REALLY REALLY bad day today.

[Ford Blue blood]

You could wire the bulb to the output of the relay, the line that supplies power to the fan and of course ground the bulb as any indicator would be. 

Where is the relay located and does it wire to the junction panel?  If it is under the dash just hook the bulb to that terminal.  Fan turns on-bulb lights.

[RICH MUISE]

The fan relay is next to the e brake on the firewall. I did another short trip and no transmission  leak. I want the light to be lit only when the toggle switch is providing ground. If I wired it from power off the relay, wouldn't the light be on even if the fan is running from A/C request?

[oldave57]

Rich,

I am so glad you are getting things worked out and much closer to getting that Ford on the road.  I kind of liked the manual toggle switch on the car with the electric fan, even though when things are working correctly and you get a working temperature switch, you probably won't need to use it often.

You could wire the switch and light so that the light would only be activated when the toggle switch was in the "on" position.  It would require a diode to be installed in the wire between the switch and the relay ground terminal to allow current to flow toward the switch, then you would wire the indicator light ground wire to connect between the diode and the switch.  That way, the light would only light when the switch was turned on.  There might be times when you would turn off the switch and the fan would still be running (if the temperature switch was closed) but you would have the light to remind you to turn off the switch.  The control circuit of the relay is a pretty low amperage requirement, so the diode should work okay in that type of circuit.  You would provide power to the indicator light from a keyed circuit so it would only be on when the key is on.

Let me know if there are questions on the circuit.

Dave

[RICH MUISE]

Yes, forgot that when the sensor was actually working it would also ground the "out" side of the switch, turning the light on even though the switch was off.
Diode...........one of those one-way thingies if I remember correctly? A diode in the line would prevent the ground from travelling up the wire, only let it down the wire? The diodes work for grounds as well as powered?

[oldave57]

Rich,

I think the diode should work in the ground circuit as it prevents current flow in one direction and allows it in the opposite direction.  I have never used a diode in the ground circuit (that I can remember, anyway) but I believe it should block flow backwards in the circuit that would cause the indicator light to go on if the temperature switch closed, but should allow current to flow toward the toggle switch when the toggle switch was closed, causing the fan relay to activate as well as the indicator light.  It would be fairly easy to test (if I had a spare diode sitting around, I would sure give it a try with an indicator bulb).  It might be nice to have an indicator light that goes on whenever the fan is on, but I can see why you would want to know which position the toggle switch is in.

Dave

[oldave57]

Rich,

I've been thinking about this circuit some more and I think a better solution than the diode in the ground circuit (might work, but from what I can read on diodes, they are more commonly used in the positive circuits) would be to use a DPDT toggle switch (double pole, double throw).  In this way, you could completely isolate the indicator light from the ground feed for the relay.  The one set of contacts on the DPDT switch could complete the ground circuit for the fan relay, and the other set of contacts could supply a switched power feed to the indicator light (which would now have its own ground). 

Can't wait to hear more progress on your project.  Thanks for sharing all of your trials and tribulations (and victories).

Dave

[oldave57]

Rich,

Oops, make that a DPST switch (double pole, single throw).  The DPDT switch has 6 contacts and you need 4 contacts. 

Something like this:
https://www.amazon.com/Baomain-Toggle-position-mounting-terminal/dp/B01MRV5T5R/ref=sr_1_5?keywords=double+pole+single+throw+switch&qid=1561459169&s=gateway&sr=8-5

Good Luck,
Dave

[RICH MUISE]

Thanks for all the time you put into this.......much appreciated. I made note of the dpst switch you came up with, looks like a good way to go. A little wrinkle...........I've been using button rocker switches on my console, was hoping to go that route with a matching switch, but not 100% necessary, I could put the dpst toggle under the dash instead of on my console. Maybe they make dpst button switches, and yes, the ones I'm using have built in led's, but you can only see the light if your looking for it.
I did find this: https://www.delcity.net/store/Rectangular-Round-Hole-Rockers/p_788854.h_788875

[RICH MUISE]

In an attempt to use a switch that matches what I'm already using, I'm going to persue the idea of the diode. I talked to an electronics shop this morning and he thinks the diode will work on a ground, and he has some in stock. I'll pick up a couple for testing, and find out about the directional markings on them.

[oldave57]

Sounds good, Rich.  I think the diode will work also and it might be a simpler way to go with the wiring.  If it doesn't work, you always have a fall back plan.

[RICH MUISE]

Next chapter.........I think I mentioned before my engine making an occasional screeching noise that seemed to be getting worse. It was. I had the car at my friend's shop this morning, it took him about 2 minutes to isolate it. It turned out to be the belt tensioner. Have a new one on order.
When I got the car home, I looked underneath again, and low and behold, there's a stream of fluid coming out from the drain spout on the bellhousing inspection plate. This time the car was in the garage. When I had the first stream it was on our asphalt driveway. Anyway, I laid there for 3 or 4 minutes making sure it was actually coming out from the bellhousing and not just from splashing. Then I noticed the fluid seemed to be yellowish, not red. I put a cup under there, and it turned out to be coolant. Double checked the tranny fluid. Still full, not overfull, clear, not milky. So at the moment I was sorta happy it wasn't tranny fluid, and there didn't seem to be a problem with the radiator/tranny cooler leaking into the fluid lines. So, how the heck was the coolant getting inside the bellhousing. Then I realized the leaky front coolant pipe I didn't think was too bad, sat over the valley between the heads, and that's where the coolant was going, leaking out at the back end right over the bellhousing/engine join line.
I realized at that point, I never had a tranny leak. Being on the black asphalt, I couldn't tell that it wasn't red. I figure the reason the tranny fluid level was down after that run was the torque converter filling back up from fluid loss. Anyway, all those things combined to lead me in the wrong direction. Oddly enough, today was a huge relief, even though I realized all the stress in the past 5 days was my fault for misdiagnosing the problem.
left to do: fix leaky coolant pipe,  replace coolant sensor, replace rack, and replace belt tensioner. Now that I don't have to drive the car looking for a tranny leak, I'll start taking things apart while I'm waiting on parts. I may get to do the July4 Santa Fe show after all.

[djfordmanjack]

these are actually good news Rich !  Glad you didn't give up 5 days earlier or so. If an engine is acting stubbornly, it just needs a more stubborn mechanic

[Ecode70D]

So....There is no transmission leak. 
That's a blessing and a huge relief to hear that good news.

[RICH MUISE]

Good to see you posting again Jay, Get your computer fixed?
My rack came in yesterday, so started pulling the old one out, but stopped so I could..................
Get the leaking coolant pipe pulled out so I could get the right size o-rings and have them for the weekend. Found them at the hydraulic repair shop I found my hydroboost o-rings at.Started to reassemble, but stopped so I could.............
Work on the final sealing of my front garage door. It had a concrete walkway right at the front overhead door that sloped down into the garage! every time it rained, water would seep in. Not like the river I had when I still had a back overhead door, but enough to be annoying. Can't believe this house went soooo many years by previous owners without getting the garage problem fixed.I didn't want to pour a buildup layer of top coating because that stuff never lasts. What I did come up with I think will work pretty well. I bought a 4' x 6' x 3/4 dense rubber sheet made for horse stalls. Used a jig saw to cut it into 12" wide strips and glued them to the area under the overhead door. I needed to seal around the edges, but the it takes a while to set up so I didn't want to do it on a day the '57 might want to take me for a ride. Today was a good day, got that done, and hopefully a totally dry garage in the future.

[RICH MUISE]

Update........got all the coolant leaks taken care of.
Replaced the squeaky idle pulley on the serpentine system. Engine sounds better when it's not squealing!
Replaced the coolant temp. sensor with a new one from Ron Francis.
Got the rack mounted and plummed, but having issues. I can't get one of the banjo fittings to stop dripping. Some racks have machined surfaces at the ports so you can use fittings with crush washers, which is what the banjo fittings use. The ACDelco rack did not appear to have those machined surfaces, but when I filed the paint off, it actually looked very good, so I did a careful filing job and went with my fingers crossed. Regardless of how smooth and flat the surface is, the issue of course is how perpendicular that surface is to the machined port. One seemed to have sealed, the return line is dripping though. It could be the AN fitting, so I may pull it tonight and replace the internal bushing (they call them olives) and see if that helps. If it doesn't, I'll order non banjo fittings that use the o-rings instead of crush washers.
I think what's causing the other issue I'm having with the rack may be because of the leaky fitting, possibly not letting me get a good bleed(?). While trying to turn the steering wheel lock to lock to do the self bleed, the rack is shaking/oscilating back and forth to the point you can see it in the wheels.
I'm going to lower the car down off the stands to get more weight on the front tires.
BTW, When that started, I wondered if there was any way I could have reversed the pressure and return lines. I double checked just to make sure and they are correct.
The hydroboost is not heating up like it has in the past when the system was not bled.