Tried everything?

[thomasb4642]

Got a 89 f150 reg cab 302 fi auto trans.

I have a dead truck. Key is on and truck is dead. Replaced battery cables, ignition solenoid, ignition switch. checked battery, is fine showing 12.5 volts. Been through most of the system. Dunno where to go now. ran fine one day next day truck was dead. walked out put key in dash lit up tried to start it cliked and went out. Any help greatly appreciated.

 

[Austin]

Had this issue with my 89 Bronco. Ended up being an internally corroded battery cable, but it you've already replaced yours. Do you have any luck with jumping it off?

 

[fatherdoug]

If you're getting voltage to the starter side of the solenoid when the key is in the crank position, then it is either the cable from the solenoid to the starter or the starter itself.

 

[flareside_thunder]

I agree with what Doug said. First, make sure you have good, clean, tight connections. If they are, pull the starter and bench test it. Welcome to the site.

 

[Beach66Bum]

Welcome to FTF
I agree with the stater, had this issue, had fully charged battery, turn the key and it would click then stop. All lights were bright but nothing happening to turn over motor. It was a broken bendix,

 

[Fellro]

I agree with what Doug said. First, make sure you have good, clean, tight connections.

Start here. With your description, I expect you to find you simply lost good connection at the terminals. Very common problem. A bit of dielectric grease helps keep it from coming back once you clean the cables.

 

[F150]

Double check the main ground from the battery to the block.

 

[BuzzGun79]

Something else you can try,if cleaning of connections yield no result.have a helper give the starter a few short blows with a hammer while you try to start the engine.use caution while doing this,make sure the vehicle is in park and have a foot on the brake as well or set park brake,but it will tell the story if it starts.Replace the starter or rebuild it.Ford Starters have a tendency to get flat spots in the bendix,then they simply wont crank. a few swift smacks at the bottom(not real hard) in most cases will get it past the flat spot then it will crank over.

 

[thomasb4642]

sorry its taken me so long to respond, I have nothing when I turn my key. No lights, horn, radio, clicking, nothing. I only heard the click/pop when it all went on me. when I replaced the neg cable i cleaned the block connection as well and also the neg connection to the starter. have now also replaced the ignition relay b/c it tested bad as well. I also checked the fusible links as well (or at least i think) they didnt pull apart as was told to me they would do. I'm beginning to believe its gremlins, lol. also have good power from the solenoid from the battery and from the solenoid to the system. could it be the ignition module or the key and tumbler?

sorry i didnt explain better in original description I usually know what im thinking just dosent always come out that way on paper.

 

[dustybumpers]

Key and tumbler are not the switch. The switch is on top of the steering column, and driven by a rod from the key switch. It could be loose, and just moving with the rod. You can see it if you lay on the floor, and look up at the column under the dash

 

[thomasb4642]

switch was replaced. rod is moving as it should. switch not moving.

 

[blacksnapon]

If the rod is moving and the switch isn't (the slide part), the rod isn't in the switch correctly.

 

[Fellro]

sorry its taken me so long to respond, I have nothing when I turn my key. No lights, horn, radio, clicking, nothing. I only heard the click/pop when it all went on me. when I replaced the neg cable i cleaned the block connection as well and also the neg connection to the starter. have now also replaced the ignition relay b/c it tested bad as well. I also checked the fusible links as well (or at least i think) they didnt pull apart as was told to me they would do. I'm beginning to believe its gremlins, lol. also have good power from the solenoid from the battery and from the solenoid to the system. could it be the ignition module or the key and tumbler?

sorry i didnt explain better in original description I usually know what im thinking just dosent always come out that way on paper.

Sorry, have to ask, but did you take the positive cable loose from the battery and clean it too? Just because you show voltage at the solenoid with no load does not mean that it is always available. Try jumpering the solenoid to see what happens. By this I mean to take a wire and connect the battery to the little wire, should be red in color, that is attached to the little terminal of the solenoid. I also have seen the crimp inside of the positive cable get corroded and lose connection when under load.

First and foremost, you have no power, so that indicates that there is a disconnection between the battery and the rest of the truck. Ignition switch has nothing to do with lights, module has nothing to do with any power distribution but for spark. If you have truly a good connection at the battery, then the next logical place is the fusible link. I still stand by a bad connection at the battery, as I have seen it a hundred times that there is a connection loss right at the terminal. The telltale is the sudden loss of everything.

 

[BuzzGun79]

I have to agree with Roger now knowing what the prolbelm is.Start at the Battery terminal posts.remove the ground followed by the positive cable check terminals and posts for corrosion just because they may seem clean doesnt mean their not corroded.the terminals should be a bright silver color along with the inside of the cable terminals.over time the terminals will get a gray film over them and on the inside of the cable terminals this will result in poor or no connection.use a battery terminal cleaner or small wire tooth brush to clean.Baking soda and water is a good cleaning solution to aid you.remove all the gray till you get to the bright silver color on the battery terminal posts.sometimes ive taken a pocket knife to the inside of the cable terminals to remove the crud.look over the cables real good as Roger stated and go from there.If your cable terminals are the replacement type remove them from the cables and clean as described check the wire for corrsion while their off clean as necessary with the brush and solution.reasemble and make sure they are good and tight.I to have experienced a great deal of corroded cables in my day

 

[thomasb4642]

Ok will check the battery posts and check thru the wiring again. Never hurts to go back thru just to make sure i didn't screw up. Will also clean the posts and check the cables to make sure i didn't get a bad one.

With the fusible link, I was told it was next to the battery. Is this correct? Was also told that if they were bad they would just pull apart easily correct too?

Thanks for all the help here, this has got to be something simple im just overlooking. I truly do appreciate all the posts.

 

[Fellro]

The fusible will be a fair sized small wire attached to the solenoid where the battery cable attaches. Pull on it to see if it gives internally.

 

[thomasb4642]

Had a friend of a friend come by he figured it out in 2 mins. Solenoid was hooked up wrong. Apparently between the original and the aftermarket the bolts are backwards or something maybe i screwed up dunno ne who its fixed and running, thanks to all who responded.

 

[Fellro]

The terminals aren't directional, but if you hook the power feed to the truck on the opposite side to the battery cable, you will have nothing. However, this doesn't explain why you had power at first and lost it, unless you changed things after the issue.

 

[Beach66Bum]

That's good news, glad it's fixed,

 

[dustybumpers]

Solinoid will work either way, it's just a electro magnet pulling back to make contact. Hooking the fuseable links to the starter wire instead of the battery wire will give you a headache tho. Glad you got it right.

I got a real good deal on a truck a while back because it wouldn't start. Turns out that was the problem on it.