truck died need help

[thor1701]

my truck has died it seems and i dont know why, i was running it and charging the ac with no issues, there are 3 wires that hang down under my dash that used to have a rocker switch attached to them, i never knew what it was for, i did switch it once to see what it did, which made the idle go up and down ever so slightly, so i turned it off and everything back to normal, so i left it alone, it seems that the switch fell off at some point leaving the 3 wires exposed....and two of them touched each other, there was a spark and the truck turned off, now when i turn the key, nothing, zip zero, no dash lights no radio, nothing, all i have is the interior lights come on the horn works and the headlights come on, nothing else, i have checked every fuse i could find, they are all fine, even the power distribution box fuses are fine, i do the work on my truck, but i can not find the cause of the issue, and i do not want to have it towed somewhere
so if someone knows how to fix this, that would be great
its a 96 ford explorer 4.0 L v6

 

[jman]

my truck has died it seems and i dont know why, i was running it and charging the ac with no issues, there are 3 wires that hang down under my dash that used to have a rocker switch attached to them, i never knew what it was for, i did switch it once to see what it did, which made the idle go up and down ever so slightly, so i turned it off and everything back to normal, so i left it alone, it seems that the switch fell off at some point leaving the 3 wires exposed....and two of them touched each other, there was a spark and the truck turned off, now when i turn the key, nothing, zip zero, no dash lights no radio, nothing, all i have is the interior lights come on the horn works and the headlights come on, nothing else, i have checked every fuse i could find, they are all fine, even the power distribution box fuses are fine, i do the work on my truck, but i can not find the cause of the issue, and i do not want to have it towed somewhere
so if someone knows how to fix this, that would be great
its a 96 ford explorer 4.0 L v6

I would start tracing the wires to see where and what they went to. I would also think about checking the ing switch electrical side. There should be two feed wires and then the output wires for ACC, ING 1, ING 2, and Starter. Probe those wires while working the key.

 

[thor1701]

im not sure where to look for that switch?
i traced the 3 black wires, one goes to grounding spot bolted to the floor, the other, goes through a little hole next to the stearing spot in the firewall, goes into the engine and into a cluster of wires that connects to the ac compressor and the high pressure cut off switch, they are wraped up in tape
and the last one, was weirdly spliced to a yellow wire that connects to a block of wires under the steering column

 

[budwich]

forget the wires... just cover them to make sure they don't touch any more. You have "simple no starter action" problem. "Simple" because there isn't much in that circuit to make it happen. Start checking for voltage at the start connection and trace back from there.

 

[jman]

forget the wires... just cover them to make sure they don't touch any more. You have "simple no starter action" problem. "Simple" because there isn't much in that circuit to make it happen. Start checking for voltage at the start connection and trace back from there.

Doesn't seem so simple seeing he has no power at all.... I take that as in no check engine light, no radio, no heater, etc. Plus it died while driving, a starter wouldn't cause that.

I wonder if someone had trouble with the AC clutch relay, and bypassed it to turn it on with that switch. Who knows.

I would check the feed wires at the ingition switch is what I'm talking about. You put the key in and turn the switch to power up and start the vehicle. On the back side of the switch is the electrical ingition which turns with the key cylinder. AKA ingition switch electrical. I would first make sure there is power going into the switch.

 

[thor1701]

well here is the update, i pulled all the fuses our of the distrabution box, looked at them, they all seemed good.....well i gave up and had it towed to the shop, and i guess there was a fine break in the main fuse that i did not see i wish i had my multi meter with me and thought to check them that way, i did not cuz i couldnt find the damn thing, so i have learned a 172 dollar lesson