No Electrical Power

[pearsonbe]

I don't have juice anywhere. I don't hear the door chime, the radio doesn't work, my guages and lights are out, and I can't start the engine. Everything is dead.

The battery has 12+ volts and there is power at the main distribution box (engine compartment), starter solenoid, and the alternator. I tried starting it from the solenoid, but when I crossed the two gold posts, nothing happened. But I may be doing this wrong. The fuses under the dash are fine. The starter was changed about two months ago and the connections are tight.

 

[Tbars4]

..I would guess it would be the starter solenoid..:scratch:...It's a cheap, easy fix...I would also check the battery cable leads (pos/neg) and make sure they they are connected and good..

 

[JohnJ]

If you've got no juice anywhere in the truck and you have good voltage at the battery let's start by cutting this big broken circuit up a bit and seeing which bit has the problem.

I'm just going to assume you haven't got a test light or a volt meter for now, so we'll go with a slightly less safe method using a scrap of wire. It's not really dangerous. If you have a test light or voltmeter, use that instead. For safety's sake, work outside.

Now, get a nice bit of wire. Strip a bit of insulation off each end. Try for 1/4 inch to 1/2 inch. Blow air over the battery to get rid of any hydrogen (I've never heard of anyone igniting hydrogen hanging about near the battery, but safety is safety.) Hold one end of the wire against a good solid ground like the alternator case or the intake. Lightly brush the other and of the wire against the battery positive terminal. It should spark.

If it didn't spark, you have a bad ground, presumably at one end of the negative cable or the other: fix it. If it sparked, the ground side is good so we move on to the positive side.

Get the wire off of everything and now attach one end (or hold tightly with a good grip. Vise grips can help free your hand) of the wire to the negative battery cable or other good ground. Lightly brush the other end of your wire against the far end of the positive cable. I assume this it the starter solenoid, but I'd have to go outside to check. If you get no sparks, you have a bad connection: fix it.

Otherwise, try brushing the wire against the big post of the starter itself, then the small wire to the starter. Note any sparks or noises and let us know what happened. Also, take any necessary precautions that the truck does not start up and run you over because that might hurt.

 

[pearsonbe]

I'm back on the road; the fix was simple. What can I do to save face? The negative battery cable terminal and battery post were corroded. When I tested from the alternator case to the positive terminal, I saw zero volts. After cleaning, I saw 12+.

It didn't look that bad to me - I've see worse. Add to that the fact that the battery had good voltage and you can see why I dismissed it. I've worked on a few old Chevys and have never had this problem unless there was a burned fusible link or severed wire. Maybe Fords - or just more modern vehicles - are sensitive. Could this mean that the negative cable should be replaced? I'm thinking maybe there is corrosion inside the insulation.

Anyway, thanks for the diagnostic tips and suggestions.

Greg

 

[pearsonbe]

Oh, I forgot to mention that the truck came with a battery post cleaner. I should have taken that as a hint.

 

[Tbars4]

...You are on the right track and congrats on it being simple.....The stock battery cables are a common problem as they do get corroded inside the sheathing..

...Napa has good cables from my experience and they match up to o.e. connections...If you can, replace both the pos/neg cables...IIRC, on my 91 X the neg cable was $27 and the pos cable was $40...Otherwise, I believe you can get both cables from autozone for $37 but you have to cut and crimp...

..:scratch:..The terminal post cleaner is not a factory supplied item that comes with the truck, but they do come in handy...:

 

[91exploreron37]

Yea I have the same problem on mine but I just try and check and clean the terminals as often as I can