Hey All,

ME
Just joined the forum and looking for a little bit of help.
To give you a little background on myself, as far as diagnosing truck problems my knowledge is very minimal. However, after the problem is diagnosed, I am usually able to figure things out, replace parts, and bolt every thing back together without too much trouble.

THE TRUCK
My truck is a '91 F150 XLT Lariat, with the 300-6, 5speed transmission and 98,000 original miles. Completely stock.

THE PROBLEM
Today I spent all morning blowing and shoveling snow. Ironically I thought at one point that the truck was running the best it ever had since I bought it. I parked the truck, ran in to my house, came back out and tried to start the engine. The engine turned over about half way, then the truck lost all power. Assuming it was the battery I coasted out of my spot and tried to bump start the truck down the hill by my apartment. Though I was able to break the tires loose, the engine did not make any attempt at turning over. After towing the truck up the hill several times and a couple attempts at jumping the truck I eventually parked it where it sits now. When I turn the key in the truck, it no longer makes any attempt at turning over, however every now and then I will see the dash lights flash on then off.

If anyone has any suggestions to the root of this problem or potential tips to diagnosing, and solving it, it would be GREATLY appreciated.

Thanks for the help guys,
Drive Safe,
Ken.

 

check voltage on the battery
check all connections (I "check" mine by taking them apart and cleaning them with sandpaper)
especially the main ground to the block (for good measure i have a 2 gauge wire direct from the alternator to battery for even more ground)
If the battery is good move on to check the starter and solenoid.

 

tell me if i follow correctly, you tried popping the clutch and turn the engine over with momentum? but the engine didn't turn at all? if thats all correct, is there oil on the dip stick?

 

Yeah, the truck has oil. The thing that has me confused is that no electric in my truck is working, even when hooked up to the jumpers of a comprable sized truck.

 

Electrical problems SUCK. Check your battery, then check your grounds. You can check the wires if you're good with a voltmeter, but at the very least, clean up both contacts of the main ground very well and make sure they are both good tight connections.

 

thanks for the advice. Watching the clock waiting for the sun to come up so i can go try to fix this annoying little problem.

 

Update:

Thanks for the help everyone, actually just ended up being a simple fix. All I did was take a wire brush, and some rough grit sandpaper to the battery terminals and connector cables to clean off any corrosion. I also tightened the wire connections. I had doubts that this was actually the problem as all the connections didn't seem to have any visible corrosion, or to be loose. However, to my surprise, after taking 10 minutes to do this, the truck fired right up, and is running strong as ever.

Thanks again,
Ken.

 

Had an experience with the Jeep where the battery corrosion crept up underneath the wire insulation at the terminal, and ate up the wire. Everything looked good, lights lit up, just not enough juice to roll the starter.

A real head-scratcher before it was figured out, and a real Homer Simpson D'Oh moment when found.

 

Pretty much exactly how i felt.

 

Went thru 2 new alternators and batteries 3 months ago due to a bad ground...hence my overkill 2 guage copper cables and extra grounds now...Just blip the key and she fires right up. If I wasn't an electrician the cables would have cost a fortune...gotta love scrap from installing generators...hehe!