1974 Ford Bronco 351w wants to die in water and car wash
The other day a friend and I were doing a little trail driving when we came to a water crossing and as he entered the Bronco died. It would run while he held the key in the start position but when released to run would die. After he exited the water it sputtered for a second but was perfectly fine to continue driving. On our way back home we stopped at a car wash to clean the vehicles. The car wash had underbody sprayers and as he drove over it the truck nearly died but since it was only in contact with the water for a moment it continued to run. Any help to remedy this will be considered and appreciated.
Welcome to the world of points.
The first thing to check is the distributor cap. If it has a crack in it, water could be getting in and causing ignition problems
The ballast resistor is ruined.
Electrics and Water don't mix well. You can use Ignition Sealer spray on the cap, coil and wires. But having to hold the key in position tells me your Ignition Switch needs to be adjusted. It's mounted on the steering column and has slots on the base.
Transmission and rear end fluids need to be changed also if it got deep enough
How about a loose wire?
Get out the garden hose and start spraying it while parked in the driveway idling. I mean spraying it from underneath. I had this on a 1969 Chevelle once, but your Ford can't have this exact same problem.
Or maybe a bare wire is touching some metal feame or engine and it shorts out the ignition. It DOES seem related to the BALLAST RESISTOR wiring. The ballast resistor is a piece of steel wire in the wiring harness, that goes from the coil + terminal to the ignition switch. And a related wire goes to the starter solenoid. Maybe wiggle the press on wires at the solenoid. Or the wires in the engone compartment that go through the firewall connector to the fusebox. There may be a single wire connector too.
Look at a wiring diagram of the ignition system. I forget where everything goes on old Fords.
That's right around the last year for points or the first year for electronic ignition.
-Engine overhaul mechanic and electrical system expert, since 1972
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