I just replaced my battery cables on my 56 ford f100, which were a 6 gauge cable and replaced with a 2 gauge cable. I replaced them just as they were when I took off the old cables. The neg cable was bolted to the the frame and ran to the battery post. The pos ran from the starter solenoid and to the pos side of battery post. That was all that I did. So when I tried to start i heard and saw a small sprk from the battery. after that happened I had no electrical power to anything and the truck will not even turn over at all. The battery was fully charged because I had just taken it off of the battery charger. The cabeles were not crossed on the battery posts. It is the old style ignition system with generator and voltage regulator and all the old stuff. I took off the new cables and put the old one back on and even replaced the starter solenoid and still nothing at all. Any ideas????

Why not try another battery?

  AussieBill            YYYY    Forever Y Block     YYYY

 Down Under, Australia

I'm thinking your ground wire is not making enough of a contact. take it loose from the frame and clean the area and retorque. my2cs

also take your battery cables of again.ive had trouble with old solenoids before just taking the cable of with frig them.

This is more of a WAG (wild ass guess) than a real idea but most 1955 Fords were positive ground. Has your truck been converted to negative ground

You wrote " The neg cable was bolted to the the frame and ran to the battery post. The pos ran from the starter solenoid and to the pos side of battery post. That was all that I did. So when I tried to start i heard and saw a small sprk from the battery. after that happened I had no electrical power to anything and the truck will not even turn over at all. The battery was fully charged because I had just taken it off of the battery charger. The cabeles were not crossed on the battery posts. It is the old style ignition system with generator and voltage regulator and all the old stuff. I took off the new cables and put the old one back on and even replaced the starter solenoid and still nothing at all. Any ideas????

Pete

edited due to incorrect info. My bad, sorry for any confusion I may have caused.

'56 Fords were 12V neg ground in the US.  Anyway, the starter should work either polarity.

You mentioned a spark at the battery the first time you tried.  That's where I would start.  Corroded battery post?  Cable terminal closing up before actually tightening on the post.  Newer batteries seem to have slightly smaller posts than the old ones.

John - "The Hoosier Hurricane"

Just sharing some ideas here. Remember my brother have starting problem with his pontiac. The starter was bearly going around and the lights was just glowing. We did charge the battery and tried again, the same problem was there. Then we desided to meassure the battery, it was like 6V there (When cranking it was down to 3-4V). The problem was that the volt regaulator was not working, and the generator was charging to much and destroyed the battery.We changed the battery and it fired right upp. My point is, be shure that the battery is in good condition if you have starting problem

Lawdog1,

If it "sparked" at the post, you likely have a poor connection there; try cleaning it again and re-connecting; my tractor battery connections do this all the time, as I disconnect the battery ground cable at the post when not in use.

Most battery "ground" cables go right to the engine block somewhere near the starter as the very best starting electrical connection due to the high starting amperage used.

To, then through, the frame & on to the engine through another strap is a poor idea; the electrical ground for lights, accessories, heater blower, etc, should come from the grounded engine block to the frame, rather than the other way 'round for best starter/starting performance.

'56 was the 1st year that Ford used 12V - negative ground electrical systems on passenger cars and light trucks (I don't know about others).

Hope this helps.

Regards, JLB

55 Ford Crown Victoria Steel Top

Is it possible the battery just "died" when you put a load on it trying to start?Check the battery with a voltmeter or hygrometer.If all you did was change cables and they are correct the battery is the next logical problem.Try a known good battery.Just a question.When you turn the key to the first position (run) before you turn it further to start the truck,does the gauges etc power up?Just wanted to be sure the ignition switch is not dead.

  

If you have volt meter check the battery voltage as it should be 12v plus.  Make sure you are on the battery terminals and not the cables!  If not it needs charged.  If its is 12v+ then have someone try to start the truck while you read the voltage.  If the voltage drops below 10v you probably have a bad battery if the voltage stays or drops just a small amount say half a volt then the battery is not your problem.  Try taking the treminals of and scuffing them up just to ensure you are making good connections. 

Next step would be to trace the voltage adn make sure you get voltage to the solenoid.  Then put your volt meter on the other side of the solenoid and have some one start the car again.  You should have voltage to the other side when they try to start the truck.  If not your solenoid is bad.  

Hope this helps.

Warsaw, IN