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HELP! Truck wont start

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Old 04-23-2018, 12:06 AM
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HELP! Truck wont start

Hello, I have a 91.5 W250 and just recently my truck stopped working. Drove it to Home Depot got some things, got back in my truck and dead. Tried jumping but it didn't work so I got a new battery and I am still not getting any power to the truck. Lights wont even turn on. The only time the light will come on is when I attach jumper cables but it is not enough to start the truck. Anyone ever have this issue?
Old 04-23-2018, 06:24 AM
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91.5 Cummins powered dodges ( I'm under the impression ) are slightly different wiring, but all the basics are all the same. Unfortunately the info you've provided isn't clear enough to understand.

Here are some things you can do

  • Make sure all battery connections are clean and the battery is fully charged.
  • Test wiring from,battery to starter to ensure you have power to the starter solenoid (big wire )
  • Ground wires are clean and tight at rad support, engine block, and firewall
  • Inspect and test fuseable links from on fenderwell behind battery for breaks and /or burned feeds
  • Run a test lead light to the solenoid and have someone turn the ignition switch to see if you are getting power to the solenoid (small wire) when turning the key
  • Inspect and swap out starter relay to eliminate a bad relay


Good start to figure it out. The sticky has all the info under the electrical section and will help guide you along.



If you have a,fully charged battery, and nothing is happening, you have a short either in the fusable links, bad solenoid, bad ignition switch, or bad starter relay, or worn out starter (least likely)


Bone up on the sticky so you can start your diagnosis, vs just swapping parts.
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Old 04-23-2018, 08:13 AM
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First thing get a battery terminal brush and clean the terminals really good.
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Old 04-23-2018, 02:23 PM
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Check the bullet connector off of the battery positive post. It's a 6ga cable and this is the main feed to the fusible links but ultimately everything on the truck.
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Old 04-23-2018, 06:02 PM
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Originally Posted by hamjy90
Hello, I have a 91.5 W250 and just recently my truck stopped working. Drove it to Home Depot got some things, got back in my truck and dead. Tried jumping but it didn't work so I got a new battery and I am still not getting any power to the truck. Lights wont even turn on. The only time the light will come on is when I attach jumper cables but it is not enough to start the truck. Anyone ever have this issue?
What light. If headlights, the underhood light, etc, then:
The new battery is dead.
Old 04-24-2018, 02:58 AM
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Originally Posted by NJTman
91.5 Cummins powered dodges ( I'm under the impression ) are slightly different wiring, but all the basics are all the same. Unfortunately the info you've provided isn't clear enough to understand.

Here are some things you can do
  • Make sure all battery connections are clean and the battery is fully charged.
  • Test wiring from,battery to starter to ensure you have power to the starter solenoid (big wire )
  • Ground wires are clean and tight at rad support, engine block, and firewall
  • Inspect and test fuseable links from on fenderwell behind battery for breaks and /or burned feeds
  • Run a test lead light to the solenoid and have someone turn the ignition switch to see if you are getting power to the solenoid (small wire) when turning the key
  • Inspect and swap out starter relay to eliminate a bad relay


Good start to figure it out. The sticky has all the info under the electrical section and will help guide you along.



If you have a,fully charged battery, and nothing is happening, you have a short either in the fusable links, bad solenoid, bad ignition switch, or bad starter relay, or worn out starter (least likely)


Bone up on the sticky so you can start your diagnosis, vs just swapping parts.
Thanks for the help. I will start looking into all that. Unfortunately the info i provided is exactly what happened and everyone I have spoken to about it all say it doesnt make sense. All I do know is that it is not a battery issue because I took my old battery to autozone and they said it was 94% charged but I still swapped it out with a new one to see if it would make a difference and it did not.
Old 04-24-2018, 03:03 AM
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Originally Posted by j_martin
What light. If headlights, the underhood light, etc, then:
The new battery is dead.
Everything. No lights are coming on. I know for a fact it is not a dead battery issue because I took my old battery which was about 3 months old to autozone and to get it tested. It was still 94% charged but I still swapped it with a new one and still same issue. I put the new battery in, cabin lights came on, put my key in and on the first turn of the key, everything died again. Battery is still fully charged thou and the lights are not coming back on.
Old 04-24-2018, 07:03 AM
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Originally Posted by hamjy90
Everything. No lights are coming on. I know for a fact it is not a dead battery issue because I took my old battery which was about 3 months old to autozone and to get it tested. It was still 94% charged but I still swapped it with a new one and still same issue. I put the new battery in, cabin lights came on, put my key in and on the first turn of the key, everything died again. Battery is still fully charged thou and the lights are not coming back on.
Do you have a volt/ohm meter? Unless you put more on, there is only 1 little ground wire to the frame from the battery. Try taking a jumper cable and put it from the negative battery cable to the frame, on a clean spot on the frame or body and see what happens. There is nothing magic about any of this. If the battery has 12 volts and sufficient current capacity and a good ground, you should have lights. If that doesn't work, go find Harry Potter and try magic...Mark
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Old 04-24-2018, 08:47 AM
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Have you tried harsh language?

Just kidding. The fact that you had some power to the lights when you first hooked it up and then it all went out after you put a real load on it (turned the key) tells me you have a bad connection. Either battery terminals are dirty, cable is corroded inside the terminal or poor ground connections or broken wires. Either way you have a bad connection somewhere from the battery out.
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Old 04-24-2018, 09:07 PM
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Like he ^^^^ says.
Old 04-26-2018, 12:42 PM
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Thanks everybody for the help. Did some troubleshooting with your recommendations and identified the positive lead is internally damaged. Replaced the lead and shes running great! Thank you!
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Old 04-26-2018, 12:53 PM
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Occam's Razor strikes again, I'm glad that you found it...Mark
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