I decided to revive my 1994 F150 5.0 this past week and was excited that it started up and I was able to move it to an easier location to work on replacing the rusted brake lines. I replace the brake lines, bled the system, and when I went to fire it up again, it lit up like everything was fine, fuel pump buzzed as normal, turned the key and lights out, everything gone. I have basically no electrical life in the truck. Battery is good, fuses in the 2 locations are all good. Looking for next things to look for. Could the starter cause everything to not function? Starter is new to the truck, but a few years old. Not sure where to go from here, any help would be appreciated.

 

Have you checked the inertia switch? I did a brake job on my car a few years ago, and banging around with the hammer, apparently I set that one off, drove me insane till someone pointed it out to me.

 

I haven't, any guidance on where that is? It sounds like it is under the passenger side kick panel? I will give that a shot.

 

 

If I understand correctly, you have nothing electrical - no dome light, instrument panel lights, etc. - before you get to even trying to start?

If so, suggest to check your terminal connections between the battery oosts and the cable, where the positive cable connects to the solenoid and also powers the auxiliary stuff, and where the negative cable connects to ground(s).

Also, inspect your cables where they come off the battery - have had an instance where the wire had corroded through underneath the insulation and was not readily visible.

Good luck, and keep us posted.

 

That's correct, I have absolutely no sign of any power anywhere. I am going to try new cables after Thanksgiving and see if that helps. My voltage readings were weird around the cables and to the frame, which makes me think they may be the issue, but I have never had everything go dark like it is right now. I tried to help ground the negative post to the frame by using a jumper cable, read that in another post, but it did not help. I will let you know if I make any progress. Thanks for the quick replies.

 

Interesting idea with the jumper cables - may try lifting the positive cable and jumpering from the battery post to the starter solenoid, effectively bypassing the positive cable - figuring the first step is to get things lit back up, then going for the high-amperage draw start.

 

wde3477 pretty well hit it under #5. Start by removing both battery cables from their battery posts and clean the outside of the battery posts and the insides of the cables that go on the battery posts. Clean them well and make sure they tighten up properly.

That will usually solve the problem. If not move farther down the line with the battery cables. There is also a chance one of the battery cables is shorting internally.

 

Made some progress today, and have narrowed it down to a negative battery cable issue. I jumped from the negative battery terminal directly to the engine block, totally bypassing the negative cable, and I got it to power on and try to start. When I get my new cables tomorrow I think I will be closer to getting it running.

 

If the new - cable doesn't have a tab partway to ground to the frame, you should run one.
Your problem is probably a dirty connection at the block; fairly common.