engine wont turn over

1997 f-150 5.4L. The other day the truck would not start, wouldn not even turn over. I played with the shifter, put it in neutral and back to park and got it to start. Just thought mabey it was a fluke. Now today it was driving (and starting) fine and it does it again. This time playing with the shifter wont work. You turn the key and it just clicks once, no turning over at all. The starter hasnt seemed to have any problems at all, it starts just as easy and fast as it always has (even after it did this the first time.)
If anyone has any ideas, I would appreciate it alot.

Thanks

make sure your battery cable ends are free of corosion. Also check to make sure they are tight on the battery post. If that is all fine then i would say your starter or battery is bad. Have someone load test your battery that will tell you if it is bad or not.

what can I say it is a ford truck

make sure your battery cable ends are free of corosion. Also check to make sure they are tight on the battery post. yup, that did it. I feel pretty stupid now. I just assumed it had to do with the shifter and over looked the obviouse. Thanks for that.

yup, that did it. I feel pretty stupid now. I just assumed it had to do with the shifter and over looked the obviouse. Thanks for that.

Glad to hear you got it going. Always check the simple stuff first. Don't feel too stupid though i have seen people have their cars towed to a shop for the same thing. At least you had the sense to come to AF and ask first.

yeah, the main culprit was corrosion on the terminals. I got a wire brush to clean it. Then I used a solution of baking soda and water on the terminals, and WOW that worked great. I've always just scraped it of when this sort of thing happens, but I was tired and so I tried something different. Id say definately an idea for those with this problem.(way easeir than scrubing with wire brush)

yeah, the main culprit was corrosion on the terminals. I got a wire brush to clean it. Then I used a solution of baking soda and water on the terminals, and WOW that worked great. I've always just scraped it of when this sort of thing happens, but I was tired and so I tried something different. Id say definately an idea for those with this problem.(way easeir than scrubing with wire brush)


The old baking soda trick works good. You can also pour a little bit of a can of coke on them it does an even better job than baking soda.