ok. so i was off roading in my 1998 F-150, 4.6L, and i stopped to check out what my friend was doing. i turned off all the lights and everything else inside, then i turned off the truck. when i tried to start it again, it wouldnt even try. not only that, jump starting took over an hour before it had enough power to start up again. and im sure it was not from the off roading because this is the second time it happened and that time was the same situation, minus the off road part. can anyone tell me whats wrong, or does my truck just not like me?

 

Do you know if the battery was actually dead or was it a starting system failure? The most common problems I have found with offroad ventures is mud and water getting into the alternator or starter. But this assumes there was a problem with either. F150 has a propensity for failed starter relay and starter. With the age of the vehicle and not knowing the condition of battery and cables unless one had it in front of them in a failure state to diagnose the problem it would be anyones guess to what happened.

 

My truck did the same thing. My problem was the positive battery Cable. It looked like it was attached to the Alternator but was actually cracked. Sometimes it would work and other times it would be completely dead. Not sure if you have the same problem but it's worth a look.