86 F150 battery problems
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Mountain Pass
Joined: Feb 2021
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86 F150 battery problems
Hi all,
I went to go and start my 86 f150 today but the battery was dead. Got a jumper box and plugged it in and connected it and tried jumping it and it didn't work, almost like the box didn't have enough juice. I decided to just let the jumper box charge it on 2a for a while. After about 3 hours it said it had a full charge. I went to go and start it. All of the dash lights and buzzer came on when i turned the key but when I went to crank it over all of them nearly cut out completely, the buzzer went down in sound drastically and the lights where nearly completely off. There was a clunk from the engine like the starter was cranking but something was obstructing it from turning over. When i turned the key to the off position and tried turning it back on again it did the same thing. I went to the engine bay and there was a plasticy burning smell. The positive terminal was completely corroded with battery acid crud and the positive terminal itself was sizziling slightly. The cables wherent hot so I waited for the sizzling to subside and took the battery out carefully. I took the battery to get tested and it said it was good, it is only about 2 years old. Anyone know what this could be?
I went to go and start my 86 f150 today but the battery was dead. Got a jumper box and plugged it in and connected it and tried jumping it and it didn't work, almost like the box didn't have enough juice. I decided to just let the jumper box charge it on 2a for a while. After about 3 hours it said it had a full charge. I went to go and start it. All of the dash lights and buzzer came on when i turned the key but when I went to crank it over all of them nearly cut out completely, the buzzer went down in sound drastically and the lights where nearly completely off. There was a clunk from the engine like the starter was cranking but something was obstructing it from turning over. When i turned the key to the off position and tried turning it back on again it did the same thing. I went to the engine bay and there was a plasticy burning smell. The positive terminal was completely corroded with battery acid crud and the positive terminal itself was sizziling slightly. The cables wherent hot so I waited for the sizzling to subside and took the battery out carefully. I took the battery to get tested and it said it was good, it is only about 2 years old. Anyone know what this could be?
Lead Driver
Joined: Nov 2013
Posts: 7,182
Likes: 1,174
Sizzling steak = Good
Sizzling battery cable = Bad
It (literally) sounds like the positive battery cable has failed. If preferred, you can test it before replacement as detailed here:
https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...w-starter.html
Sizzling battery cable = Bad
It (literally) sounds like the positive battery cable has failed. If preferred, you can test it before replacement as detailed here:
https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...w-starter.html
Moderator
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 57,012
Likes: 2,750
From: Virginia
Too much resistance in the + battery cable. If you clean it up really good with a wire brush, you might get it to go again until you replace it. The autoparts stores have universal battery cables in different lengths already pre-made with the terminals on it.
Logistics Pro
Joined: Jun 2017
Posts: 3,986
Likes: 515
From: Edmond, OK
Since your battery cables are rotten here are well rated suppliers for aftermarket battery cables. Even parts store cheapies would be better than deteriorated OE cables.
https://custombatterycables.com/
https://www.batterycablesusa.com/
Also, I used a local place to fabricate battery cables for my Bullnose truck. The price was right but; unfortunately, they cut corners and the battery cables separated from the terminals. I ended up getting a set of battery cable crimpers and re-crimped new terminals onto the cables.
https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...able-woes.html
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Mountain Pass
Joined: Feb 2021
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5.0 v8 but its one of the big jump packs that plug into an outlet, I charged it on 2A with it after
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Mountain Pass
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Moderator
Joined: Jan 2001
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From: Virginia
You can go to the store and buy a brand new battery. But if your cables or the terminals on the cables are bad, it will do the same thing even though the battery is new.
Lead Driver
Joined: Jun 2013
Posts: 5,675
Likes: 1,164
From: Tolland, CT
Can you post pictures of your's ?
What does the connection at the starter look like ?
Logistics Pro
Joined: Jun 2017
Posts: 3,986
Likes: 515
From: Edmond, OK
x2 post a pic please.
Here's a handy tool for cleaning battery cables and terminals.
https://www.harborfreight.com/batter...ner-94450.html
Here's a handy tool for cleaning battery cables and terminals.
https://www.harborfreight.com/batter...ner-94450.html
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