Scotty,
In my 1997 Ford E350 Jayco Eagle RV, everything was smooth sailing until mid day yesterday. Suddenly, car won’t start anymore.
I’m able to jump it and everything runs fine once the motor is going. Battery tests are perfect; alternator tests are perfect. However, once I turn the key off, no dash lights at all, no headlights, no radio, no cigarette outlet power, no engine movement, NADA. The house battery still works great, but no power coming from under the hood.
Any ideas on what to troubleshoot from there? / Related videos?
Thanks!
Sam
loose/corroded battery cables?
Nope. Clean terminals / connections.
How about the cables themselves? The truck is 24 years old, plenty of time for the cables to deteriorate.
Agreed, but again, with a jump-starter attached, it fires right up without any issue.
The jump-starter provides more current which can help overcome resistance in the cables. I've seen that kind of thing happen in old battery cables. Moisture can wick up through any small opening in the insulation or the cable ends and cause corrosion.
The way to check that is to test for voltage drop across the battery cables.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qPpHRuddhh4
Have you checked all your fuses and ignition relays?
There are some yet I need to go through, but I have paused to think — why would my truck jump start just fine if there were any issues with fuses or relays? (That’s a genuine question).
It's a 1997 Jayco RV. I'd check everything. The answer to the eternal question of "why" is always "why not".