UFO Problem

[Vagabound]

And there I was ... 

Driving down a lonely dark road in a pretty remote place in Pahrump, NV in the middle of the night yesterday.  Doing about 55mph.  Everything was OK.  Then, all of a sudden, the truck just turns off, stops running, starts coasting, and the windshield wipers come on all by themselves.  My hands were on the wheel for all of this.  Well, I restarted the van while still rolling.  As I recall, it happened one more time within a few minutes.  

To my credit, my first impulse was a mechanical problem of some sort.  Probably electrical.  However, I _am_ very near Alien Mecca, so flashbacks from Whitley Strieber's book "Communion" did cross my mind.  I took the truck out of overdrive, and nursed it along, until it seemed normal. and I arrived home maybe 10 minutes later.

The good news:

• The radio did not come on or start scanning all frequencies backwards
• There were no unusual lights in the sky
• No missing time

The bad news

• When I was test driving the truck, on the way to sign the bill of sale, while driving slowly across a parking lot, the truck stalled out.  When I tried to restart it, it started as if never a problem.  That has happened a couple of more times since.
• The previous owner had the truck in the shop a week or so before I bought it for something cryptically referred to on the receipt as "high idle" problem.

So very likely there were no aliens.  However, I do still have a UFO problem -- Unidentified Failing Object -- somewhere on this truck.  I'd like to find it, fix it, and be done with this.

If you know or can guess, please do so.

Vagabound

 

[Gary68]

oh,you were probed for sure,what you need to do now is go up to the first person you see and tell them the story and ask if they can check to see if you were probed,butt i'm pretty sure you were probed,happens every third saturday

 

[Vagabound]

Gary, that's funny. Problem is that I actually have a mechanical problem. I think my funny intro is throwing everybody off.

I really need to try to troubleshoot this problem, whether I fix it myself or take it to the shop.

Someone from an auto parts store suggested that I have a short somewhere in the wiring, which when it happens, it puts power to the wipers.

Does anyone think that fuses could be involved?

EDIT: Regardless, based on the age of the vehicle, I'm thinking about just buying new fuses and replacing every fuse in the fuse box. Is that a potentially good thing to do or just a silly waste of money? My thinking is 1) the current fuses are probably all very old, and 2) doing so might just solve this problem.

Vagabound

 

[29chico]

Year, make, model and engine please.

 

[Vagabound]

1993 Ford E-350. Gas engine, 7.5 liter I think.

Thanks,

Tom

 

[poncho62]

Does it hurt when you sit down?.......Never mind

I would check your ground straps on the battery and engine to chassis etc.........

 

[GotSmart]

Make sure the E connectors are all tight.  One that is not seated properly could cause the no power problem. 

I doubt it is a fuse problem.  They  work, or they burn up.  No half way with fuses.  Save your money there.

 

[blars]

Getting spare parts on earth (the far edge of nowhere) can be difficult. Look for worn or chewed wires and loose connectors.

 

[highdesertranger]

yep you have a electrical gremlin, start her up and start wiggling the wire harnesses one at a time see if you can replicate the stalling. pay special attention to the harnesses that go into the computer, ignition module, and the harness under the dash where the wiper harness is. also check all grounds especially the ones under the dash and to the computer. you need to try to isolate this. forget the fuses unless you have corrosion on the terminals, check for that. like Got Smart said they either work or they don't. where is your wiper switch? on the steering column or on the dash? make sure you test the ignition wire harness on the steering column. let us know what you find. highdesertranger

 

[Gary68]

wire wiggle and connection cleaning,on the fuses,they need cleaning too

 

[WriterMs]

Okay, so I do understand you are asking for serious help with an electrical problem. And boy, there is no humor in having to worry about your truck stopping for no good or earthly reason.

That disclaimer aside, isn't it just a little bit awesome to have something occur that does give you at least a moment's pause...to consider something beyond our normal reasoning and reality? Injects a bit of wonder into our life for at least a few brief moments. And it really is damn dark out in those Alien Superhighway portions of the state, huh?

 

[Vagabound]

Thanks to all for the suggestions so far.  Absorbing it.  Trying to figure out if I have any chance in hell of even minimally checking the wiring harness.

CORRECTION:  
Mentioned earlier that I thought the engine might be the the 7.5L.  As it turns out, I was wrong.  Vehicle is new to me and I'm just getting started on learning about it.  According to the "guy at the parts store" who physically checked the engine compartment for clues, this engine is a gas V8 350, 5.8L.  Not sure if that changes anything, but wanted the info to be right.

Addition:  The parts store guy, after hearing the symptoms, suggested that the problem sounds like a bad computer.

Likely Unrelated:  I was replacing the cigarette lighter on the dash (old, crusty, missing lighter part -- handy for backup remote firestarting).  After finally getting it out, and putting the new one in the dash, I connected the wires and checked it.  All worked well.  They, I began to put the dash back in place, and decided to test it again.  This time, dead.  Lighter doesn't work and the lighter lighter wires now show no DC voltage with a multmeter.  I'm guessing that somehow, I must have blown a fuse.  Haven't finished checking that yet.

Bought a Haines manual for this truck, but no diagrams of the wiring harness or fuse panel. The fuses are a bit of a hassle because I can't find a diagram showing which is which yet.

Vagabound

 

[DannyB1954]

On some vehicles the wiper motor has power all the time the key is on and gets it's ground through the switch, ( like my 83 Dodge B250). Wire harness may have a chafe giving the wiper motor it's ground.

If you see strange lights in the sky, it is probably the military. Area 51 in not far from here.

 

[GotSmart]

Fuses?  No problem.

http://forddiagramfusebox.blogspot.com/2012/10/fuse-box-ford-1993-f350-engine.html

 

[DrJean]

What you have described sounds exactly like a fuel filter issue.  Just sayin'

When you are low on gas, depending upon how much silt etc is in the bottom of the gas tank and/or filter,  the junk gets sucked up and blocks the filter, shutting off gas to the engine.  As soon as you shut it off, or it dies, the silt drops back down and enough gas gets sucked up to start the vehicle and maybe run it a bit.   Bumpy roads might cause this too, with an already clogged filter.

For an older vehicle the best resolve for this is first replace the fuel filter and then never allow the tank to go below 1/2 full.

Hope this is the problem.... and if you ever do see a UFO be sure to register the siting online.

 

[highdesertranger]

first off a Ford would be a 351ci which is a 5.8L. Ford never made a 350. so it appears you are on to something, did you try to start it when you lost power to the ciggy lighter? I would leave the dash off, start it, and start wiggling wires that are behind the dash. highdesertranger

 

[Optimistic Paranoid]

CORRECTION:  
Mentioned earlier that I thought the engine might be the the 7.5L.  As it turns out, I was wrong.  Vehicle is new to me and I'm just getting started on learning about it.  According to the "guy at the parts store" who physically checked the engine compartment for clues, this engine is a gas V8 350, 5.8L.  Not sure if that changes anything, but wanted the info to be right.

Plug the VIN code into a decoder and you will be SURE which engine you have.  Or at least which engine your vehicle left the factory with.  It will also tell you other useful info about your truck.

http://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/vindecoder.php

 

[Vagabound]

Sorry, I was unable to respond to the comments here as I've been "otherwise occupied".

Gary68:  oh,you were probed for sure,what you need to do now is go up to the first person you see and tell them the story and ask if they can check to see if you were probed,butt i'm pretty sure you were probed,happens every third saturday

Your tagline says it all.

poncho62:  Does it hurt when you sit down?.......Never mind

I would check your ground straps on the battery and engine to chassis etc.........

Yes.  But that started long before the "incident". ;-)

Are you just saying to check the ground wire as far as it goes and at every connection point?

GotSmart:  Make sure the E connectors are all tight.  One that is not seated properly could cause the no power problem. 

What is an "E connector"?

highdesertranger:   where is your wiper switch? on the steering column or on the dash?

...

first off a Ford would be a 351ci which is a 5.8L. Ford never made a 350.

...

did you try to start it when you lost power to the ciggy lighter?

1.  Steering column, at the end of a lever on the left side, twist style.  While we're at it, every time I start the truck, the wipers go back and forth a few times.  I think it is some sort of auto-test mode.  In any case, I'd really like to stop that, while fixing this other problem.  Is that possible?

2.  OK, understand now.  Still, I get the feeling that in common usage, lots of people tend to refer to the 351 as a 350.  Including Ford.  As I recall, the VIN decoder did that ... the one provided by John / OP (thanks - it even helped me during DMV registration!) .

3.  No.  But within a few hours of that, I did drive the truck.  All seemed normal.  Didn't recheck the lighter, but I assume it's still dead.

DannyB1954:  On some vehicles the wiper motor has power all the time the key is on and gets it's ground through the switch, ( like my 83 Dodge B250). Wire harness may have a chafe giving the wiper motor it's ground.

If you see strange lights in the sky, it is probably the military. Area 51 in not far from here.

(wiper ground) Didn't know that.  Thanks.  If the wiper wire harness has a bare spot / chafe, could that also explain the engine suddenly turning itself off?  It would be nice to find one thing that is causing both problems.  Based on what I know of troubleshooting, the list of things capable of both should be short.

(Area 51)  Yeah, I know.

----------

After I fully recover (again, again), I'm going to take everyone's suggestions and try these things.  In the end, this might be a wise time to punt and take it to a shop.  We'll see.

Vagabound

 

[highdesertranger]

the wipers shouldn't come on at all when you start the truck. start your wiggle tests with those wires. they probably go into the same harness as the ignition. see where I am going with this. btw does it now or did it ever have an aftermarket alarm or stereo? highdesertranger

 

[ArtW]

IIRC, Ford trucks with tilt wheels used to have issues with the wiring in the column, I thought they fixed that
Then again, mine's a 96, and it sometimes acts pretty weird. And the radio never worked since I got it.
Except once, during a road trip, it came on and worked flawlessly for 2 hours, then quit again
Oh and if the wipers are on intermittent, and I flick the turn signal on, the wipers take an extra swipe
Lol