‘08 Ranger 2.3L No Crank

[Brendan]

Hey y’all,

My truck decided to pull a no crank, no start on me yesterday. No prior issues with starting. Battery reads 12.6V, pulled the starter today and took it to autozone to have it tested... all good there. I bought a starter relay and replaced my old one in the power distribution box, nothing. I’ve gone through all fuses and none are cooked. Cleaned battery terminals and neg/pos cable attachments. Have not thoroughly checked the cables that run from battery to starter but I dont suspect they are the culprit.

When I depress the clutch, turn the key to start, all I hear is the starter clicking and some small clicking from passenger side fuse box. All instrument panel lights come on when in accessory and then the airbag light flickers rapidly when trying to start. 6 months ago, I had the passenger side airbag replaced under recall at the dealer but no problems since then. My OBD-2 code reader tells me no DTCs are stored in the PCM at this time.

Any thoughts? Thanks in advance!

-Brendan

 

[Dirtman]

If the starter solenoid is clicking (not the relay) then all the safety/security features are fine (neutral safety, Pat's, ignition, etc) and the problem is voltage. Do a voltage drop test to the starter. It's possible the battery cables are bad internally. It's also possible for a battery to still read proper volts but not have enough amps. Load test the battery (autozone and advance auto do this for free).

Voltage drop test - Measure the battery voltage directly off the terminals and write the number down. Now place the the negative lead from your volt meter directly on the negative battery terminal but place the positive lead on the main lug of the starter and write that number down. Next place the positive lead of your meter on the positive battery terminal but place the negative lead on the starter case and write that number down.

All 3 numbers should be exactly the same. If not you have a bad cable/connection.

 

[Brendan]

Thank you Dirtman. I ended up replacing both pos and neg battery cables, and the starter :-( With still no start. Another sucker here. I learned late last night that just because a battery reads full charge doesn’t necessarily mean it has sufficient cold cranking amps to get it done. I will take it and have it tested today. Thanks again!

 

[Dirtman]

Just to be clear, the starter itself is making a clicking noise when you try to start it correct? Not just the relay?

 

[Brendan]

Correct. Its the starter for sure. Battery being charged right now at autozone after it read ‘no charge’. Hoping this doesn’t turn out to be an alternator problem as my battery is only two years old...

 

[Dirtman]

The truck would still start and run with a dead alternator as long as the battery is functional. After its charged make sure they still load test it, you cant load test a drained battery.

 

[Brendan]

After two hours of charging, old battery had no charge in it. New battery got me going after all the pain and suffering. I learned my lesson, just because a multimeter voltage test on a battery reads 12.6 does not necessarily mean it had the amperage to turn the starter.
Thanks for your help and replies Dirtman!

 

[Dirtman]

Glad it was a relatively simple issue.