A poor connection at the ‘hot’ side of the solenoid could be the root of your problem.  If this isn't the problem, then I'm not sure about the loss of electrical but the failing to start could be related to a bad ground or connection under the starter solenoid.  At least check that the area under the solenoid is clean and the solenoid itself is mounted snuggly.

Lorena, Texas (South of Waco)

Another horror story, My 82 ramp truck which has the duraspark would die on me all of a sudden. changed the pickup in the distributor the ignition box a couple times, ran a separate grond to the distributor etc, and then found a wire running along my inner fender was chafing on a sharp edge of the inner fender and shorting the ignition out. Check all your wiring and make sure its not shorting somewhere.

55 Vicky & customline

58 Rack Dump, 55 F350 yard truck, 57 F100

59 & 61 P 400's, 58 F100 custom cab, 69 F100, 79 F150, 82 F600 ramp truck, 90 mustang conv 7 up, 94 Mustang, Should I continue?

I had an old Dodge Panel wagon years ago and the isulators on the back of the amp meter were toast so it would short out and I would go to start it sometimes and have nothing, gave me the horrors for a long time, would have to park it on a hill just in case, until I figured it out.

55 Vicky & customline

58 Rack Dump, 55 F350 yard truck, 57 F100

59 & 61 P 400's, 58 F100 custom cab, 69 F100, 79 F150, 82 F600 ramp truck, 90 mustang conv 7 up, 94 Mustang, Should I continue?

The starter on my '56 M100 continues to run when I start the truck because I have a cheap ignition switch that stays sticks slightly in the start position. I have to give the key a nudge back to the run position once the truck starts. The switch is new and its beginning to loosen up a bit.

Mark

1956 Mercury M100
1955 Ford Fairlane Club Sedan
Delta, British Columbia

A four post Ford starter solenoid is cheap entertainment if you want to make the investment - maybe $10-$15 for a cheapie.

One of the clues is the wire lead to the solenoid goes through the neutral start switch - which is on the gear shift - on its way from the ignition switch.

I remember taking a dead one apart 50 years ago and it was full of copper dust......

The "fourth post" on the solenoid is the jumper to the coil - around the ballast resistor. Could also work backwards as a ground.

 
 Steve Metzger       Tucson, Arizona

You might check the ground wire from the engine to the frame/body. My Chrysler Pacifica gave me somewhat similar symptoms and took my friendly Chrysler mechanic a long time to finaly notice that the ground wire from the engine to the unibody was broken. Try adding one if you do not have one.

Lawdogg,

If you have a manual trans there are no electrical conections unless you have reversing lights. The Gen light will come on as revs drop as I said before some charging systems do not work when they idle or low revs, it's how they are designed. A gen light is an indication of low charge.  

If your starter is slow disengaging I would suspect the solenoid. I'm guessing that this shouldn't have power across is it with the engine running. The large terminals. If it's the solenoid it can cause lots of damage to starter and ring gear.

If it's the solenoid it has a lot of power to it and a faulty one will drain your battery.

Cheers

Warren

Grizzly (Aussie Mainline)

thanks everyone. the truck is manual amd I notice that when I shift gears and put it in neutral the "battery" gauge light begins to light up and got keep my foot on the gas to keep it from dying. I will chk it ith a multimeter and see what it reads. I also notice that when i start the truck the starter continues to turn over as the engine is started. Could they be related ?

I am definitely with the rest that battery is easiest. I would wager your readings will be about 2 volts down if a bad cell.

I agree with getting a cheap meter, if the battery swap is not it I would just work outward from there alternator, solenoid, etc check all connections. I once had just a loose connection from the alternator that kept running the battery down.

Mike Rizzo

1963 F100 "Rudy"

Daniel Island, SC

I had similar symptoms when i had a battery going bad. Was an intermittent shorting cell. Car would be running fine and the. It was like someone switched the car off...engine, lights, radio, gauges, everything. Smetimes it would get going again a few seconds later.

Pay attention to see if it drops out when you hit bumps or expansion joints, etc. Also, check voltage at battery terms before and when this happens.

Also, is the whole elec system dead when this happens? Is truck stick or auto?

Ron Grove

Wauconda, IL