Lost all electrical power

2,350

Asked by Scott Jun 06, 2014 at 05:36 PM about the 1997 Ford F-150

Question type: Maintenance & Repair

All power is gone when I put the
ignition key to start the vehical

21 Answers

2,350

Nothing! Son drove it to Wal-mart to get grocery' sand them came out to a truck that would not start. I went buy to look at it (he is at a nearby college) and unlocked the car and power seat, locks and lights all work. Put the key in the ignition and everything goes dead. Gauges, locks, lights everything. Battery is 6 months old. Weird?

135 people found this helpful.
25,285

so you have power enough for lights,etc.; but, when you try to start it it all dies? before jumping to hooking up another battery .....tell me what happens when you turn the key just to run [not start] with the headlights & radio on.

47 people found this helpful.
2,350

Don't know for sure? Got in after unlocking the door and adjusting the power seat put the key in the ignition and tried to start. After that the power went completely dead. Nothing. No lights no power seats nothing. Then hooked up cable to see if it's the battery and still no lights absolutely nothing. That tells me something is shutting the power to the entire ethical once I tried to start it. Have had the truck since 2005 and nothing like this has ever happened before. Bizarre??

100 people found this helpful.
25,285

could be just the ground strap broke loose, take a look

31 people found this helpful.
1,040

My 85 f250 is doing the same thing. New battery, & new starter solenoid. Turn the key on after sitting for hours and there will be dash lights .. then turn the key and hear a click then nothing.....no lights, no clicks, nothing.

104 people found this helpful.
270

2000 f150 v6 4.2 lost power while driving try put jumper cable on it but spark

27 people found this helpful.
260

Check ur hot wire from the battery to the starter for any corrosion whats happeni g is its allowing enough juice to run light etc. But not enough to crank i bet thats the problem

26 people found this helpful.
430

I was driving my f150 came all the way from Andrews to here to Lubbock yesterday and got here to Lubbock an got in it to go to my apartment I was driving an it just turned off on me and lights come on key goes on and turns all the way, a sign comes up of a car with a lock on it what can I do please help

43 people found this helpful.
290

I got an 89 F150 I had no electric in the cab no headlights nothing then I took off my ground wire that went to the starter then it was bad so check there first

29 people found this helpful.
360

I'm having the same but different problem with my 2005 F150 I did timing chains on it ranit it ran no problem that I put the fan on the police on the fan belt on I go to start and I have no power headlights come on inside lights come on but now nothing else no dash no nothing can't start

36 people found this helpful.
960

I have a 1995 f150 manual i drove the truck to in-laws today and truck turned on without problems and drove fine also. When im leaving their house i go to turn the truck on and it clicks once and then nothing all power is cut off. I took the negative cable off battery and reconnected it and again i had power lights, radio everything works but as soon as i turn key it clicks once and again no power at all. I tried the screw driver on the starter solenoid next to battery on the fender but same thing happens clicks once and then no power. I did notice that every time i turn key there is a small spark at ground terminal. Battery is new about 1month alternator new less than 4 months

96 people found this helpful.
310

2014 F150 supercrew, drove home and parked it the day before, everything appeared to operate as required. Next day I discovered that I my key fob was not operating properly, ie, would not unlock the truck. Had to use the key to unlock the driver side door. No power to ignition, no power to dashboard. Radio, power brake pedal, power driver seat and one other item worked. I popped the hood and checked the charge level of my battery, the battery had a full charge. Called and dealership and they suggested that I jump the truck and if that did not work to tow it in. I tried jumping it and that did not work. I was told that it was most likely a control module gone bad. After tow and repair could be looking at 800.00 total cost to include tow. Considered my options given by dealership, decided to try and disconnect the battery for 15 minutes and reconnect. Truck is currently running just fine. It appears it just needed a re-boot. I am going to let the dealership know what I did and hope they pass this on to others that may have the same problem

31 people found this helpful.
150

2019 Ranger Super Crew. 4k miles. This same thing happened to me last night. Stopped for dinner and when parking everything was working just fine. An hour later we discovered that the key fob was not working properly as it would not unlock the truck. Had to use the key to unlock the door. No power to ignition, no power to dashboard, Radio, lights etc... but the power driver seat and DC charger worked. My husband checked all the battery connections, voltages, fuses etc. Finally he told me to get in, turn the key on and off again. I did this, turned the key all the way to start, nothing. As I came off, everything came back on and then I was able to start the truck. All of this within about 20-30minutes after finding out it was dead. All is working fine now. I'm due for a service and will be talking to the mechanics about this.

15 people found this helpful.
220

I have a 2010 F250, 4 weeks ago I just came home from a 1000 mile trip with no problems. The next morning the same thing happened. Nothing worked except the power seats and the 12 volt port closer to the driver. Turn the key nothing, Batteries are new and good, all the fuses behind the passenger kick panel had power and were removed for contact purposes. Under the hood I checked the fuses and relays, they were all good, but I pulled the relays and replaced them. The fuses to the front of that engine compartment fuse box had no power? I added grounds, added jumpers. I called for a tow truck and they disconnected the transmission to get it on the truck, no power meant no shifting to neutral. The last 3 weeks in the garage and still nothing.. JustAsk was stumped as well, along with a few other mechanics. The ECM is out and being tested as of today.

22 people found this helpful.
80

Though you had an idea for Basically all questions having basically same problem

8 people found this helpful.
200

2004 Ford Expedition 4.6 I go to start the car all the lights turn on perfect as soon as I try to start it everything dies no power whatsoever and it stays that way no power will come back unless I disconnect the battery cables and put them back on and then when I go to try to start it all the lights come back on when I try to start everything goes dead and will not come back no life whatsoever unless I do that battery thing again if anyone is having the same issues and has solved it please let me know

20 people found this helpful.
60

mine did the same thing. i had to disconnect the battery for 10 min to reset the bcm. fired right up after that. do not know why it happened and dealer said nothing found but that sometimes it happens if voltage is low and i did have my 12v cooler plugged in.

6 people found this helpful.
10

Check your battery cables. You would be supprised just how easy it is for your cables to come loose from the cables. Wiggle them and make sure they are tight. And then trace the cables and make sure that with a power meter you are getting power some where other than at the battery terminals.

1 people found this helpful.

my 2003 has done it 3 times first two times manually turned the crankshaft and it started but not this time , Im hoping ignition switch

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