The guy im buying this truck off of hooked up the battery backwards and then proceeded to try and boost it... needless to say sparks flew. Now when i came by and pointed that out we flipped the battery around and turned the key and there was nothing. checked all the fuses and there was still nothing. there is no power to the dash or anything like that i checked a couple of the fuseable links and they were ok. now i heard that i might have blown the amm meter in the dash and that would cause no power to the truck at all (btw the battery is still fine, we threw it in another van and it started it up fine).

does anyone have any comments or suggestions that may help me out on this??

 

Replace the starter solenoid. Depending on what year it is it should be on the fender by the battery. If its a newer one....OW! Start checking the computer modules. You can get a parts store to check them for free. Also check to see if you get any power at all to any items when the battery is hooked up correctly.

 

it's a 78... and it wouldn't matter if the solenoid is bad just to get headlights should it?? mind you i have a spare starter solenoid here i could just bring over there... if i have a round style solenoid will it work temporarily if it is supposed to have a square style?

 

The round style swith should work as long as it grounds to the frame, and has all the connections like the other, I think the square ones are the old old ones.

These trucks don't have ammeters, they use shunt meters, and only read part of the amps,
How did you check the fusib le links? You should take a multimeter and stick the 2 prongs into the wire at either side and see if there is continuity through the link.
Fusible links are made not to break the insulation so that the wire does not fall and make contact and ground out. hence that would cause a fire.

hope this helps.

 

I did the same thing when I was a (stupid) kid: When I was 13 (I'm 37 now) I "borrowed" the battery from Mom's car to try start my project -- '67 Impala. When I replaced it, I connected it backwards. It looked like the fourth of July.

When Mom's car wouldn't start I nearly crapped on myself. I started thinking about where I was going to have to live when Mom found out that I had ruined her car. Bur I was VERY LUCKY!

The problem was that the short circuit had caused the battery posts and cable-clamps to "glaze". I scraped the glazing from the posts and cables and everything went back to normal. God was really watching out for me!