Hello everyone, first ever post

My Truck:
1994 F-150, straight 6 cylinder, 4.9 L, RWD

The begining:
A few weeks ago my truck wouldn't start in the driveway, no click, no fuel, nothing

A few days later I replaced the solenoid and adjusted the clutch interlock, and the truck started up, after running for 10 minutes the truck died again and started smoking, the truck smelled like an electrical failure somewhere in the cab, and then went back to the same no click no fuel issue

I found a corroded engine ground wire that I believe was the electrical failure, even though it was not in the cab as I suspected originally. The failure looks like it shorted around the starter motor.

After replacing the ground wire, I noticed the starter would start to click as soon as I reconnected the battery cable, so I replaced the solenoid again, as well as the starter and the battery when all was said and done

The Current Problem:

the truck was running fine for almost a week, and this morning the battery was dead when I went to start it up. I was able to boast it to move it, but now I need to figure out what is going on with it (battery was new)

FYI: I have not been troubleshooting properly with the -15 degree weather I have just been changing parts, now that it is a little warmer I would like to do things properly, or at least make an attempt at it

side note #1: a couple of days before the problems started I tried to start the truck but the fuel pump would not come on, I just switched to the rear gas tank and it worked. I have been using the rear gas tank only since then as the front tank has not run since then, despite a few attempts

side note #2: when I replaced the engine ground wire, I also replaced the ignition lock cylinder (I broke a key off inside of it like 6 months ago so it needed to be changed anyways) and while I was in there I changed the ignition switch as well.

side note #3: when I replaced the starter motor I also by-passed the clutch interlock by breaking the plastic, removing the springs and manually forcing the switch to stay closed permanently, could this be draining the battery?

side note #4: before parking the truck last night I noticed the voltage gauge was higher then normal and bouncing around erratically, normally this gauge is pretty steady during driving

I know it's a lot of information, but I am not sure what is wrong or what information is relevant, any help is greatly appreciated

thanks!

 

ANy luck ? I too have something killing my battery. New battery pulled 850 CCA to 9 in 12 hours over night. New cylinder new switch New battery runs for a few days when battery is charged up. Then nothing.Both tanks on mine work. I did not see anything big looking for amp pulls

 

This is one of those times a good multimeter comes in handy. First check if you have a working alternator by measuring battery voltage while running, should be at least 13.5v. If that checks out I would disconnect the neg battery terminal and measure the voltage between the neg battery cable and the neg battery post. If you have a light under the hood or dome light remove the bulbs. What you are wanting to see is about 5v for the PCM. If you see 10-12v that means something is drawing from that battery that shouldn't be while the key is in the off position. Start pulling fuses 1 by 1 til the voltage drops. That will give you a group of circuits to start looking for shorts or faulty components.

 

Fuses in the fuse panel of the cab or in the engine compartment.

 

Both if thats what it takes. Just make sure to keep track of everything. If you are reading 12.5v and you pull a fuse then drop down to 4-6v then you can start looking at that circuit. Might be more than one culprit.

Yay electrical gremlins!

 

Thanks for the tips. All I did was give the battery cables and terminals a good cleaning as well as most of the ground wires and everything seems to be good as far as the electrical goes. The truck is harder to start then it used to be but the battery drain issue seems to be fine for now.

I checked the alternator and it was good, also tried to check the amp pull on the battery but I haven't got that figured out just yet.

Now the truck has issues getting gas in any gear except for first and reverse. This problem only happens when it is cold. After the truck warms up for 15 minutes or more it seems to run fine. The truck is also getting really bad gas mileage and throwing a few codes listed below.

KOEO: 522 - vehicle in gear
332 - egr valve opening not detected

KOER: 225: not in my Haynes manual

 

Have you checked the wires coming off the alternator? These have the 2G alternator, where all the charge current runs through 2 spade lugs. After a while, the terminals corrode, increasing resistance and possibly causing a fire. New pigtails are available, The better course of action is to upgrade to a 3G alternator, where the charge current cable is bolted on, a much better connection.

The bearings in the alternator could be on the way out. Some of the symptoms can be unexplained discharges, as the alternator could have a dead short in it when it stops at certain points. The moving parts could be coming in contact with the non-moving parts when at rest.

 

i had this happen late last year to me also, was a bad headlight switch, i took my thermal camera and when i pointed it at the dash the headlight switch was 107f in -10f degrees after sitting over night.

 

Like Mongoosev8 said, make sure volt reading is 4v-6v, mine would drain down over 3 day period - thought it was light under hood got it changed out(corroded) 6.7v-7.8v reading ALL GOOD? NOT! still draining, also found, courtesy lights(on cab), tag lights, and the bone head (round trailer connection) finally 5.3v-6.1v, and 5 years later, still good, reverse light on driver side was questionable so replaced that also.

 

Just to keep everything up to date, I had the battery issues again last week. I still never managed to figure out the proper voltage/amp draw procedures but I don't think I need to in my case. This time nothing happened at all when starting, not like a dying battery but either the clutch interlock or connection problem.

I double checked my terminal connections and realized I made a mistake the first time. I never even considered that the wire-to-terminal connections would be corroded. I pulled the positive terminal apart from the wires and they were all black. I just cleaned them up with electrical cleaner and a wire brush, and replaced the terminal connector. Days later without running and it starts no problem.

For anyone who's cleaning their electrical connections, clean the terminal to wire connections as well!