Aight guys I have a 97 f150 that I just bought and everything was running good while bringin it home. I go to start it up this mornin and nothin happens...its not even turning over. When I put the key into the ignition and turn it once it makes this clicking noise like its tryin to reset itself....I think it may be the battery but honestly I dont know...the only reason it could be the battery is because I have been messin with it for like 3 hours now haha. I jumped it and it worked for like 2 seconds and then when I got all happy that it started I turned it off and later tried again just to see if it was okay and it wouldnt turn over again.....what do yall think is goin on?

 

sounds like you need to fully charge the battery, and then see what happens. I bet it's just a dead battery. Get a jump and let it run for a half hour or so to charge the battery. Then let it sit and try starting it. Just letting it run for a few seconds or minutes will not charge the battery up enough to start it again. If your battery keeps dying after it is fully charged then you might have a bad altenator or a loose wire somewhere. Or your battery may be toast.

 

I was hopin thats what it was so I didnt have to go buy any fuses or a new battery or anything like that....so I will go try that and see if that helps..

 

First check the battery terminals they must be tight and clean. Get a cheap test meter (Walmart $8) set to the volt gauge it should read around 12 volts or better. Any less and the battery needs charging. Try to charge the battery. If the battery will recharge, it should read 13 volts (after being just charged, if 10 or less its done! If your truck will now start, you need to check the charging voltage at the battery, this should be around 14 volts. Again any less then the charging system needs work.

 

Aight so I just tightened everything and tracked down a battery charger and its been chargin for about 5 minutes and it started...so I am just gonna let it charge until its done and hopefully thats all I had to do...I will update later..thanks yall

 

What engine is in your truck?

 

Aight that seemed to work guys.....its up and runnin like the truck it was when I got it haha....so thanks again



oh and its a 4.6
im gonna try to get a pic on here pretty soon

 

Sounds like a bad battery...and howdy

 

well hopefully it will start tomorrow mornin! if not im back on here to seek more advice

 

YEA!!!!!! it started this mornin after chargin yesterday for a while! woohooo so thanks for all yalls help!

 

But the big ? is whether or not it will keep starting. If it doesn't, then you need a new battery.

 

If one of the terminals was loose, thats probably what it was. A little corrosion or lose terminal will cause that. Seen it happen alot. Keep the terminal clamps in good cond, and you can spray some white lithium on them to prevent corrosion too.

 

I was going to suggest having a load test done to the battery to determine if there are any bad cells.But,if you're satisfied........

 

Well it turns out that I had to go to auto zone to go get some oil cuz i needed to change it and i was like hey lets get the battery checked since its free...got it checked and the battery was good then he told me that i will pretty soon have to get an alternator GAY!!! so thats 155 bucks damn it!!! :P

 

A bad alternator will also take out a battery!