Hello all, having an issue with my 97 f-150. Pulled into the driveway last night and turned the truck off. Got out and realized that i forgot something and needed to run back out. Turned the key and i have no crank or click or any noise of any kind. All of the interior and exterior lights work. I replaced the starter solenoid for the hell of it, but no go. Checked the terminal ends connecting to the battery and they seem fine. I was planning on trying a new battery as the die hard in there is about 7 years old. Would a battery still power the lights nice and bright, but not be able to start the truck? Not even get a click? And die that fast?

 

No. If the battery or cables were bad, the lights would dim when you tried the starter.

You've got a problem that is exclusive to the starter circuit. That means ignition switch, CPP/DTR switch, fuse, starter relay, starter, or associated wiring.

Please note that the starter solenoid is physically mounted to the starter motor....

 

Correction, it was the starter relay that i replaced. Planning on pulling the starter and having it tested. We'll see how that goes.

 

That would be the hard way to diagnose the fault...

"Feeling lucky?"

 

starter, could be alternator but usually the vehicle acts weird if its that

 

Well, it's not the starter. I had it tested. Was told that it was bad. Put a new one in and it's doing the same thing. Any chance that this could be a cable issue coming from the battery?

 

could be a security fault. Went through the same problems with my old Cobra. Replaced a bunch of stuff and finally gave up and had the dealership look at it. The computer needed to be reset...or something along those lines.

 

Turns out, it must be a problem with the neutral safety switch. I moved the shifter from park to neutral and back, and it fired right up. It makes sense now because the last thing I did when it was running was put it in park and turn it off. Thanks for all, of the replies!