Getting fed up with my B

I'm about sick of this truck already, it's had so many people under the hood before i had it and everywhere else it's been git-r-dun i hump sister and she's my momma too inginuity put into it. just about enough that im tempted to sell it and let someone else finish dealing with the bs this truck has to offer. Just one them days I guess, go out to try start my truck after having no issues at all ran like a top before this morning. now it wont crank turnover or anything. batteries good altenators good and starter engages but nothing happens after that. no click ticks pings dings kkaboom hablewies or nothing. just err and done.

i figured my battery or altenator, but both tested good at advance. so im lost, recently i hooked up my stereo system, and foglight. I put all power connections in the battery post clamp, where power runs into the clamp itself. It's all good and snug and not loose or loose on my battery, ground is good just wtf could it be?

Ignition switch? They tend to go bad on the Bs.

What would not happen if that was it? all lights, stereo, work, wipers, dash lights dome lights, door buzzer, dashboard signal lights when clicked to acc. turn oncould it had been the clamp that holds my amp foglights and altenator etc to the battery terminal could been loose ( it was slightly after checking it ) would this cause it to just drain or not pull power?

I know i snugged it very tight when i re done it. maybe i just overlooked one side of the terminal and it started getting loose on me?

So it turns over but won't start?

The basics you need are air, fuel, spark.... do you have all those?

Check the air filter, fuel filter, coil, plug wires, distributor... etc..

Additionally check your cats, for blockage. If one or both are blocked it will not start.

Remember you need to exercise patience with these trucks, especially at this age...

Is the starter cranking the motor and it just wont fire up?

If so, check for spark (coil, distributor, etc), fuel, air filter, compression, maybe choke, and so forth. start with the basics.

When was the last time you did your spark plugs and wires? Check for spark from the coil first its the easiest and will tell you if the coil is good.

If you have a timing light I would just hook it up to the coil plug wire (or any spark plug wire) and see if the light flashes when you crank it. There are plenty of different ways to check spark but thats the least intrusive...

pull the main fuel line off the carb and crank the motor see if gas flows (I don't know if carb is electric pump or mechanical either way procedure should be similar - I'm EFI)...

If all else fails check the compression.

ALWAYS START WITH THE EASY AND BASIC STUFF FIRST. I have been guilty of replacing parts in the past just to find that it was something simple and cheap. I learned my lesson years ago with this one

When you get all the little bugs figured out it will be very reliable, mine has been. Don't give up just yet. Good Luck!

Well lets hope i got it figured out, went around checking everything i wired in over again, fuses etc, re clamped my wires into the battery terminal clamp. rolled down my driveway and popped the clutch, engine fired right up, i let it sit for about an hour , cut it off and waited another hour and it fired right back up again.

So far it turned right over after it sat, so maybe something was loose somewhere ad hitting something draining power or just something loose somewhere not sure, but so far its fired right up without hesitation after driving about so idk. all I can say is once i find the motor i wanna swap in can't wait to get it done.

There are multiple connections in the electrical part of the ignition switch. So one circuit can be intermittent while others (like to the starter) can be fine.

When mine went bad (about 1995) the truck would crank/spin the engine great, then stall out when I released the key. Sometimes. Then the sometimes started increasing.

well i thought it was fixed, left me stranded on the side of the road. thought i had a flat tire, stopped and turned off the truck, wouldn't even fire or click or nothing i was like wtf man? Luckily I have Geico's roadside assitance, guy came out and hooked booster cables up instantly started. ok odd but i let it sit running once i got home ( straight home lol) and shut it off, now my battery ws tested good and they said the alternator was good as well, but i think they where wrong on the alternator. once i shut it off and tried cranking it to start its like the battery was dead again! now i know the battery is barely a year old, so it shouldn't be doing that so right now im at the alternator yay me.

Sounds like either a bad alternator or something draining the battery. Try disconnecting the things from the battery that you just installed to rule out them draining the battery. If it still has a problem, the alternator might be the problem, when alternators go bad they can still put out 13v and test good but they aren't putting out enough amperage to charge the battery. Also it could just be bad grounds, this is a little harder to test because the wires can look fine but not be making a good connection. You can just add new battery-frame, frame-body, and frame-engine grounds. I could also be the ignition switch like someone else said, you can run 12v off the battery to the positive side of the coil and jump the starter solenoid and if it starts its most likely the ignition switch. Hope this helps you find the problem.

Most likely the alternator my stock 55amp never completely failed on me but I definitely was lacking in power. If I had my heater, headlights and system on it wouldn't charge the battery had to push start it more times then I would care to say. I have since swapped it for a 3wire GM 105amp alternator 76-83 model year and it seems to be plenty for my current setup, worthy of an upgrade even if you are fully stock. I posted some more info in your alternator thread xXChromeGhostXx