Hello,
I just got my engine put back in and everything connected. I went to test fire it and all I got was a click, then nothing. All power to everything went out. My batter is still testing good, and the connections are good and clean.
anyone have ideas what might be the problem?

 

Take a clear look, there must be some loose ends left.

 

Not knowing what you put the engine in, most fords are similar, up to a point !
The fact that you got a click shows you connected some of the wires in the right place.
Here again I don't know if you used the same starter for example, same flywheel,same housing etc., hope you can also see where I'm coming from.
Need more info to make any worthwhile suggestion.

 

I would check the connections from the battery to the starter (+ and -) and ground to the frame, If any of those wires went out, so did power to everything else. Must be something very basic, otherwise you should have had smoke, sparks and all kinds of fun stuff happening ...

HTH ...

 

Everything is stock. It is out of a 1980 ford F250. 5.0L 302.

I got it fixxed though. Apparently the Ground was inadequate, so I got a bit longer cable, and bolted it directly to my frame. Seems to be fine now..

Just gotta fix up the front crossmember and it'll be wheelin' again!!

Thanks for the help!

 

Great to hear you got to the bottom of it! One word about the ground connection: the cable you use must have as low an electrical resistance as possible (so that the voltage drop across it is as small as possible when a high current flows through it). As such, you should be using a cable that is AS SHORT AND AS THICK AS PRACTICALLY POSSIBLE. The thickness for the ground connection should be equal or slightly larger than the thickness of the positive cable coming from the battery. By thickness I mean actual copper cable cross-section,. not overall outer diameter ... I've seen jumper cables looking great from the outside and having a 16 GA conductor in them ...).

HTH, and good luck!

Cheers,
cougar_fan

 

Ok, The Cable I have now is the same size in gauge, but Is a bit longer. Unfortunately, it is the only adequate connection I can find as of right now. During the Rebuild which is slowly coming, I'll attempt to find a closer location to secure my ground. Thanks for the advice!

And for 16Ga jumper cables, wouldn't those heat up in no time?! Lol.

 

If you tried to use them to do anything except lite up a light bulb
they would most likely melt the insulation off when trying to use them for a jump start.
You received good advice from cougar_fan . The cables should be at least 4 gauge or larger.

 

The frame location you choose for ground is equally important - stay away from thin sheets such as the strut mounts, for instance - and try to connect to solid structural parts of the frame. Once you got your solid ground tighten up, I would also cover it with a rubber coating (rocker guard paint is great for this) to prevent corrosion.

Sure would, but by the time that happens, you already paid for the great-looking piece of crap, and I doubt any store would take it back molten and messed up.

Good luck!
cougar_fan

 

Currently, it's bolted down to my front crossmember. (which needs to have a few cracks welded...).
Where would I be able to pick up some Rocker Gaurd paint? Would O'Reilly's or Autozone carry it?
Thanks,
Michael.