1998 no electrical issue

1998 4.0 AX-15

Vehicle has been sitting for about two years now. last year I started it and found out the alternator was seized, smoke on start up and let it run for thirty seconds, shut it down and the serp belt shredded as it shut down. fast forward to today... gave the rig to a buddy and he spent time this afternoon putting in a new alternator and a fresh battery. We go to start the rig and nothing... no radio, headlights, nada. Years ago I put the starter on a push start button hot to the battery, starter spins fine and engine is turning over, but with no power in the cab nothing is happening. I checked grounds and they are all good. I have main power and grounds from 5-90 and I checked my main breaker and that is good, started pulling fuses but am coming up short. Any thoughts on where I should be looking would be appreciated.

You've got a big "bulkhead" connector on the firewall that backs up the fuse box on the inside, like my 92 does? Might be worth a check.

Several years back, some of the wires in mine had degraded and were only making intermittent contact. When they weren't contacting, I had a vehicle-wide blackout - every circuit dead. Ended up splicing on a new engine bay side connector I got at a JY, but that solved the problem for me.

Ill check, but if I remember correctly 96 up lost that bulk head connection?

Use a test light to test all the fuses in the under hood box. If you have power, work your way inside. If you dont, check connections @ the box. Im half wondering if something didnt blow during alternator replacement.

I don't know if this applies to a '98 but the older models (like the '90) had a couple of fusible links that were designed to blow in situations like this. Look for a couple of wires with an inline "bulge" coming off of the battery and the alternator.

Went out and looked @ my 97. The battery connects to the fuse box at the post in the front. The same stud has a fuse link that connects to the alternator. The starter cable runs directly off of the battery clamp.

If there is an aftermarket replacement clamp at the positive terminal, it may not be making contact with both cables. Allowing the starter to spin with the bypass switch, yet not powering the rest of the vehicle. There may also be a bad connection at the fuse box itself, causing the same condition.

HTH, and good luck.