Okay,so every couple months i go out and start up the F250 parts truck.....or try to,at least! Yesterday,i get nothing so i figure the Battery is likely dead,since i hadnt bothered to pull the Negative terminal after its last start and run session......SO,i put the charger on it,and after a couple minutes the charger is showing a full charge,still no crank,no lights,hazards or anything.....
Okay,i really needed an excuse to replace both batteries on the other F250,so off to Costco for 1 group 65 and 1 Optima red top......before putting the new batts in the F250 i actually drive,i decided to put the optima in the parts truck,meanwhile i had cleaned the batt terminals reasonably well,and ive got a brand new battery,still zero juice,no 12V anywhere......I even cut off the old negative batt wire an inch and re-attached the crappy screw on battery terminal to fresh,clean wire......By now,you can guess what happened! I decided to remove the ignition switch,and discovered that a previous owner had twisted wires together,left wires untaped,etc......does all power go thru the ignition switch,or thru the starter relay located on the inner fender well? Who ever did some of the wiring on this truck showed a certain sense of style in there workmanship.....Okay,maybe you dont have soldering equip,and yes solderless terminals do cost money.....BUT,last time i looked,a roll of electrical tape cost less than the amount of change in the the typical sofa cushion........On the bright side,since i took the fairly nice seat out of the parts truck and put it in the driver,ive got lots of room to work inside the parts trucks cab........any suggestions,if not i feel better after this rant,and ive got a 105 amp Alternator on order for the other 250,so with a better alt and two new batteries,its winch should operate more efficiently....

 

First check for a good engine block ground
the B+ acc wire origonates at the battery side of the starter solinoid

 

If i recall correctly,this one is grounded on the front pass. side of the block.....it appeared to have good contact and up until yesterday,it had never given me any electrical issues...i just went out and compared both F250's,and while they each have a slightly different fender mounted relay,they are both wired with accessory leads off the same post as the Positive from battery......the parts truck does have one lead clearly marked as a fusible link,but it appears intact.
Tomorrow,in the light of day i will check the ground at its connection on the block..... if this truck was an actual driver, i would have already replaced both battery cables with better quality,heavier gauge cable and soldered lugs,but since it has decent power assist steering when turning one direction only,spongy brakes,and a few other issues,my only real concern is keeping its useful donor parts operational....

 

you can jump the starter at the solinoid if the engine turns it's wiring if not it is main connections

 

Well since as you said,accessories are run off the same terminal as the battery positive lead,even if the relay is bad i should have lights,inside light,and hazards.....i did step on brake pedal without any results,too......so,daytime will find me out back with a few wrenches,and a 12V test light......Thanks,BTW!

 

I'm thinking it's either the fusible link or the connection to it. As mentioned abaove, if you jump from the starter terminal of the solenoid to the Positive battery cable terminal of the solenoid, the engine should at least crank. If it does but there's still no power going anwhere else then I'd take a hard look at the fusible link and its connections next...

 

Test light alligator clip on negative post of battery,probe touching positive....LIGHT,so battery has voltage,probe on post of relay where positive lead,acc. lead,etc are mounted,light again....probe on pos terminal of alternator,dark,not light......probe poking into insulation of fusible link,light......pull off all the tape wrapping several funky,rotten looking wires,where fusible link is spliced to Alt. wire.........ITS a miracle any electricity was able to travel this path since the wires were black,crusty,and hanging by a thread.....while the fusible link was intact,all its wire was horribly corroded,so i tossed it.....spliced in some new wire,hooked up the negative to battery.....turned the key,and she cranked right over.....popped the air cleaner cover off,gave her a little whiff of ether,pumped the pedal,turned the key,started right up in literally 2 seconds,ran perfectly..........While im not a religious man,the simple fact that any electricity was able to flow through some of this wiring,and had been for years makes me re-think some things,the electrons must be able to travel via Faith,since there was literally no copper left in some of the wires..........well thats a relief....my work on the wiring was half-assed at best,but compared to what others had done,it actually looks decent. And thanks,Ray....it is appreciated!

 

And thanks to you as well Dan.........It may actually be worth re-doing the wiring from the ignition switch,and properly fixing the wires that i jury rigged,along with making new battery cables.....the darn engine runs really well,its last owner had replaced the power steering pump,and most of the hoses,and the engine looks relatively new,or at least someone did an above average job of cleaning it and painting it,and its got quite a few parts elsewhere that appear pretty good....power assist only works turning right,and the brakes didnt feel particularly good,so i would hesitate to drive it.....but maybe i should get some use out of my new trailer,and look for another 67-72 that looks decent,but needs an engine.......The wife would be a little irritated if i got another truck,but she gets over things fast!

 

funny thing is,i cant remember exactly why i came to the conclusion that the parts truck is a 1969,other than the fact it was accompanied by a title and registration that listed it as a 69 F100,and that those numbers match the numbers on the Vin plate on the extra set of doors.....when removing the seats yesterday,i noticed the seat belts,which are a matching shade of green to the rest of the interior say 72 on them......

 

Well...does it have a '69 grille? And what does the VIN say it is? The last six digits will tell you when it was built (should be one letter followed by 5 numbers):

Sep. 1968 - D96,000 through E09,999
Oct. 1968 - E10,000 through E23,999
Nov. 1968 - E24,000 through E37,999
Dec. 1968 - E38,000 through E51,999
Jan. 1969 - E52,000 through E65,999
Feb. 1969 - E66,000 through E79,999
Mar. 1969 - E80,000 through E93,999
Apr. 1969 - E94,000 through F07,999
May 1969 - F08,000 through F21,999
Jun. 1969 - F22,000 through F35,999
Jul. 1969 - F36,000 through F49,999
Aug. 1969 - F50,000 through F63,999