Truck won't start
08-24-2011, 05:08 PM
#1
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Truck won't start
1990 F150 5.0 4x4 auto
I parked the truck in April because I failed inspection (drum brakes, been resolved) and didn't have the time or discipline to take care of it. I decided to get it going last week and have run into a few problems.
I found that the battery was dead and autozone said it was toast. I bought a new one and the truck fired up just fine. They next day I tried to start it and the new battery was dead. It was a quick jump and it started up just fine.
A few days later I had fixed the brakes and was going to get it reinspected. The battery was dead and it had to be jumped. I figured it would be charged by the time I got to the testing center and shut it off to find it wouldn't start back up. They were about to close so I agreed to come back another day so I drove back home and parked the truck.
I figured the battery would be dead so I left it there for a few days before trying to get it going again and have found that whatever I do I can't get it fired up now.
Yesterday I had some free time and tried to get things going. I hooked it up for a jump and let it sit while revving the donor car to 2600 rpm's for about 20 minutes. At one point it was cranking but would not fire. I checked the voltage with a multimeter and the highest it ever got was 11.6. I did notice that if I had the jumper cables disconnected it seemed the voltage was dropping. In a span of ten minutes it dropped from 11.6 to 11.2 with the keys out of the ignition and everything off.
After about two hours of working to get it going I tried to jump it again and couldn't get it to even crank. It just clicked once.
Here are a few things that I did to trouble shoot the problem:
cleaned the ground from the neg to the frame. (the ground right next to the battery).
cleaned the one wire contact going to the starter.
tested the voltage while being jumped (13.4 ish v)
i was jumping it battery to battery. (neg to neg, pos to pos)
My truck is having all the hesitation/rough idle issues that people are posting about and I am not sure if/how related they could be to my starting problem.
I am definitely a noob but can follow instructions and am very proficient with google. Any help or ideas are very appreciated.
sanctified
I parked the truck in April because I failed inspection (drum brakes, been resolved) and didn't have the time or discipline to take care of it. I decided to get it going last week and have run into a few problems.
I found that the battery was dead and autozone said it was toast. I bought a new one and the truck fired up just fine. They next day I tried to start it and the new battery was dead. It was a quick jump and it started up just fine.
A few days later I had fixed the brakes and was going to get it reinspected. The battery was dead and it had to be jumped. I figured it would be charged by the time I got to the testing center and shut it off to find it wouldn't start back up. They were about to close so I agreed to come back another day so I drove back home and parked the truck.
I figured the battery would be dead so I left it there for a few days before trying to get it going again and have found that whatever I do I can't get it fired up now.
Yesterday I had some free time and tried to get things going. I hooked it up for a jump and let it sit while revving the donor car to 2600 rpm's for about 20 minutes. At one point it was cranking but would not fire. I checked the voltage with a multimeter and the highest it ever got was 11.6. I did notice that if I had the jumper cables disconnected it seemed the voltage was dropping. In a span of ten minutes it dropped from 11.6 to 11.2 with the keys out of the ignition and everything off.
After about two hours of working to get it going I tried to jump it again and couldn't get it to even crank. It just clicked once.
Here are a few things that I did to trouble shoot the problem:
cleaned the ground from the neg to the frame. (the ground right next to the battery).
cleaned the one wire contact going to the starter.
tested the voltage while being jumped (13.4 ish v)
i was jumping it battery to battery. (neg to neg, pos to pos)
My truck is having all the hesitation/rough idle issues that people are posting about and I am not sure if/how related they could be to my starting problem.
I am definitely a noob but can follow instructions and am very proficient with google. Any help or ideas are very appreciated.
sanctified
08-25-2011, 07:21 PM
#3
Wondertwin2
Join Date: Dec 2010
Location: Ohio
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Question... will it crank, at all? Or does it just click as of now?
something is drawing from your battery. Something's either not shutting off, or your alt isn't charging the battery when it's being driven. Or idling, for that matter.
something is drawing from your battery. Something's either not shutting off, or your alt isn't charging the battery when it's being driven. Or idling, for that matter.