no power at all
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Freshman User
Joined: Sep 2010
Posts: 26
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no power at all
Truck sat for a month, went to start it dead, tried charging battery would not take charge. tried jumping it played around with cables and it turned over. drove it for an hour or so and parked it. went out today(Its cold) and it was dead again, tried a jump, nothing took battery to advanced they tested it they say its good. put back in still nothing, I changed the solenoid hoping that was it, still no power not even head lights. Could it be a fuse? i tried a jumper wire from the positive side of solenoid to the s terminal nothing!
Laughing Gas
Joined: Sep 2003
Posts: 968
Likes: 5
From: Corbett, Oregon
From your description it sounds like dirty or corroded connections. Dirty connections at the battery will isolate the battery from the truck's electrical system.
Try cleaning all connections, hot and grounds, from the battery terminals to the starter, and make sure the battery is full charged.
There may be other electrical problems, but making sure you have a good battery and clean connections is the place to start.
Good luck.
Try cleaning all connections, hot and grounds, from the battery terminals to the starter, and make sure the battery is full charged.
There may be other electrical problems, but making sure you have a good battery and clean connections is the place to start.
Good luck.
Thread Starter
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Freshman User
Joined: Sep 2010
Posts: 26
Likes: 0
You nailed it! I took the battery connections off and cleaned them, especially the negative and she started right up. The battery conections are tightened down all the way but the negative is still a little loose, is there a way to snug it down ? thanks agin
Post Fiend
Joined: Apr 2002
Posts: 19,311
Likes: 97
From: Waterloo, Iowa
Make sure it's actually a negative terminal installed at the negative battery post. Sometimes people use the wrong parts. They are different sizes, the positive is a bit larger than the negative and will never tighten up when swapped.
Easy upgrade on Kennedy era stuff is new battery and starter cables, clean block connection etc. Saves MUCH aggravation.
Easy upgrade on Kennedy era stuff is new battery and starter cables, clean block connection etc. Saves MUCH aggravation.
Laughing Gas
Joined: Sep 2003
Posts: 968
Likes: 5
From: Corbett, Oregon
Loose connections can cause all sorts of problems. As Tedster9 posted, confirm that the cable is a negative cable.
A new negative cable will fix the problem and you will know it's right. Also, at a minimum, use a #2 gauge cable.
A new negative cable will fix the problem and you will know it's right. Also, at a minimum, use a #2 gauge cable.
Posting Guru
Joined: Jan 2011
Posts: 1,670
Likes: 8
If the cable end does not tighten down, either the battery post has been cleaned to many times and has been reduced in size or the cable end is the wrong size. They do make a thin metal cap that goes over the battery post to increase its size so you can still use that cable that you have. Most auto parts stores carry them.
I'm assuming that when you had the battery checked, they also did a load test and not just the level of charge. A battery that has been setting for any length of time, can loose it's load capacity. Especially if it has a draw on it - even a radio that uses minimal power to keep the memory in it.
Just a thought...
I'm assuming that when you had the battery checked, they also did a load test and not just the level of charge. A battery that has been setting for any length of time, can loose it's load capacity. Especially if it has a draw on it - even a radio that uses minimal power to keep the memory in it.
Just a thought...
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