SilentBounty

So today I was driving the ol' beater truck through some dirt roads, mud holes, and generally making it fulfill its purpose as a beater. Well I hit a huge rut in the road and the motor stalled and stopped. No biggie, right? Well when I go to start it back up, nothing works. No dash lights, clock, radio, gauges, starter, horn, lights, nothing at all. Being 10 miles from the nearest dwelling, I proceed to internally have a freak out. I popped the hood and thought the battery must have crapped out entirely or something. I found a fork of all things in the bed and stuck it between the posts of the battery. Got sparks so that wasn't the problem. Checked all the fuses, none blown that I could find (Never located the ECM fuse in the cab.) And still nothing. I wiggled the battery cable for a second and it worked for a split-second then everything quit again. I only managed to do that twice. I think it has something to do with the battery cable but I'm not sure. It got too dark for me to trace it. Had to be towed home, up and down steep, winding dirt roads, with a log chain hooked to another truck. Just depressed the clutch, put it in 1st and rode the brakes hard. So is this something major or just a battery cable? I was hoping maybe someone had the same problem and solved it. I'm thinking i jarred something loose.

RJR

Since it worked for an instant when you wiggled the battery cable, I would suspect one of two things, in order of likelihood:
- Corrosion between the cable and the battery terminal itself. Usually shows up as a greenish colored transluscent film. The cable feel like it's on tight and still no connection. Pull both cables off the battery and scrape and brush the inside of the cable clamp and the outsided of the battery terminals until they are bright and shiny. Reassemble and test.
- A corroded battery cable inside the insulation. Usually happens right near the battery terminal, more likely on the + lead. That will require either replacing the entire cable (best, but a pain), or cutting off the bad end and putting a new clamp-on terminal on it. That's a somewhat temporary fix, because now you have a new place for corrosion to set in.

highonpottery

iTrader: (1)

Since you said it happened after a big jolt to the rig, my first guess is you have an issue with a ground wire somewhere. I would check those and make sure they are good clean connections to the metal of the body/chassis. I think our rigs have at least 3 of them. It's a free repair and if it's not the issue then you will at least have excellent grounding connections, which is ALWAYS a plus when diagnosing electrical gremlins. Good luck!

wyoming9

iTrader: (1)

Another possible issue.

The impact was so severe it almost broke one of the battery posts where it is attached to the plates.

Depending who made the battery and how old.

I say corroded terminals or poor grounds most likely.

SilentBounty

Alright thank ya'll for the help! Much appreciated! I fixed the issue this evening. The fusible link on the positive post of the battery that supplies juice to the fuse box had a bad connection. This makes since because if the fuse box had no juice then nothing else could work, explaining the everything failure. The battery is old and needs a good cleaning, which I neglected to do, so that's the bad connection I'm guessing. I put a washer down between it and the post and it has held a good connection and everything is functional again. maybe this thread will help someone else with this problem, considering it was so simple! Thanks again for the help guys!