Is there a fuse under the hood to power the dash. I put two new batteries on a couple of weeks ago and did n't start it because i was changing out freeze plugs on the block. Went to start it last night and had to hook it to wife's truck, wait to start light cam on and everything had power. after a few tries to start, it acted like there was not enough juice. I moved the cables around and tried charging one battery then moved to the other battery and watched my amp guage. Then all of the sudden i lost power to everything, headlights, all guages, ignition, radio., did i short something out??????

 

Check your battery cables. and make sure they are clean.

 

Thanks LIl'Red, on the comment. however, before i installed the new batteries i cleaned and checked all the battery cables and connections. I'm getting good voltage from the batteries. I think there is a burnt fuse or relay somewhere.

 

There may be a fusible link coming off your starter solenoid(on the fender), if it burns out you will lose all power. It may be on a large yellow wire. Check it with a test light to make sure power is getting through.

 

Yeah,sometimes the wire that goes from the battery to the solenoid is bad,like Sycostang said,that would be my bet (at least with all the older ford trucks I've had) I'd try taking the end that is attached to the solenoid loose and clean that end up.

 

This probably has nothing to do with the current problem, but I've had battery cables go bad on the inside. They look just fine on the outside, but are corroded as hell inside. Cost me a new battery, alternator, AND the cables. A $15 problem cost me about $250. (Ten years ago)

 

Well you guys were right again,,. It was the power wire from the battery to the fender mounted solenoid. This one wire caused no power going to the starter and dash..I took and resoldered some new ends on it and it worked great!!!! Thanks for all the help on this guys.