I have an 04 5.4 that acted weird today and won't start now. Have no idea what happen but here is how the day went down.

I made a couple of quick trips to my daughters school this morning with no issues as normal. Truck started warmed up and we went on our way.

Then a little later we had to pick my wife up and get some business done at the bank and then grabbed some lunch. Overall this was about a 20 mile round trip and the truck was fine until we were almost back home.

I was actually cruising down a hill with no throttle or brake when my radio stated goin in and out followed by some clicking and my ABS light flicking in and off then staying in as I headed back up the hill. At the top of the hill I had to stop at a 4 way and shortly before it the brake light came on and stayed on with the ABS light.

No braking issues though. Peddle felt fine and we stopped just as normal. When I pulled into the drive I let it idle for a min or two and it seemed ok. I then shut off the truck and tried starting it again and it would do like a quarter crank and then buzz or click maybe at me followed by all my dash needles going crazy spastic and twitching for a few seconds. They settle right back into normal after that.

After a couple more tries and disconnecting the battery the message center displays "low fuel" and I notice the gas gage is on e and I had 3/4 tank when I pulled into the drive.

I read a few different posts in here and google results and decided to check fuel shut off switch. Tried resetting it and now I just get rapid clicking from the switch area and then crazy needles again.

I am stuck. I'm not a mechanic but I'm not stupid either. Unfortunately I don't have volt meter or such to check batt or stater/alt.

Plz help me! All lights and radio work but I really felt like it was batt related at first. And the worst part is my wife and I were literally just taking about getting it in for a oil change and look over for regular maintenance. And to top it off she actually said she really likes my truck for the first time! Jinx I guess

 

So how old is the battery?
When it goes bad, the computer(s) go nuts, as does everything else.
It's where I'd start.

 

Idk. The date isn't punched on it. Pretty sure it's my problem though. I have only owned the truck since aug of last year. Haven't had any problems with it since I bought it. I just went out and turned the key to own position and the battery gauge barely registers and the headlights are barely lit. I can manage it being the battery, anything more and I might get a little worried.

I'm gonna see about jumpin it when my wife gets home and take it up to oreilys and check the batt and replace it. Hopefully that's the end of it and I can move on. Just really seamed weird that I had no indications of it going bad all day(started right each time).

 

If it was acting up while it was running I would think a loose cable or a charging system issue. Voltage is key with a computer controled vehicle.

 

Well my wife came home and it took a bit but I got it jump started. Left it hooked up for about 5-10 min then disconnected the jumpers. I let the truck run for about another 10 min then went inside to eat din din while it was still running and hopefully charging the battery. When I came back out (~15 min later) the truck wasn't running. The parking lights were on but very dim and when I opened the door the cab lights didn't come on at all. I turned the key off then back to on and the needles went crazy. Absolutely dead.

I am thinking it the alternator? It's too dark for me to get under there and follow all the connections tonight so I guess I will work on it tomorrow. I know the connections on the battery are solid as I took em off and scrubbed and sanded them and put back in solidly.

 

The battery could have dropped a cell and may now be garbage... Bring the battery in for a test and see what happens. Make sure they test it twice after a decent trickle charge.. If the battery checks out good, then check all your fuses and relays. If those are all good then its probably your alternator, or the battery terminals.
Good luck!

 

Replace your bad battery...

 

Replace the battery an have the alternator tested its more then likely bad from trying to charge that dead battery and keep the truck running

 

My battery went bad in the Whataburger drive thru. Even with the key out the relays were going crazy and I could not put in in neutral to push it out of the drive thru. I had to call a tow truck to get it out of the drive thru and I had to disconnect the battery to stop the relays from going nuts. I had never ever seen anything like that with a bad battery. So, like others I would say you need a new battery.

 

Go figure it would crap out on me the day before another snow storm. Oh well. Gonna pull the battery tonight and take it to get checked. Thanks for the responses guys. I like having this forum for advice.