwyorman]

Hurrah, Hurrah!! Sis-boom-bah!! I finally found part of the problem! My wife was driving the Mean Green Machine the other day and hit a bump going through an intersection. The truck promptly dies and wont restart, so it gets a ride home on a rollback tow truck. She told me partly what happened, leaving out the bump part. I turned on the key, checked for fuel pressure. No whirr from the pump, no fuel. So we change out the fuel pump and of course don't fix anything. This is when I find out the THEFT light is flashing. It flashes fast and then flashes code 16. Now with everything else that I had already looked at, I was sure there was something wrong with the PATS system. After looking at everything under the hood and some under the dash, I was idly checking voltages on the MAXI fuses under the hood when lo and behold, what to my wondering eyes should appear but a blown fuse! F24 to be precise. To make a long story a little shorter, I found a wire bundle on the passenger side of the engine bay, right where the exhaust manifold connects to the pipes, that had fallen down onto the exhaust, burned through and shorted out. It blew the PCM fuse and was causing the relay to stay engaged. (forgot to mention the overnight battery drain) after repairing 6 wires and replacing the fuse, it started up fine, using the ignition switch, not the new fancy push button. I said all of that to say this. I noticed there have been a lot of guys on other forums having this F24 fuse blow. It seems to be a common problem. That's how I found mine. Someone else had the exact same thing happen in the same spot. So if you have a PCM fuse blowing, or things starting to act weird, check the wire bundles and the O2 sensor wires near the exhaust pipes. I have a picture if anyone wants to see it.

 

[Bedrck47]

post the pic I'M sure many would like to see it

 

[kwyorman]

Wiring Pic

hopefully this works. Never posted a picture before.