I have a 1996 2WD with the 5.2 in it. I recently found myself stuck at work, as my truck would not start. I got a jump from a friend, to no avail. No spark at the terminals. Eventually we noticed that the positive cable was frayed at the terminal. So we clamped it down tighter, and it fired right up. It worked great all weekend.

Today, I once again found it unwilling to start. I decided to do it right, and replace the battery cable connections. With this done, I found it still unwilling to start. No headlights. No radio. (Although i did get radio earlier...) I tested the battery just to be sure, and the battery checked out. I have triple-checked and cleaned all three connections to the positive terminal. Any other ideas?

 

Now do the same for the ground or negative cable.

 

also what your going to now need to check is the the fusable links they are solid black joints. they can go bad intermittently so the best thing to do is remove them and replace them with circuit breakers not shure what it looks like undrr the hood of a 96 but it should be by the battery and just under the power distribution box aka fuse box.

 

testing is simple what you volt/ohms meter set it for 12v and check the wire on the side opposite of the battery for voltage no voltage means its bad low voltage means going bad but it should only have voltage or not have voltage test with key on and off that way there is no mistake in testing

 

Keep in mind a wire can have correct voltage and not allow enough current to flow through and that's the same as a bad wire. The splice that others talk about is in the FAQS section and has pictures to help locate and repair.

 

i was soo darn tired that i forgot to put that in there, lol 2:30 in the morning and no caffeine will do that thanks jr318 for pointing that info out that i left out. also watch for corrosion in the battery cables its a nasty little creature and even thought you got good terminals and correctors corrosion in the wire will case the same problem. and fyi coke a cola bad fix for corrosion baking soda is probably the best fast fix and replacing the wire is the best solution,