Hey folks,

So the other day we are out doing some shopping. We come out of a store, go to start the truck and nothing. No radio, no dinging, nothing.
I let off the clutch to get out and a relay started clicking. I'm thinking maybe that clutch safety switch thing. Open the fuse panel, find th erelay that is clicking and don't see any problems with it try swapping it with the other one just like it but nothing again.
I then notice that if I turn the key back I get the radio but it has been completly reset. Open the hood battery indicator is green. All connections seem secure. Checked positive cable, not grounding or anything. Pull out the jumper cables and a very nice lady in a Lexus SUV offers me a jump (no comments please ) I hook it up and my truck will turn over a little but not enough to start and I don't want to keep her there all day so I tell her thanks that I will just have to buy a new battery.

Then another very nice lady heard this and offers to drive me and my wife where ever we need to go to get a battery ( I have never been so thankful in my life as I really do not want to walk 3 miles much less 3 miles back carrying a battery for this truck) put the battery in the truck and it fires right up. I'm guessing I had a bad cell in the battery. I have never had this problem where I get nothing with the key turned forward but get at least some power when it is all the way back.

Thought you might find it intresting.

 

I recently had a similar problem, but not related to the battery...though it did cause me to get a new one prior to getting to the real problem (instead of methodically trying to troubleshoot the thing, hey...just chuck a new battery in there).

I had been noticing an intermittant problem starting the truck...it would take a moment to catch, then to slowly turn over, almost like it was -40 outside...then it would fire up. Later, nearly 500 miles from home in New Hampshire, it just didn't start. I got a click from a relay, all the dash warning lights came on, and the radio would work...but no starting. I let it sit there while thinking of another way to get home (knowing it wasn't the battery), then tried again for what I thought would be a vain attempt to start it up...and to my great relief, it did.

Come to find out from a friend who suggested I check the starter wires, one of them was very corroded, as if it was loose and there was alot of arcing of current taking place. I took em apart, cleaned them up and retightened them, and haven't had a problem since.

So, try checking the starter wires. Easy to find...just climb under the passenger side and look for the two wires. Let me know what you find....I'm curious to know if this has happened on other trucks.

Hope this helps you find your problem.

 

I bought mine used in July. A few weeks after I bought it, it did the same thing. Everything electrical worked, it just wouldn't start. I could hear and feel the starter solonoid working but the starter wouldn't turn. The dealer replaced the cables From the battery to the starter under warranty.

DF

 

Battery failures can be tough to diagnose. The battery on my Tbird failed _while_ I was cranking - the lights on the dash would come on but everything died when I went to crank.

As long as I had a small load on the battery it was fine, but larger loads caused it to drop out. After a very tough jumpstart (it was drawing ALL the power from the other battery) I got the car home. I replaced the starter solenoid becuase it was easy and cheap, but no dice. Took the battery in for a load test and it wouldn't charge hardly at all.

Luckily it was in year 4 of the 7 year warranty (it wasn't the original battery) and I got a discount off of the new battery.....