Dead deuce

[F-Twelve]

I was changing the headlights to LEDs then got distracted by family and left the ignition switch and light power on (all gauges were active). I left it for a few days without realizing it and now nothing will work. I've turned the light control off and on multiple times. And the ignition switch on and off multiple times and nothing. I put the batteries on a trickle charger and they're all good but still nothing. I have the TM and a multi-meter but I haven't had a chance to pull the dash. I was thinking the circuit breaker might be bad. Thoughts on that? And the light switch was replaced prior to my buying it (1970s M35A2) w/ a single pull switch w/ off, high, low positions only. It won't start and nothing will turn on. Any ideas? Or do I just need to pull the dash and start testing w/ the meter? Thanks in advance

 

[HDN]

This just happened to me - my batteries went dead when I accidentally left the parking lights on the truck! It took about 3.5 days with 800 mA Battery Tenders to charge from zero to starting maintenance mode. However I did have power when I flipped the master electrical switch and was able to start the truck up without a problem.

Did you remove the batteries from the truck to charge them? The first thing that comes to mind are dirty battery terminals, then loose or damaged battery cables.

 

[Valley Rock]

Load test your batteries to make sure that they have amperage, and if they test good then use your multimeter to find out where the juice stops .

 

[cattlerepairman]

You mention that you used a "trickle charger". These are usually under or at 1A. With double batteries, you need a bit more charging "oomph" than that to resurrect two truly dead batteries. Maybe you did, maybe you had them on for a week and they are full.

It is a great time to also check the individual cells of the batteries for electrolyte level. "Maintenance free batteries" are like the "self cleaning oven". They aren't. You can also check electrolyte density for charging level.

If the Deuce started before, then changing the headlights ought to have exactly no effect on this, whatsoever.

If your batteries are charged, follow the leads (literally). Anything from a broken battery cable, bad terminal connector to a bad accessory switch in the dash.

I bet you dollars to donughnuts, it is something stupidly simple.

 

[Barrman]

Do all that was suggested above about the batteries. If you end up with 2 good fully charged and load tested batteries and still nothing at the switch.

Check for power at the alternator and at the starter solenoid hidden behind the air filter housing. If you have 24 volts there, then go to the back of the on/off switch. There are 4 wires at the switch. 2 are hot with the batteries and 2 are switched on.

Let us know what you find.

 

[glcaines]

Trickle chargers and maintainers aren't designed to charge dead batteries. You need to get a real battery charger, and if you have AGM batteries, make sure you have a charger designed to charge AGM batteries. You are much better off charging each battery separately at 12 VDC instead of both together at 24 VDC. Clean the battery post and cable terminals prior to charging. I've seen several people try to charge their batteries by attaching the charger leads to the cable terminals, which were not making good contact with the battery posts. They went out and purchased new batteries that weren't needed because of poor connections. After your batteries are fully charged, load test them. If they pass the load test, use a multimeter to find out where the problem lies.

 

[Valley Rock]

On second thought give that thing a tug or a bump, let It crack off, drive it around and allow the old Generator will do its job .

Easy peasy

 

[G744]

Your truck is cursed. Find a mechanic that groks exorcisms.

Or jump it from a good set of batteries.

 

[Jeepsinker]

Take a look at your main battery ground connection at the frame behind the battery box. They have a habit of breaking off just from vibration. Yours may have been just barely hanging on and broken off if you moved the batteries or cables at all. If it's not that, check power at ( if memory serves) the #10 wire coming off the starter solenoid connection. That's your main wire harness power feed.

 

[F-Twelve]

Take a look at your main battery ground connection at the frame behind the battery box. They have a habit of breaking off just from vibration. Yours may have been just barely hanging on and broken off if you moved the batteries or cables at all. If it's not that, check power at ( if memory serves) the #10 wire coming off the starter solenoid connection. That's your main wire harness power feed.

Is there a fuse between the battery and the ignition? It's odd the entire instrument panel won't power up and the starter button/engine won't do anything.

 

[cattlerepairman]

Is there a fuse between the battery and the ignition? It's odd the entire instrument panel won't power up and the starter button/engine won't do anything.

The common point is the auxiliary power switch

Sent from my SM-G991W using Tapatalk

 

[Jeepsinker]

No there are no fuses or fusible links at all. Some trucks have a circuit breaker on the firewall near the steering column in the engine bay. Either you have a broken wire, wire connector, or your power switch is bad.

 

[F-Twelve]

Thank you to everyone for the expertise. Deuce is running now. Solution: Completely removed all battery terminals, sanded/cleaned them all, and used contact jelly. And replaced the accessory switch.