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Ford Ranger Starting Problems

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Comments

  • dan9615dan9615 Member Posts: 1
    My 94 Ranger 2.3L 4 shut off while going down the road the other day. The 60 amp ignition fuse under the hood kept blowing every time you turn on the ignition switch. My friend unplugged every thing under the hood and plugged them in and it is starting with a 30 amp fuse but we are afraid to drive it very far from home wntil I find out what happened. Has any Ranger owners had this problem.
  • Mr_ShiftrightMr_Shiftright Member Posts: 64,481
    Probably a short in the wiring somewhere. There wouldn't be any one cause for a problem like this.
  • mahkukmahkuk Member Posts: 2
    i have a 1994 ford ranger 6cyl 3.0l and for me to drive it i have to jump start it evertime. what could be the problem
  • Mr_ShiftrightMr_Shiftright Member Posts: 64,481
    edited October 2016
    Well, sounds like either a) the battery is no good or too old or b) the charging system isn't working properly or c) you have a parasitic drain on your battery, which sucks juice out of it after you turn the truck off.

    A battery can be "load tested", but it should be charged up first. Don't forget to check the condition and tightness of the battery cables as well. Corroded or loose cables can cause a bad connection.

    The charging system can be checked with the truck running (see YouTube for a simple test using a voltmeter)

    And finally, for the parasitic drain test, which is a bit more involved, here's a good tutorial from POPULAR MECHANICS

    Good luck tracking down your problem!
  • tdave2017tdave2017 Member Posts: 4
    I have a 98 ranger ; It won't start after giving a friend a jump. I tried starting it directly; it started without a problem. Please help
  • Mr_ShiftrightMr_Shiftright Member Posts: 64,481
    This is confusing, how it's written. You say it wouldn't start, then you say it started without a problem. Try again please to clarify for us and include as many symptoms as possible.
  • justin1236justin1236 Member Posts: 1
    i have a 1998 ford ranger 2.5 4 cylinder it cranks but wont start i pop started it and it ran beautifully as soon as i shut it off cranks wont start what do u think the issue is
  • Mr_ShiftrightMr_Shiftright Member Posts: 64,481
    Usually if it push-starts but won't key start that at least indicates an ignition weakness or battery weakness (not spinning the engine fast enough).

    Why don't you try a jump-start and see what happens? If it fires right up then your battery is probably too weak, or your starter motor. You might also pull a spark plug to check the condition. When was this truck last tuned up?

    Push-starts turn the engine over a lot faster than a starter motor.
  • 420welder420welder Member Posts: 2
    I just installed a remanufactured transmission and now my the starter is clicking and wont turn over. Whats the chance the starter went out over night while not being hooked up? Or did i do something wrong. What else could be causing this.
  • 420welder420welder Member Posts: 2
    I just installed a remanufactured automatic transmission in my B3000 p/u. Now it just clicks when i try to start it. The starter workwd fine the day before. Could it be something else? Any ideas?  Any and all help please.         Its for a good friend whom is a caretaker for a desert storm vet. Who is a parapaligic. Its Christmas and i need help to help them.
  • Mr_ShiftrightMr_Shiftright Member Posts: 64,481
    You might give the starter motor casing a couple of raps with a hammer (firm, but don't get carried away). You might also check all your connections (cables and also the signal wire from the ignition switch) for corrosion or looseness.

    If you get just one click for every time you turn the key, then I would suspect bad connections or a faulty solenoid (that sits atop the starter. This solenoid is basically a heavy switch. If you get multiple light clicks, then it's probably a dead battery. If you get one heavy "thunk", then the engine is not turning.

    Another possibility is a bad starter, which can be pulled out and bench-tested---although a starter can sometimes work on the bench and not in the car.

  • SlavicSlavic Member Posts: 3
    Ok , starter quit. So I tried catching it in gear to get er home,, well it would not catch... Wheels are locked up.. hell tried 55 mph in 5th gear and it wouldn't roll.. I hope the engine isn't siezed up, no indications at all of engine trouble..
    If by chance the alternator is junk would it cause it not to catch in gear to start? ?
  • SlavicSlavic Member Posts: 3
    Ok starter went to [non-permissible content removed] out of the blue, tried to catch it in gear to get it home , and it will not roll over.. I hate to think it's a blown engine, , but if the alternator went to [non-permissible content removed] would u still be able to roll start it?
  • SlavicSlavic Member Posts: 3
    PLEASE IF ANYONE KNOWS ANY THING ABOUT MY ISSUE PLEASE POST ASAP
  • chipmaleechipmalee Member Posts: 2
    Mazda 99 B4000 same as Ranger. Similar starter problem to everyone. Cranks but doesn't turn over. Now I got video of it. Any suggestions?

    https://youtu.be/CbGM4HoIyhU
  • thecardoc3thecardoc3 Member Posts: 5,742
    Sorry to tell you this but figuring out what is wrong with your truck isn't something that anyone can do by watching a video of it cranking and not starting, which by the way is what "turning over" really means. It means the starter is able to turn the crankshaft.

    When an engine cranks but doesn't start, (which is what you have) the first thing that anyone would have to do is figure out what is missing, as in spark, fuel, or compression, and then they have to work to figure out why.

    For example....
    You could be missing spark but still have fuel. If testing showed that to be the case some things are ruled out and others become more likely and a skilled technician would use that detail to help him/her choose the best test and efficiently prove what is wrong.

    You could have spark but actually be missing fuel. That could be an issue where you are missing fuel pressure or the injection pulse, either one is no fuel. BTW that also means checking to make sure that the fuel isn't contaminated. (Bad fuel is essentially no-fuel)

    To take this a little further when we talk about having spark, you might actually have it, but it also has to happen at the right time. Fuel, you could have that but it has to be the right amount. Compression also has to include fresh air. The reason to point this out is the inputs to the computer have to be correct in order for it to know when to fire the spark plugs and/or how long to turn the injectors on.



  • CrabbyCrabby Member Posts: 2
    Has spark and fuel while idling only happens while driving
  • CrabbyCrabby Member Posts: 2
    Would crankshaft sensor cause it to die while driving
  • thecardoc3thecardoc3 Member Posts: 5,742
    edited December 2019
    A crankshaft position sensor or circuit issue "could" cause the engine to stall and not restart. When it comes to diagnosing a vehicle problem one of the first things you have to do is test while the problem is occurring. The video originally suggests that this is dead, a hard failure that occurs all of the time. Now it appears that isn't correct and if the vehicle sits long enough it will start and run based on your last two responses. Then at some point later it stalls and becomes the crank and wont start, is that correct?

    No matter what, a crankshaft position sensor or circuit issue is only one plausible reason for such a symptom, it is far from being the only one. So you do have spark and fuel when you start this up. What do you lose when it quits and wont restart? Spark? Fuel? Loss of both?

    Is this setting any trouble codes at all?
  • Shawn405677Shawn405677 Member Posts: 1

    It’s not the fuel pump relay mine use to do the same thing then eventually it started running like [non-permissible content removed] and died. So I put a new motor in it and I never had that problem again so whatever the problem was is in the motor and mine did the same exact thing I would drive to work shut it off and I couldn’t turn it back on but if I waited 10 to 30 minutes it would fire up again

  • yaarthe7yaarthe7 Member Posts: 1
    Hello. I seem to be having a starting issue on my 2000 Ford Ranger. It's got the 4 liter OHV V6. Many times, when I go to start it, I turn the key and, whilst all the dash lights come on, the engine makes no audible attempt to start. All that happens is that, upon turning the key, there's a single, audible click noise. Normally, upon the second or third try, the engine comes to life. Recently, however, it's been more that a try or two. Its four or five. Over the last week, it's happened that I try a dozen time to no avail, then I let it sit and it starts a few tries later. Whatever is happening, it's worsening. I checked the battery, and it's not low or dying. The truck has no other electrical problems as of right now. Would this be the starter? How difficult is this part to replace? Any feedback is welcome.
  • sumodontsumodont Member Posts: 2
    Im having starting problems.I bought a new Starter relay.Where is the starter relay hidden?Im begining to think it doesent have one.Please help !!!
  • thecardoc3thecardoc3 Member Posts: 5,742
    Without pulling a schematic I can't say if there is another relay in this starter control circuit or not. I wouldn't expect there to be but nothing is ever absolute with cars. If this is an automatic transmission system there is a switch, the "Neutral Safety" switch that will prevent the vehicle from cranking unless the transmission is in park or neutral. If this is a manual transmission vehicle, then you will have a clutch switch where you need to step on the clutch pedal in order to allow it to crank the engine.

    There is a typical Ford starter "solenoid" that will be very close to the battery, it's the first thing that the positive battery cable connects to. You should see a 12v command on the little wire on the solenoid when the conditions are correct and the key is in the "crank" position.
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