How To Open The Hood Of A Ford F-150 With A Dead Battery?
A dead battery can be one of the worst ways to start your day. Some cars rely on the battery for everything, including opening the doors or hood.
So how do you open the hood of an F-150 with a dead battery?
Using your keys, open the driver’s side of the vehicle. The hood latch is usually directly underneath and to the left of the steering wheel on the floor. In older models, it may be down by the door frame or under the seat. Pull the latch until you hear the hood pop.
Once you hear the telltale pop, you should be able to open the hood normally and access your battery.
Popping the Hood of an F-150
If your battery dies, you need to know how to open your hood if you want to replace or recharge it.
Most vehicles, F-150s included, have a latch inside the cab for opening the hood.
The hood latch is on the driver’s side of the vehicle, usually on the floor under and to the left of the steering wheel or near/in the door frame. In some vehicles, the hood latch may have an image of a car with an open hood.
Once found, pull the latch until you hear a popping sound from the hood, indicating it’s unlocked.
Head to the front of the vehicle, and you’ll notice a small gap. Run your hand along the space between the hood and the front frame to find the safety latch.
(The safety holds down the hood so it doesn’t fly open when the first latch is pulled.)
Push the safety latch to the side and prop up the now-opened hood with the internal rod.
If you’re used to a button opening the hood – but it doesn’t work with a dead battery – you may have a safety feature that locks it in place.
Unlock the vehicle by using the ignition key then put the key in the ignition and turn it one increment. This should unlock the hood latch so you can access the battery.
What If My Truck Is Push-To-Start?
All push-to-start key fobs have a key, even if you don’t use it to start the ignition.
This is so you can get into the vehicle if the key fob or vehicle battery dies.
The door may appear to have no door lock to insert the key, but there is one on the handle.
They’re usually covered by a piece of protective plastic. Simply remove the cover with the end of a screwdriver, but be careful so you don’t damage it.
Once you’ve revealed the keyhole, you can access your vehicle and use the hood latch in the cab as normal.
How To Open a Truck Hood From the Outside
If you can’t get into your truck, you can still open the hood from the outside.
Look through the grill and locate the latch that holds the hood closed. There will be a spring that will release the hood when moved in the right direction.
Take a screwdriver and push the spring to determine which way it should go to release the latch.
Then, with the spring pushed down, rotate the hook next to it to free the hood from the latch.
This is a good way to open the hood if you can’t get into the truck or the hood latch in the cab has failed or broken.
How To Fix a Dead Battery
Depending on how damaged or corroded your truck battery is, you might not have to replace it.
You can test the charge of the battery with a Voltmeter. A charged battery should measure 12.6 volts or above.
If the truck won’t start, it’s likely because the battery doesn’t have enough charge to fire the engine.
You can try charging the battery with a jump start. You’ll need jumper cables and another vehicle.
Park both vehicles so that they face each other with the hoods open.
First, clean off any corrosion around the battery terminals.
Connect the red (positive) cable to the red (positive) battery terminal of the boosting vehicle, then connect the other end to the red (positive) battery terminal of the dead vehicle.
Then connect the black (negative) cable to the working battery’s black (negative) terminal. Take the other end of the black (negative) cable and connect it to an unpainted metal surface of your vehicle.
Start the engine of the vehicle with the working battery, then try to start the engine of the car with the dead battery.
A jump start should give you enough of a charge to get to an auto store and buy a new battery.
Replacing a car battery is pretty simple. It sits in a case of sorts above the engine and can be removed after the plastic cover is taken off. This usually involves two screws that can be taken out by hand.
Take the old battery out, then clean up any corrosion in the case. You can then set the new battery into the compartment and connect the engine cables to the proper terminals.
New batteries should be thoroughly charged, so your car should start as normal.
Conclusion
If the battery on your F-150 is dead, you can open the hood by pulling on the hood latch in the truck’s cab. It’s found underneath and to the left of the steering wheel, typically right inside the door frame.
Pull until you hear a popping sound from the hood. Then you can go to the front of the truck and release the latch holding down the hood.
If you’re having trouble finding the hood latch in your F-150, consult your owner’s manual for further details.
