Lost all electrical power! help.

[sloberdog]

Hi all,

As I write my 91 Explorer sits at my local post office. The problem: I have lost all electrical power; nothing works with or without the keys in the ignition. It was running fine until I shut the motor down. I did have a fuel pump staying on after cutting the ignition so I replaced the relay a few weeks ago. All was fine until today. I checked all relays and they are ok as are the fuses in the engine compartment. After reading some posts on this site I will head on back down and try yanking on the battery cables and reinstalling them. Does anybody have any other suggestions before I stick my tail between my legs and call a tow truck? Thanks.

 

[sloberdog]

Well I just got back with my Explorer. I started to loosen the battery cables and it powered up. Got it home and completely cleaned the battery terminals and reinstalled the cables. All of fine. Thanks to this web site I feel like a man and on that note, I think I will crack open a cold one. Ooooohhhhyaaaaa. Good night all.

 

[jimmiecakes]

I can't stress the importance of clean battery terminals. You wont believe the world of troubles caused by even merely "dull" metal. False codes, running problems, and we can't forget that "no start" when we just gotta be "there".

Clean the post and the terminal carefully. Special pliers are availale to spread the terminal so it will drop over the post without pounding. Grease the post before installing the terminal. New nuts and bolts specifically made for battery terminals are available. A few minutes and a few pennies can turn a cranky old horse into a thoroughbred.

 

[TPLYNCH]

Hope you enjoyed the brew! If you haven't done so in a while, replace the cables cause they rot on the inside, so they may look good, but they won't work good......

 

[eastcoastcanuk]

These forums are such a valuable resource. Yesterday, almost 10 years after the original post, I had the same problem. A completely dead, then not dead, the dead again, sort of vehicle. I spent an hour trying to figure it out, then gave up and looked online. This thread came up, I went back out and cleaned my battery terminals, and everything was perfect.

So thanks sloberdog. Your post 10 year old post just saved me countless hours of going completely batshit crazy.