Last night, I took an hour ride to go get some 3" channel, so I can make a new frame for the PK dump tractor project. I got there pretty easily, and gave the guy the $40 he wanted, he had four 8 foot sections and a 4 footer. I threw it in the back of my truck, and off I went! I went a mile down the road and when I turned onto the on ramp to get on the thruway (I-87) I down shifted, then when I went to put my foot back on the gas a few seconds later... nothing! I new something was wrong, so I put it in neutral and coasted. The next thing I noticed was that I had no power steering! So, I tried to start it again and nothing! So, I coasted down the on ramp and had just enough speed to get past the guard rail so I could pull over. Now, I was sitting on the side of the thruway with no power.
The first person I called was Bossman Harry, he told me to move the battery cables around. I did that, and nothing changed. He then told me it was likely that the alternator went out. Then, I called my Mom and she came with a brand new battery; with a new battery it would have had enough juice to last until I got home. I put the battery in... still nothing! At this point, I had been there for 2 1/2 hours and a state trooper finally showed up; he called a tow truck. I did not take long for the driver to show up, and he took it away to the tow yard.
The driver said he was a GM master tech for the electrical systems, and he said it is likely the ignition switch. I thought about it, and that makes a lot of sense. The reason is because the horn, and lights still work fine, both of those things work when the ignition is off. Everything else, has no power... just like when the key is off.
My Uncle Kevin was coming over today to help work on the '90 F250, but now we are going to work on my truck instead.
So, $40 for the steel, about $80-90 for the tow, and what ever parts I need. All in all, this steel was not worth it!
