what's going on?
I have an '86 f 250. The problem i'm having is that if i go and get in the truck right now, turn the key, everything will work, but the ignition just won't turn over. i tried jumping it, even though i figured it wasn't that. lights are bright. any ideas?i turn the key and get nothing. this has happened in the past, once before , a couple of years ago. i changed the starter, and the "relay", unsure what its called, by the battery with the terminals. still had the same results. i towed in to a shop nearby , he fixed it in a half hour. but to be honest, its been so long, i don't remember what the problem was. i guess i was too happy to get it back that it didn't matter.

any ideas? i think he said something about a wire...

 

Try changing your positive and negative cables. They can corrode inside and leave you with the problem you have. If that doesn't work, change your solenoid. It's the "relay" next to the battery. Those can go bad anytime and even though you changed it out a few years back, it might be weak.

 

On a Ford, you have the starter solenoid, and the starter, if you getting nothing, think about what you did..before you started working on it. Some models has an inline fuse link (big rubber "thang" on the starter relay wire, from positive cable on the battery to the starter solenoid .
It could be many things that could be the cause. Battery terminals could be loose or corroded, Tighten the cables and/or removed the corrosion from the battery cables post and cable(s).
Are you sure the automatic transmission is NOT in drive or reverse?
Make sure its in Park.
Broken/Loose or the wiring has a break in the ignition start circuit. Insspect the wiring from the battery, to the starter solenoid.Then from the electrical Ignition switch under the sterring column. Use a multimeter without the pos battery cable connected, check it on the ohms setting.

Last but not least, starter could be wedged/ jammed in the flywheel. this could be an easy way to ruin the starter an wiring, just hold the key in the on/start position and it'll smoke/melt the wires to the starter and solenoid. You know better than to do that ..right? (If its jammed in the flywheel, you won't hear a thing, but it'll start smoking and mebie even cause a fire if you do that, so don't. (some models don't have the inline fuse from the starter solenoid relay....
If all this is ok...than you can start replacing the parts, Starter Solenoid, or Starter, or the Electrical Ignition switch (not the KEY switch)
Good luck.

 

Oh...one other thing to check which should be the first, is the ground from the engine to the frame....this is important for a 12vdc system to have...too many ground wire won't hurt a thing, but all you really need is two, one on each side.

 

Might also want to check the neutral safety switch....if it's gone bad, it will cause any vehical to not turn over...the only other way it seems to go is the way mine went, where it will start in any gear...and I have an automatic.