thought i'd post this in case some other ditz like me ever has the same problem and searches it. its almost embarrassing but i could have been running in circles a lot longer. after i put my engine back together and got it started, i was then unable to start it again. it would crank and not fire. i checked the timing over and over again, checked the coil, points, etc. a day or so later it fired rite up. after it warmed up i checked the dwell on a meter and set the idle mix, advance etc. everything running great. exhaust was finished friday, sounds great. next day, won't start. huh?? it cranked, but wouldn't fire. i started messing with wires, then found it wouldn't even crank. then found the lights wouldnt even come on. ugg. i ended up replacing the solenoid by the battery, and every single slip - on connector i could find i cut and replaced with an eyelet and nuts/washers. wires that were joined by tape by the previous owner i unwound and crimped with butt connectors. i undid black tape everywhere looking for a short. i hooked the battery to a charger, and the lights would now come on, but the meter said the battery was good. still stumped. maybe the meter is wrong, so i took the battery out to try a different one, and guess what. the piece of plywood under the battery, u know the one to keep the battery from grounding out thru the frame, was so ate up that a metal part had got exposed and touched the battery on the bottom, even tho it looked intact with the battery in. hence my "ground problem" i couldnt find. this also explains why my headlights would up and turn off while driving sometimes, which i was too lazy to trace the wires yet. i felt like bending over and asking someone to kick me in the butt.

 

Say What??? When did Ford send out trucks with plywood under the batterys?
The battery case doesn't conduct electricity, that is why it has posts.

Have you replaced the cables?

John

 

Ford did not put anything between the tray and battery. Are you sure that the battery doesn't have a crack or a cable touching the tray? make sure you have a good ground cable and also make sure you have one from the block to the frame. Is the battery tight in the clam;? Is it sliding around at all? It's not too tall and hitting the hood and grounding out? The battery case is capable of touching metal on the bottom without a problem. The cables are the only thing that shouldn;t touch anything ( other than the neg to grd.)

Barry

 

the piece of wood was put there by someone else, to keep the battery snug i suppose, with the particular battery. theres often something under the battery so it won't scrape and do what mine did. it might have a tiny crack or something tho i can't find one. u can leave a battery on the floor and sometimes it will lose its charge. not sure how that works, but thats the phenomenon (?) i mean. i know its happened before. it doesnt leak but had white stuff where it was touching. somehow it got thru. everything else is grounded properly and i replaced the battery cables before as well. anyways a new piece of wood fixed it!

 

If you're leaving "white stuff", then there's a leak of acid. Supposedly, when you put batteries on the concrete floor, iot sucks the life out of them.

Barry

 

the wood didn't fix the problem. it just hid it. go get the battery checked or see if one of the cells in it is low on acid.