New to the forum. Believe I came to the right place.

I have a 2014 F250 SD 6.7 Auto with about 60,000 miles on it. Have had no issues with this great truck and have been very happy with the purchase, my first diesel truck. I feared getting a diesel because I am not super knowledgeable mechanically but thought I could figure it out.

Drove it about 30 miles day before yesterday, no issues or indications of issues whatsoever. Parked it in the garage, removed the key and still no issue. Went out to start it and NOTHING. I mean nothing. No dome light, no dash lights, no indication of anything. Inserted the key and again NOTHING. First thought is batteries, charged each separately at 10 overnight. Now the dash lights are on and never go out, the key still does nothing, and the dome light will not turn on. The dash lights are on all the time, with the key in or out, doors open or closed, which is not something I can figure out and I am still not getting any response to the key.

My question is if anyone has had this issue previously, is it battery related? I have spoken to many diesel "experts" in my area and have not gotten the same response from any of them, making me question if it is the batteries or something larger.

Recap. Ran great, no indication of problems. Parked it and then everything is dead. Charging the batteries seemed to only make things stranger, with new unpredictable results. Need some direction. Thanks

 

Electrical issues cause electrical gremlins to pop up... is the truck a new to you or did you buy new? If you get it running, I'd take it to a Advance Auto as they check battery condition free of charge... there may be a harness issue somewhere but the batteries would be a good place to start if you haven't already done so.

 

If your batteries are old or are due for replacement, then start there with new batteries. If your batteries are fairly new, have them load tested by a reputable shop, take the batteries to them and test them separately. This may or may not solve the problem but you have to start somewhere. There could also be a parasitic draw pulling power as your charger is putting it in. As batteries deteriorate on these computer driven vehicles, they will show all kinds of strange behavior as they begin to fail.

 

My father owned it prior to me. Have had it for 3 years, so the batteries could be the issue. Was hoping a charge would get me started and able to go get the batteries tested, but looks like I will have to remove them I guess.

Thanks

 

I had thought the batteries would go down slow. Had never had an issue, until I did. Like going broke, I guess. Slowly and then all at once.

Thanks for the suggestion.

 

Load test your batteries... This issue as nothing to do with being a diesel.

 

I was making an over large assumption that the diesel system was the reason for the 2-battery setup.

In removing the passenger side battery, as soon as I got it disconnected, the dome light kicked on. Thought that was odd.

During the removal of the driver side, while moving the terminal clamp to remove, the lights came on and the accessory bell began to ding. Stopped what I was doing, got in the cab and everything seemed normal. Inserted/turned the key to accessory and it appeared like it would start.

Since I was down a battery and am very uncertain around electrical issues, I removed the key and continued to remove the battery.

With both out, I am headed to the auto parts store to have them tested/replaced.

Once I have either good or new batteries and have them installed, I will report back. Thanks all.

 

Good job... If those batteries are old it would be a good idea to replace both.

 

Nope, when it comes to batteries, when they get older and weak, they can go quick just like they did. Up here in WNY, cold kills weak batteries real fast... meaning you can have a problem when you weren't having issues... the cold just exposes weak batteries.

 

Quick update.

Thanks for the help and suggestions.

Fresh batteries and all is as it should be. Fired right up and everything cycled thru great with nothing more than lost radio presets.

Great relief. Some of the ideas I was getting locally were not sounding great. Batteries showed ok with my equipment but once I was at O'Reilly's one tested "dead" and the other tested "close to end-of-life cycle", so you guys were right. When they go, they are gone!

Thanks again.

 

the terminals are corrosion points ....once a layer of corrosion builds up...they dont charge and dont dischargre...clean the batteries regulalry with one of those spin brushes and spray with a battery grease.

 

This stuff is one that works great...




I use on all of our vehicles but there are others out there.

 

If the batteres check out good; on the 2011 to 2016 modeel trucks there is a main harness under the dash attached to the parking brake mount. When the park brake is released repeatedly, the vibration from the sudden stop of the pedal will loosen the large plug in the harness. Pull the plug apart and reseat it firmly. If this fixes the problem then move said harness to a dfifferent location.. Second thoought……move harness anyway.
Good luck. Hope I made this as clear as mud fr you.

PS: When said plug loosens it causes all sorts of wierd electic issues.

 

Thanks for the info!

 

I used a recommended dialectic grease from O'Reilly's and hope it will do the trick.