95 F150 Grounding Issue
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95 F150 Grounding Issue
My son has my old 1995 F150. 5.8. XLT 4X4. Amonth or so back he started having issues with it dying. It wouldnt start by itself. It wouldnt start with a 12v car but my 02 7.3 would jump start it. I chalked it up to a bad battery.
His problem only got worse. Interior lights dim even though battery fully charged. It is acting like it is grounding out somewhere. Been chasing wires the last 2 days. Both big positive battery wires ok... chased them both... one to relay on firewall and one to starter.
Found something i teresting this morning. When wiring up the big yellow wire going to the power relay on the drivers side under the hood... this is where the ground issue is. Cant find anything past this point that looks bad. All the big fuses in the relay are good. Using mu ohm meter it shows around 7000 between the relay and power box.
Not sure where to go from here. Thanks for any suggestions.
His problem only got worse. Interior lights dim even though battery fully charged. It is acting like it is grounding out somewhere. Been chasing wires the last 2 days. Both big positive battery wires ok... chased them both... one to relay on firewall and one to starter.
Found something i teresting this morning. When wiring up the big yellow wire going to the power relay on the drivers side under the hood... this is where the ground issue is. Cant find anything past this point that looks bad. All the big fuses in the relay are good. Using mu ohm meter it shows around 7000 between the relay and power box.
Not sure where to go from here. Thanks for any suggestions.
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Update
After leaving the battery terminals off about 30 minutes and then reattaching everything i got power and lights inside when turning the key on. Not enough power to start it but heard the fuel pump start up. When we turn the key everything dies. Pulled the starter and checked it. It works right. Reinstalled starter. Pulled the battery terminals again. Reinstalled them and the truck started and everything seemed to work right. Turned the truck off then tried to start it again. It clicked when the key was turned and everything went dead again. No ideas at this point.
Last edited by SRich77; Oct 9, 2016 at 05:23 PM. Reason: Misspelled words
Cargo Master
Joined: Jan 2004
Posts: 3,118
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From: South Dakota
What you are describing is a somewhat common problem. You likely got a dirty or loose connection(with the battery cables) or a bad battery cable that is shorting internally.
Start by cleaning the inside of the battery cables where they hook onto the battery posts(yes I realize you had them off) and the outsides of the battery posts. Make sure they tighten up properly. Also clean the other end of the negative battery cable where it hooks onto. Make sure the part of the positive battery cable that hooks to the fender mounted solenoid is clean and tight.
If that doesn't fix the problem suspect a bad battery cable. It sure sounds like atleast your starting problem is somewhere there.
Start by cleaning the inside of the battery cables where they hook onto the battery posts(yes I realize you had them off) and the outsides of the battery posts. Make sure they tighten up properly. Also clean the other end of the negative battery cable where it hooks onto. Make sure the part of the positive battery cable that hooks to the fender mounted solenoid is clean and tight.
If that doesn't fix the problem suspect a bad battery cable. It sure sounds like atleast your starting problem is somewhere there.
Elder User
Joined: Jul 2011
Posts: 793
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From: Vernon, BC
That sounds like the exact problem I was facing today. As it turns out I have two issues, one of which sounds like it could be your problem.
Problem number one, both of my battery cables are original and both had cracked insulation. When I looked inside the cracks I saw blue/green corrosion inside the wires. I didn't check for resistance but replacing the wires is a good option. I think that would work for you too.
Problem number two, when I took my starter out, the starter solenoid was shot (my 94 has two of them, one on the fender liner and one on the starter.)
Thus far, I have taken the starter off and both of the battery cables. Tomorrow, after the Thanksgiving holiday, I will get new cables and a new starter.
Good luck with your issue.
Problem number one, both of my battery cables are original and both had cracked insulation. When I looked inside the cracks I saw blue/green corrosion inside the wires. I didn't check for resistance but replacing the wires is a good option. I think that would work for you too.
Problem number two, when I took my starter out, the starter solenoid was shot (my 94 has two of them, one on the fender liner and one on the starter.)
Thus far, I have taken the starter off and both of the battery cables. Tomorrow, after the Thanksgiving holiday, I will get new cables and a new starter.
Good luck with your issue.
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