Complete engine failure/starting HELP!!!
Senior User
Joined: Dec 2003
Posts: 221
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From: Grosse Ile Mi.
its not a starter.. the rest of the electrical system would work. you have a vrery poor connection someplace in the main electrical system.. a bad ground or the positive like on that solinoid you just replaced.. take a test light or volt meter and see where the proplem is..
Elder User
Joined: Apr 2006
Posts: 894
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From: South Dakota
Check the starter. About a year ago I was having that same problem. When I had mine checked the stealership said the starter was good. Next day the thing wouldn't even turn. I chained the truck up to the ol' John Deere and had my dad pull it up to about 5-10mph, I then dropped the clutch with her in 2nd and it got a spin on her, all this sudden when I turned the key she wanted to start on her own so we fired her up and drove her back to the stealership to get a new starter. Ever since the new starter was in, she starts up and runs like a champ. Don't give up on your Ford 
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Elder User
Joined: Sep 2006
Posts: 561
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From: Edmonton, Alberta Canada
Well of course you guys are going to protest to a Dodge beings as this is a Ford forum haha. My gramps bought a diesel in the early 90's and still uses that thing man, it runs like it did when he first bought it. My o'l man still continues to make fun of what I drive and calls it a "Poor mans dodge" haha.
Anyways, having daylight makes things a hell of alot easier. I checked out all of the grounds, they were all pretty tight. I went down to the dealership and the dude at the desk said it sounds like the batteries aren't charging, which means the alternator is crapped out...but I personally dont think its that because it was running just fine last night. Anyways, we let the batteries charge for about 15 minutes...nothing worked. The only thing that actually worked was the damn light that turns on when you open the door, everything else, forget it. The "ding, ding" noise wasn't even working when you open the door too.
I'm really friggen stuck on this one...it just makes no sense at all. And I'm getting more and more fed up with this heap because its like one thing after another, it doesnt stop breaking!
Anyways, having daylight makes things a hell of alot easier. I checked out all of the grounds, they were all pretty tight. I went down to the dealership and the dude at the desk said it sounds like the batteries aren't charging, which means the alternator is crapped out...but I personally dont think its that because it was running just fine last night. Anyways, we let the batteries charge for about 15 minutes...nothing worked. The only thing that actually worked was the damn light that turns on when you open the door, everything else, forget it. The "ding, ding" noise wasn't even working when you open the door too.
I'm really friggen stuck on this one...it just makes no sense at all. And I'm getting more and more fed up with this heap because its like one thing after another, it doesnt stop breaking!
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Elder User
Joined: Sep 2006
Posts: 561
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From: Edmonton, Alberta Canada
Originally Posted by Dave7.3
Check the starter. About a year ago I was having that same problem. When I had mine checked the stealership said the starter was good. Next day the thing wouldn't even turn. I chained the truck up to the ol' John Deere and had my dad pull it up to about 5-10mph, I then dropped the clutch with her in 2nd and it got a spin on her, all this sudden when I turned the key she wanted to start on her own so we fired her up and drove her back to the stealership to get a new starter. Ever since the new starter was in, she starts up and runs like a champ. Don't give up on your Ford
Elder User
Joined: Apr 2006
Posts: 894
Likes: 0
From: South Dakota
Agemenon,
I had power in the cab but the starter would not turn. Sounds to me like maybe you have some fuses out? You might have blown the fuses for the cab when you jumped the starter solenoid. They burn out real easy if you have any high or lower power fluctuations. Heck, I blew the fuse for my dash lights when swaping out my dam radio haha. Might check that out and see what happens.
-Dave
I had power in the cab but the starter would not turn. Sounds to me like maybe you have some fuses out? You might have blown the fuses for the cab when you jumped the starter solenoid. They burn out real easy if you have any high or lower power fluctuations. Heck, I blew the fuse for my dash lights when swaping out my dam radio haha. Might check that out and see what happens.
-Dave
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Elder User
Joined: Sep 2006
Posts: 561
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From: Edmonton, Alberta Canada
Meh, I said **** on it because I have a plane to catch today and I'd rather pay somebody to figure it out and actually knows what they're doing. I never thought about fuses...but nothing comes on man, not one thing will turn on at all. Theres no way I could have burnt up all the fuses all at once inside the cab.
Elder User
Joined: Apr 2006
Posts: 894
Likes: 0
From: South Dakota
Nothing will come on with burned fuses. When my dash lights went out, headlights and everything would come on but no dash. I took it to a guy who supposedly was a reputable electrician, he checked all the fuses and said they were good. I then took it to the stealership and got the "well it could be a number of things" speal. Finally took it to a local shop, they replaced the fuse and had me out in 2min. Once I was on the road again the dash lights went out. Went back to the local shop and they said they were booked and would look at it next week. During the weekend I tore the radio out, replaced the connectors and now everything works fine. Called the local shop who charged me $10 to replace the fuse and told them where to stick it. Just goes to show ya, its a learning process. There are plenty of options and expert opinions but only a few that will do the trick.
-Dave
-Dave
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Elder User
Joined: Sep 2006
Posts: 561
Likes: 0
From: Edmonton, Alberta Canada
Well I tried to turn on every electrical and nothing would turn on dude...like I said, its really effed up.
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Senior User
Joined: Jul 2006
Posts: 384
Likes: 0
From: south jersey
just calm down and remember that fixing electrical problems is just about the worst thing ever and they take some time to root out. running out and buying a dodge is just about the worst thing you could do
Senior User
Joined: Apr 2006
Posts: 478
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From: houma, louisiana
first thing you need to do is disconnect both batteries and check to see if they have a charge, if not put both batteries on charge. after they have charged make sure you have every thing off in the truck. when you connect the cables back to the batteries watch to see if you have a spark like something would be pulling a constant juice with the engine off. check to see if you have juice in the truck now sense you have two charged batteries. if you dont then you have a bad connection from battery to inside of truck, possibly a bad ground (like that has been stated before). you need a volt meter to start from a good 12volt (batteries) and start tracing wires back to the cab. good luck. remember if you dont have good batteries you dont have nothing.
Freshman User
Joined: Aug 2006
Posts: 43
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From: Lilburn, GA
The "red stuff" for the battery terminals, make sure it (or anything else) doesn't get between the battery posts and the terminals.
Also check the wire from the battery + cable to the relay on the right inner fender. There are also some fusible links in that area. that wire from the battery + is moderately heavy and carries everything on the truck but the starter. Mine has been pulled tight bysomeone replacing the battery terminal with a bolt-on clamp type instead of crimped on.
That wire will also corrode inside the wire enough to disrupt things.
All it takes is one bad (dirty) connection to kill the system. Be patient. This can take a while. Suspect everything.
Good luck. Hope this helped.
Also check the wire from the battery + cable to the relay on the right inner fender. There are also some fusible links in that area. that wire from the battery + is moderately heavy and carries everything on the truck but the starter. Mine has been pulled tight bysomeone replacing the battery terminal with a bolt-on clamp type instead of crimped on.
That wire will also corrode inside the wire enough to disrupt things.
All it takes is one bad (dirty) connection to kill the system. Be patient. This can take a while. Suspect everything.
Good luck. Hope this helped.
Posting Guru
Joined: May 2004
Posts: 2,161
Likes: 1
From: Prince George, B.C.
Definitly check the connection where the solenoid gets it's battery power as that is also where the rest of the truck gets it from. Also start checking body to engine/frame grounds. One of the 2 times this happened to me it was right at the solenoid. The other time it was an effed up positive cable.
Freshman User
Joined: Jul 2004
Posts: 44
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All good comments. Don't hesitate to remove and clean the ground connections from the batteries to the engine, not just insure they are tight. With good batteries put a voltmeter on the batterry and bypass the starter solenoid to see if you have a voltage drop. If you have a voltage drop but the starter doesn't turn the engine you may also have a bad starter. Been there done that. The voltmeter is your friend. Once you get your engine started it will be easy to see if your alternator is charging.
Post Fiend
Joined: Nov 2003
Posts: 21,285
Likes: 15
From: Nutter Fort, WV
Passenger side behind the battery....
See the yellow wire in the grey connector, look at that connector very carefully. There are actually two wires in the connector, but you only have to be concerned with the yellow one.
If it looks like it has been overheated you probably are loosing power there.
I had to splice the wires and eliminate the connector on my truck several years ago.
It acted just like you are describing.
But if you have a bad ground, your batteries may not be charging, they could also be the problem.
If you ever have your batteries load tested in the truck, you must remove the ground cable from one of the batteries while testing. No tester around can test two batteries at the same time. I have seen a dual battery setup test good with both batteries hooked up. When they were tested individually both batteries were junk.
The kids at the auto parts stores are not trained to test dual battery setups, the are trained to test single battery cars. They all think that it does not make any difference if both batteries are hooked up when the test them. A 650 amp car and one of these trucks with 1700 amps or more in the batteries are not the same animal.
Tuned
Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 291
Likes: 4
From: houston,tx
If you have no brake or emergency flasher go to your underdash fuse panel, loosen it up enough so you can turn it around and inspect the back-look for burning, distortion and check power behind there. go to your starter solinoid on the side that has battery power there are several wires that ditribute power to the truck, if you notice these wires are of a softer nature and may have a sort of rubber or plastic "flag" with a number.(these are your fusable links) Follow each one into the harness, maybe 6or8 inches; there they are splice-soldered. after each splice you can pierce the wire and check for voltage. you will need to replace this wire with the same guage of "fusable link"