I have a 02 4.6L. 2 days ago i came out to the truck and it would not start. The only electrical feedback i was getting from the truck was the drivers door open bell was clicking, trying to signal. Turning the key did nothing. I replaced the battery and now nothing happens, not even the drivers door bell.

Is there a main fuse that i need to reset or possibly replace? Was it a fuse problem to begin with?

The truck probably sat for 3 or 4 days prior to discovering the problem and nothing abnormal was noticed previously. The temperature did go from about 80 to 30 degrees while it was sitting.

 

Assuming that you don't have severely corroded battery cable clamps or something, I think you're dealing with a bad ground. Trace the black cable from the battery to where it attaches to the chassis. I'm willing to bet it's badly corroded and isn't making a good connection. Clean that up and/or replace taht ground cable and I'll bet you're off to the races. If that doesn't do it, trace the red cable out as well and make sure the connection at the relay panel is tight and clean. Let us know what you find.--DIY

 

thanks for the quick reply. I check the ground and it is not corroded at the frame attachement which is only a few inches from the battery on the firewall. Likewise the positive terminal wires are not seeing any corrision. In fact there was absolutly no corrision on the old battery terminals.

There is one thing i notice. The positive line leaves the terminal and splits sending a wire down under the engine and the other to the firewall. The wire runs essentially through a conduit across the fire wall to the drivers side of the engine compartment. I can see what looks to be some browning of the plastic tape / sleeve around the bundle of wires in this conduit through a hole in the conduit. I can't however easily take this conduit piece off...it seems to be a extention of the firewall construction.

it also doesn't help that it is 26 degrees and the truck is parked on the street.

 

LOL, I know what you mean. I with you there. It's 25 here in NE Ohio. I'm wondering if the wire is damaged in that spot. Hard to tell without seeing it though. If you have a 12V test light or an electrical tester you could check for voltage at the relay panel under the hood. The spot where the wire splits to go down to the starter could also be a problem. The best thing to do would be to check for voltage at the relay panel or fuse block. You'll need a test light or volt meret for this though. If you don't have a test light you should be able to pick one up for a few bucks at an auto parts store. Until we know whether you have juice at the relay panel, there's not a whole lot more we can do.--DIY

 

I do have a voltmeter and will be able to check for shorts. First though, where is the relay panel under the hood that you are refering to. Is that in close proximity to the battery, attached to the firwall, with the battery line connected to 2 hubs that then split the lines to the alternator, fuse box ect? Forgive my lack of electrical on top of lack of automovite knowledge.

 

No problem. The relay box is located on the drivers side under the hood. It sits just inside the edge of the fender. It is a black box with a hinged cover that opens toward the front of the truck. There is a little plastic latch on the back (toward the firewall) side of the relay box. This has all of your big fuses in it as well as the relays taht run all of your electrical accessories. Check for voltage there as well as any loose connections.--DIY

 

I just went out and looked at my truck and the little round block on the firewall right near the battery should have 12V on the bottom terminal with the key in the off position.
In the relay panel, toward the back of the box there are several circuit breakers that have clear tops. If you have any open locations for those circuit breakers, there is a flat prong sticking up in the opening the breakers would snap into. You should have 12V on those as well.--DIY

 

Thanks DIY. As i'm playing with the tester i'm reading no voltage across the NEW battery as it is installed in the truck. I do however read 12 volts across my old battery that is sitting in the back of the truck connected to nothing. i don't think i have an issue with my tester / method becuase i can go from testing the old to testing the new with in seconds. Does this ring any bells? I think i'm going to put the old battery in just to see what happens.

 

Hmmm, are you using both battery terminals for your tester? ie one on the positive and one on the negative? Or are you touching the ground side to the chassis of the truck? I'm wondering if you either have a short somewhere that is draining your battery, or maybe your new battery was dead when you bought it.
Either way, it can't hurt to try the old one again.--DIY

 

alright DIY...

i unhooked the terminals to the new battery and tested the new battery while it wasn't connected to anything and got no juice. It looks like Advanced Auto sold me a dead battery? I hooked up the old battery. I read about 10 volts on the old battery while it is hooked to nothing and about 8 volts when it is hooked to the truck. I also read 8 volts or so at the 2 spots you just mentioned (at the round firewall block and at one of the empty fuses inside the engine compartment. Additionally the clicking noise i heard of teh door chime trying to ding is back and the dome light comes on but dull.

I still get absolutely nothing when i turn my key. nothing. Do i just need an "actual new battery" not an $80 dead one???

 

You could try to jump start the thing, but it sounds to me like you have some kind of a short in the system. Try to jump it, but don't leave it hooked up to another vehicle any longer than you need to b/c of the possibility that you have a short. So either, you have a short that drained the battery, or you're right...Advance Auto sold you a dead battery.--DIY

 

Well my dad came in and brought his battery charger. When hooking the NEW battery up to the charger it was reading that the battery was full...when testing the battery it would read empty. Therefore it essentially isn't a battery. I was able to return it for all my money but Advance Auto wasn't able to compensate me for my lost time today that we spent trying to figure out if i had a short.

We charged up the old battery and it took charge for over an hour and fired the truck right up. It still isn't reading the full 12 volts but it atleast fired the truck today.

I guess i could still have a little short or some other issue that drained the battery in the first place over the 4 days of sitting. I will run the truck everyday here until it atleast gets warmer out to see if i have an issue. I don't think i had any lights ect on but i guess my door could have been ajar.

DIY - thanks so much for your help today. Being that you were able to respond so quickly while i was actully doing the work totally sold me on this site. My thanks to you. I'd love to have those 7 hours back but i atleast learned quite a bit about batteries and my electrical system. Thanks again.

 

Just glad to hear you got it fixed. Sorta rough that the whole thing was based around the fact that they sold you a bum battery. LOL, I guess. Live and learn.

This site is a great resource to have at your disposal. Not only can you get advice, it's also a good place to do a little reading when trying to learn a few things. I will warn you though, that after looking around here for a while you'll have a hard time leaving your stock truck alone. You'll find yourself doing little mods to make it your own. Let me know when you wanna start doing that as well and I'll give you a few tips on cheap (some are free) places to start. Glad you're up and running.--DIY