Hello all, new to the forum here. Was needing some assistance

Just bought an 82 F150 with the V8 302 engine, has been sitting for about a year without running but I know it was running good before it sat. I am having problems getting it to start up. The gasoline was drained before it sat so I added fresh fuel, checked all fluids and put a new battery in it. It would start but never run so I figured the fuel hadn't reached the carb. Poured a little gas in it and it started after the second attempt doing that. But then it died after running for ten seconds or so. I figured I flooded it. So I let it sit for an hour. Come back turn the ignition and now nothing happens. No noise no nothing. Turn the headlights on (which I knew worked before) won't come on. Check the connections on the battery, they are secure and I cleaned the rust off them, changed the starter solenoid and checked/replaced the burnt fuse in my fuse box.

Try to start again and I still don't hear anything. The spark plugs and fuel filter are new as well.

Electrical work is my down fall and I don't really know what I should look for if anyone can give me some insight it would be much appreciated.

 

Make sure all battery connections are clean and tight.
On the solenoid, where the cable from the battery hooks up, there is a smaller wire (or more). These are fusible links, and everything is powered thru it/them. Make sure it has a clean connection, and the wire(s) isn't burnt. If any of those fusible links are burnt, replace with the proper fuse link wire, available at most parts stores. DO NOT use regular wire, as this is intended to be a sacrificial point should there be any shorts in the rest of the wiring harness.

 

You need a voltmeter (preferred) or test light to troubleshoot.
First step: Don't assume the battery is charged up (you may have a interior light staying on that drained the battery over night). Verify you have approx 12.3 - 12.6V at the battery. If not charge it up.

Then start at the battery and work your way along until you find where the battery voltage is lost (or drops). Since you have no headlights, you either have a dead battery or a bad connection/wire somewhere (assuming the headlight or dimmer switch didn't fail). Check if the fusible link burnt. Its a 10 or 12 gauge wire coming off the battery (hot side) terminal on the remote starter solenoid. Usually when they burn out they look the same from the outside - but the wire will be stretchy (or check with your tester by probing a couple of inches down the wire from the connector).

 

Thanks for the quick repossess guys, the battery is fine, I hooked it up to my charger and it still had plenty of power but I'm leaving it disconnected for right now. I'll start going over each wire to find the problem. Found one that looked corroded replaced it but it didn't seem to help.

 

The headlights are not coming on, and the engine doesn't crank. Correct?
Do you have any power in the cab (do dash warning lights come on when you turn the ignition switch to On position)?

If the truck is totally dead, and the battery is good, it must be a fusible link that comes off the remote starter solenoid terminal where the battery cable is connected. All the vehicle power comes off the starter solenoid terminal.

I can post a wiring diagram for the power distribution if that will help.

 

That is correct, battery is fully charged and I have no power. I'm going to inspect the ground cable make sure it is still getting proper contact. And if you don't mind I'd appreciate the diagram in case it's not the ground

 

I have the entire wiring diagram scanned/saved as a PDF file. I can't post it here - it's too big, but I can e-mail it to you. just send me a PM with your e-mail address.

I can get this one photo/scan inserted here for you, which may be enough. Good luck

 

I would send a PM but I haven't been a member for 10 days yet lol

kelton.axtell@gmail.com

I'll remove it once I get your email

 

Sent.
Post back here if you need more help.

 

Thanks for all the help, found out my ground was bad, changed it out and it's running like it never stopped.

 

Man, if you drained the fuel and let it sit you need to drop the tank and check it out. These tanks are metal and can rust inside fairly quickly with nothing in them.