Complete powerloss

[jerula]

Hi,

A few times over the past few days I experienced the truck wouldn't start. There was no power at all, lights, blower, starter ... nothing. Waiting a few minutes and I could start it again.
This happened like 3-4 times. Now, as I got home last night, I parked it and now it is just completely dead.

The battery is fine I should add. I checked the fuses and the fuse box - all good.

I found some people discussing this problem and they seem to point to replacing the ignition switch. As this is my first truck and I have no previous experience with cars, I have no clue what I should do. A friend of mine suggested that there must be a thermal fuse or switch somewhere that is broken. He's a Ford man, so that was all the help he could offer.

So, my question is - is there a thermal fuse or regulator or something else on the truck that I could check?

It's a 74 c10.

Thank you.

/Jesper

 

[Dmack]

I'm sure more knowledgeable people will chime in, but I believe there is a fusible link in the main power wire from the starter. However, it should be working if in tact, or dead if it is blown. It shouldn't be intermittent. Sounds like a bad component or connection that comes and goes. Those are the worst. I would start with a test light and see where you lose power, starting at the battery to the fuse block and moving on from there.

 

[SirRobyn0]

Fusible link, ignition switch is all possible, but start with the basics first. Side terminal batteries will sometimes get a build up of corrosion, between the terminal and the battery or between the head of the bolt and the terminal or under the rubber. It can be a real pain in the butt to get that stuff cleaned up but please take the time to take both terminals apart and inspect them really good. After that check the main ground and the connection on the starter end.

If that checks out we'll look other things but you need to start with the basics.

 

[Grit dog]

^This was a problem on a very clean 01 Tahoe we had last year.
Spotless vehicle, new looking battery, ran fine most of the time, sometimes just dead, randomly.
After spending a bunch of time trying to diagnose technical issues, I removed the nice clean terminals from the shiny new battery and there was a ton of corrosion and one of the cables was arcing and welding itself just enough to run, or sometimes not.
Cut most of the insulation out from the back side of the terminals and cleaned everything up, no more issues.

 

[SirRobyn0]

^This was a problem on a very clean 01 Tahoe we had last year.
Spotless vehicle, new looking battery, ran fine most of the time, sometimes just dead, randomly.
After spending a bunch of time trying to diagnose technical issues, I removed the nice clean terminals from the shiny new battery and there was a ton of corrosion and one of the cables was arcing and welding itself just enough to run, or sometimes not.
Cut most of the insulation out from the back side of the terminals and cleaned everything up, no more issues.

This is exactly what I'm talking about, sometimes corrosion can be sneaky!

 

[Termite_Delight]

I would check the fusible link at the starter, i had intermittent power in my C30. the PO had changed the starter, battery and alternator trying to fix the problem.

 

[jerula]

Thank you guys. I started from the battery and worked my way back. Upon closer inspection of the battery cables, with Grit Dog's post in mind, I took a good look and decided a cleanup might be a good idea and would you know it - now it runs perfectly fine again ... gosh, electronics really isn't my thing

Thank you again.