What the .... ?
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Junior User
Joined: May 2009
Posts: 50
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What the .... ?
I have a 1996 F150 4.9L / 5speed ! Today I ran some errands making several stops . No problems whatsoever ! Park the truck in my driveway and a couple of hours later , I come out to leave ! It will do nothing ! Interior dome light and light under hood works ! No dash lights and no radio display lighting , etc. ! I hooked the battery charger up and tried it and would get a loud click,click ,etc.( would not do that before ) ! Will not turn over , even tried the 50 amp start feature on the charger to no avail .Is there a main power fuse or circuit breaker somewhere ? All the fuses seem to be okay and I have no way of checking the multitude of relays in the under hood fuse box . I called a parts store and they said it sounded like the starter relay or perhaps the starter ? I'm taking the battery to be checked tomorrow as it is 4 years old but I don't think it is the problem ? Any of you Guru's have a suggestion ? I hate to throw money and parts at it without knowing if that will fix the problem . Any and all help will be truly appreciated !
Elder User
Joined: Mar 2010
Posts: 571
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Well, correct me if I'm wrong everybody, but if you were hearing a loud click when you turned the key, then your starter relay is doing fine. Might be worth a bench test to make sure that you have continuity when the relay's control circuit is engaged, but it sounds like it's fine. (Plus those little buggers can be expensive.) Secondly, I would highly suggest not using the start feature on your battery charger. That can sometimes force current "upstream" in a DC system and cause all kinds of fun problems. Not a huge help, but hopefully that will help with the process of elimination. Good luck!
(Oh and P.S. You might want to change the name of your thread to something like "No electrical power" or "truck won't start". People tend to not click on ambiguous thread titles. Just a thought.)
(Oh and P.S. You might want to change the name of your thread to something like "No electrical power" or "truck won't start". People tend to not click on ambiguous thread titles. Just a thought.)
Senior User
Joined: Apr 2007
Posts: 167
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From: eastern connecticut
I changed the battery in my 97 f350 and I didn't clean the terminals good and it did the same thing. I had dome lights but wouldn't start, so I cleaned the terminals and put the anti corrosion washer pads on and haven't had a problem since then.
Elder User
Joined: Nov 2010
Posts: 957
Likes: 2
From: Graniteville
Is it going "CLICK" when you try and start it with the booster, or "CLICKCLICKCLICKCLICK"? If its the multiple "clickclickclick" thats the solenoid on the fender. If it's just a "click" when you hook up the booster, and the key is off, you have a relay kicking in somewhere (possibly the solenoid itself)
If you are getting nothing at all in the cab, I would think its the main power line into the body. Its hooked in on the supply side of the solenoid where the battery cable connects to the solenoid. Take those off and make sure they are clean and good.
If I had to make a blind guess tho... IF you have no dash, radio, etc, but have dome lights and hood lights, and you get everything back when you hook up a charger, but it goes 'clickclick' when trying to start it, the battery has taken a dump and had a plate short out. Giving you enough juice for basic lighting, but not enough for anything else, and even with the booster on full, the battery is still sucking enough out of it that the solenoid can't kick in to crank it. Start by taking the battery out, charging it and then taking it to the parts store and having them load test it. I wouldnt be surprised if it fails the load test.
If you are getting nothing at all in the cab, I would think its the main power line into the body. Its hooked in on the supply side of the solenoid where the battery cable connects to the solenoid. Take those off and make sure they are clean and good.
If I had to make a blind guess tho... IF you have no dash, radio, etc, but have dome lights and hood lights, and you get everything back when you hook up a charger, but it goes 'clickclick' when trying to start it, the battery has taken a dump and had a plate short out. Giving you enough juice for basic lighting, but not enough for anything else, and even with the booster on full, the battery is still sucking enough out of it that the solenoid can't kick in to crank it. Start by taking the battery out, charging it and then taking it to the parts store and having them load test it. I wouldnt be surprised if it fails the load test.
