W900A no power to ignition or lights

Hi all,

One day I went to start the truck. It started as soon as I turned the key. One of the batteries started smoking, so I turned off the truck right away (and the ignition was in off). After letting everything sit for a while, I disconnected the bad battery and placed it to the side. The other batteries looked ok.

I traced the problem to a bad ground wire that went from the battery to the starter. I replaced that cable, and also the battery cables. The nut that the neutral wire attached to came loose (on back of starter) and I retightened that nut and bolt. I cleaned and tightened everything up, and proceeded to place the key first to the on position. I heard the buzzer, and then started the truck, and it started as soon as I turned the key.

I let the truck run for a while, checked the lights, etc., and then shut it down. Everything seemed back to normal. A few days later I went to go start the truck. When I turned the ignition to the on position, this time there was no buzzer. I checked the lights, and they didn't work. The only thing that worked was the CB that was lit up.

So now I am trying to narrow the problem down. I looked in the battery box, and there appears to be an original Klixon NDLA-135-1 auto reset circuit breaker. Along with that there is a Pollak starter solenoid (old one 85Amps, new one is rated to 100Amps as per the new model), and on the bottom there is a Klixon/texas instruments 35A circuit breaker. I went ahead and ordered replacements for these (they look original to me). The only other thing left is the starter solenoid, or the starter itself.

Any ideas sure would be appreciated. Thank you.

 

Thanks for the fast reply. I'm going to re-check the connections, along with using the multi-meter to test everything.

 

Yes. I thought if they started the truck when removing the bad one they should have been ok. But after everyone's input, I might just go ahead and replace them all. The batteries were reading 2.8 volts using the multimeter with the ignition in the off position.

Being one battery was bad, they all could have been affected.

 

Update: Truck is running once again.

First, I would like to thank everyone for their help, to include my dad who helped me today.

Second. I picked up 3 new batteries yesterday, and set them in place for today's work.

I first replaced all of the circuit breakers & solenoid that were located inside the battery box (see my previous post for specs). Each wire was previously numbered so they would go back the correct way. They were also cleaned and greased with dielectric grease prior to connecting.

After that, I connected the batteries and the associated wires.

Got in the truck, turned the key to accessory, heard the buzzer, bumped the key, and IT STARTED RIGHT UP!! My Dad and me were so happy.

I have a few things left to do, and then I'm taking it on a trip with the truck.

Thanks again everyone.