My truck has been sitting for several months and now has a dead battery. I can't get the hood open due to the location its parked it, the hood is under the stairs in my garage. There isn't any power at all so I can't unlock the transmission and get in into neutral to push it back a few inches. Is it possible to charge it or start it directly to the starter with the hot lead to the starter and the ground to the chassis or am I better off to try to drag it back a few inches with another truck. Any other thoughts?
Thanks
Jeff

 

If you can access the underside of the truck you can disconnect the shift linkage at the end of the cable at the side of the transmission.
The shift interlock restricts the movement of the shift cable not the transmission itself.
Get a friend to be there to help you.
Engage the parking brake.
Then chock the wheels before going under the truck.

DO NOT BE UNDER THE TRUCK WITHOUT IT BEING CHOCKED!

Disconnect the clip holding the cable to the lever on the transmission.


(On my van it is the yellow clip seen in the upper right of this photo.)

Manually move the lever to the second position which is neutral.
Get clear of the underside and release the brakes and chocks.

You can then roll the truck back.


DO NOT BE UNDER THE TRUCK WITHOUT IT BEING CHOCKED!

Return the lever to it's original position and reconnect the cable.

 

Put a floor jack under the differential/center section and raise the tires off the ground just a little... make sure the jack wheels are lined up straight back and you and a few friends should be able to drag it back far enough. Make sure someone is pulling on the jack handle to keep the truck going straight.

 

both good ideas. Would you be able to bypass the brake shift lock mechanism by disabling the white tab switch on the solenoid. I did this on my truck to bypass a faulty brake switch that I have since replaced. But this eliminates the need for the brake switch and shift lock solenoid to have power to them. Not sure it would work but might be worth a try. It is easy to do takes only a couple minutes and the process is in the owners manual.

 

Have you seen tried one of these?

Sears.com

or even these

Sears.com

I've done it a few times, they use less space than traditional cables/jump packs!

 

Shift cable is easiest . As posted by shorebird ^^^ . I use that often when towing vehicles . Better that way than to drag them , If possible .

 

couldja charge it from a frame ground and the positive bolt on the starter motor?



I agree that putting some plywood under the rear end and using a rolling jack lift the read diff and push it back that way.


Wait, what about the 12V access point, is that always hot(No idea, never tried on my 2004 truck but on my 1994 it is...)? Could you charge the bat from the cab with something really low like a 1.25V lawnmower/motorcycle battery charger?


Or maybe you could talk a wrecker guy to pull it forward for a cheeseburger or something.

 

They sell a cheep charger that plugs into a power port . It may help in this case . I would not tow for a burger , a beer ? Maybe ....

 

Using the jack and pulling it out might take 5 minutes...that would include the time to set the jack up plus the 30 seconds to move it, or you could charge it for anywhere from 3-5 hrs after buying what you need to giterdun to charge it...

Whatever works for you...!!!

 

Completely Wrong Forum. lol

 

buy a jumper box that has a cigar lighter plug. Then plug it in, let it charge your battery for 20 minutes and crank it. Done that, worked.

 

How about an update?
It has been a week.
What did you do to get it started?

 

The more I think about it, a rolling jack is totally the way to go here. And wheel dollies aren't too bad to borrow or rent. two guys could do it safe and easy.