- Joined
- Jun 14, 2016
- Messages
- 27
- Reaction score
- 5
- Points
- 3
- Location
- Maple Valley, WA
- Vehicle Year
- 1989
- Make / Model
- Ford
- Engine Type
- 2.9 V6
- Engine Size
- 2.9L
- Transmission
- Manual
- 2WD / 4WD
- 4WD
If the battery was connected when it went dead (I'm assuming), I would definitely check the starter switch. I know it's a pain to get to, but it sounds like you've got a short somewhere, and that would be a good thing to check off of your troubleshooting list. At least you would know either way. Like I said before, I have seen the switches start to come apart, and as a temporary fix you can squeeze the metal tabs on the corners to pull it back together. If you pull the switch out and it comes apart in the process, you'll know.
Like snoranger said, the battery terminals can cause problems if they're really bad. But I think it's more likely to be at the battery side of the cables than the engine block side. I'd say that if you tug on the negative cable to check how solid it's connected to the block and the cable doesn't pull off , you should be okay there. The battery side is usually the problematic side. I've never had a cable go bad at the block, but I don't live where they salt the roads very often, and I suppose that could have an effect on it over time.
You need to find what is drawing power with everything off. That could be what's causing all of your problems. A bad negative/ground cable won't cause a power draw when the truck sits. Actually, if that negative cable to the engine was bad, you would probably have starter issues, as the starter would not be getting a sufficient ground to operate properly. I don't think there's any other good reason to have that large of a ground going to the block.
Well...after quite a fight...I got the ignition switch off. Ford definitely made it so they didn't want the owner messing with this......what a pain!
See anything that looks worn or out of the ordinary? Looks ok to me...but this is the first one I've ever handled.
Thanks,
Dow