92 Ranger died on highway. ideas?

[Daedalus]

I was driving down the highway when I noticed my temperature and oil pressure gauges started jumping around and sweeping back and forth. I started to pull off on the shoulder and the engine just shut off. Tried to restart it and just got a click from the starter which was just replaced a few weeks ago. Popped the hood and the radiator was cold and the fan could be spun freely by hand. Popped off the rad cap and the radiator was only about half full but there's still a decent amount of coolant in the reservoir. No sign of oil in the radiator or coolant on the dipstick or in the oil fill cap. Was worried the engine had seized but it wasn't really that hot and I was able to turn it at the crank bolt with a breaker bar with little resistance. Theres a heater hose joint over the alternator that looked pretty sketchy and there was a faint green tinge to the alternator casing but it was bone dry. Battery seems okay as the lights, wipers and stereo all ran fine. Let it sit for an hour or two and still no start so I had it towed out to the dealership where my dad works so they can look at it tomorrow. Anybody have any suggestions or experienced something like this before?

oh, its a 2.3L 5-speed

 

[adsm08]

Check wires. Sounds like a bad ground somewhere.

 

[feellnfroggy]

Have the alternator checked, sounds like it died. You ran on battery power alone for a little while if so and when that happens it does wierd things like that.

 

[LearjetMinako]

Have the battery charged and tested. Then also have the alternator tested. Check for any coolant leaks. A radaitor should never be left half full or the coolant level below the water pump (won't circulate).

 

[Spitfire1975]

Does the 2.3 have the fender well mounted starter switch/solenoid? If it does, it may be that as well. Mine went bad and did all sorts of goofy things. And it went bad quick.

 

[feellnfroggy]

It does. It is the starter relay on the fenderwell, and there is a solenoid on the starter itself, but that shouldnt have stalled it. That is only for starting the truck, the alternator keeps it running. If the voltage regulator went out, (attached to the alt) would cause this problem too.

 

[Spitfire1975]

Was just thinking that if it won't crank it could be that starter switch. When mine went bad all I got was a click from the starter, my seat belt buzzer wouldn't shut off and the battery was overheating from the short in the switch. Changed the switch and all problems solved.

 

[88gt]

bad battery cables would cause that to happen. if the cables are corroded, it takes a lot of power to make things happen. the symptoms that you described happened to me and after replaceing everything (alt, battery, starter, solenoid, etc...) i got mad and threw battery cables at it just to see and it fixed it. should have started there to begin with.

 

[Spitfire1975]

lol. I started with cables and ended up at the switch.

 

[Daedalus]

bad battery cables would cause that to happen. if the cables are corroded, it takes a lot of power to make things happen. the symptoms that you described happened to me and after replaceing everything (alt, battery, starter, solenoid, etc...) i got mad and threw battery cables at it just to see and it fixed it. should have started there to begin with.

Still haven't heard from the dealership so I probably wont know til at least tomorrow but I have a feeling you hit the nail on the head now that I think about it. When I replaced the starter the ground wire to it came out of the terminal that bolts between the starter and bell-housing. I stuck it back in and used some pliers to squeeze the terminal so it would make a good connection again. I did check it and it was still connected when this happened but if that connection was sketchy I'm sure the rest probably are too...

I'm hoping that's all it is cause i don't want to have to buy an alternator. I'm worried about that because of the joint in the heater hose right above it and the greenish residue on the alternator casing. The heater hose has a joint in it and both of the hose clamps were rotted to where they were still there but not really doing anything since they didn't make it the whole way around the hose. Perhaps it shit the coolant right into the alternator and then the battery kept it running long enough to dry out so that's why it wasn't wet and has a greenish residue on it....


Edit: Spitfire, are you talking about the switch in the steering column or the solenoid on the fender near the battery?

 

[MarkV]

I had a similar thing happen to me once. It turned out to be a wire that rubbed against the inside rail under the hood so much the friction tore through the insulation and grounded out the truck to the frame. I believe it was a positive wire. Anyhow, I took it to a local mechanic and he found the wire in about an hour and a half and charged me ~$85 for his time. He said all he did was splice the wire and connected it back together.

One thing that I remeber about that day is everytime I would turn the key to attempt to start the truck the gauges would flicker.

I hope this helps. Good luck!

 

[Daedalus]

Turns out there was a loose nut behind the wheel....

When i fixed that ground wire terminal to the starter I must not have done a good job as it wasn't making a good enough connection. They redid the terminal and it fired right up. I felt like a real idiot when they told me that. Even more so when they gave me the $150 tow bill....