1989 ford maverick

Let's hear all the gory details about your car and how it became alternative fuelled.
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mudmav
Posts: 1
Joined: Fri Jun 08, 2012 4:23 am

1989 ford maverick

Post by mudmav »

Hi im a newbie and working on a ford maverick 4x4 which has been converted to LPG id say around the year it was bought 1989 , i have brought it to do a restore as its condition mechanically is quite good for age and seems like it has not been off road much in its life , these old 4x4s are usually covered in leaked and leaking oil underneath from all the seals both the extra 4x4 stuff and normal engine seals as well this one only had a leak where the PCV hose comes out of the rocker cover the hose had a split in it .
the reason im on this site is the guy i bought it off dissconnected the wires to the LPG tank and ive also seem to have one wire missing for some reason all i know is it dont work .
the little black box says ELKO ISSE and i have two wires red and black that go to the solenoid on the tank outlet so i figure ok these have been cut but just join back up black black red red etc now i have a blue wire taped to these two wires i figure is this for the gauge maybe but there are two pins and only one wire , i did a test and my tester lights up when you switch over to lpg on this blue wire i also noticed the red wire to solenoid lights up but solenoid does not open at all and is very weakly magnetic , i took actuator off and put power to it with a bolt in it and the bolt was stuck fast , now the post the actuator sits on is a bit grimy could this be the problem , or does the wiring have to be a certain way .

it would be great if i could get a wiring diagram for the circuit , the petrol cutout works when switch is in middle position and the gauge in the mav is an led type which works sort of if you ground the other pin and plug the blue wire in the other side but i think to me its showin reverse use as in the first so many bars are unlit and the last few including red are lit and it says full that side empty the missing bar side .

help

mudmav :?:

C3H8
Posts: 1129
Joined: Fri Sep 09, 2005 11:23 pm
Location: Winnipeg, Canada

Re: 1989 ford maverick

Post by C3H8 »

Hi mudmav,
Welcome to our forum. For future reference you are better to post tech questions in the Propane Forum index. This area is where we find out about you and your project. Most of the guys go directly to the LPG forum first and only check this area if they happen to notice a new post.

To answer your question. Typically there are three or four wires leading to the tank area. Power and ground for the tank solenoid. Usually a red wire (12 volts) and a black ground wire. If your lock off is not opening there could be three reasons. First no power (you say you checked this but check it again with a volt meter to ensure you have 12 volts on the power wire).
Second is a weak solenoid. You used a bolt to check this and you have good pull.
Third is a corroded post. Clean this with some sand apaper or emory cloth. Also clean the inside hole of the solenoid.
Fourth is the post itself. These are bent quite easily if hit. Inspect the post carefully and see if it looks perfectly straight. Look for any signs at the base for a small bulge. If the post is bent the piston inside will not move.

You may also find one or two other wires for the fuel level. As you noted yours is blue. Rather then a test light a volt meter is better to check this wire. The voltage on this wire is usually in the o to 5 volts range. You indicated you have a two pin sender. One pin goes to ground and the other goes to the blue wire. If there is no fourth wire going to the back you can normally just attach a ground wire to the sender pin and take it directly to a body ground. You will have to check the sender rating. Inside the glass area next to the needle should be a resistance rating in ohms. There are three different senders used in NA. Usually the type of device you described requires a 0-90 ohm sender.

Good luck with your project. post any additional questions you may have. There are many good techs that follow this forum from all over the world.

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