- Joined
- Mar 27, 2026
- Messages
- 1
- Points
- 1
- City
- Renton
- State - Country
- N/A
- Vehicle Year
- 1997
- Vehicle
- Ford Ranger
- Drive
- 2WD
- Engine
- 4.0 V6
- Transmission
- Automatic
Good afternoon folks.
Been lurking around here for quite awhile, but now need some serious help diagnosing an issue. I just received my dad's 97 4.0 ranger after he passed away. It was driving great a few days ago, I parked it and now it won't start. It doesn't even try to turn over, when I turn the ignition the dome light cuts out and won't turn back on until I disconnect and reconnect the battery. I know it has a bad parasitic drain somewhere that caused my dad to Install a battery disconnect as it was always draining batteries. I've checked all the fuses under the hood and checked all relevant fuses in the driver's side dash panel. There are no dash lights, if I turn the key to start position the oil pressure gauge drops a tiny bit otherwise zero reaction on the cluster. Occasionally when I turn the key off or if I flip the dome switch there will be a soft erratic clicking for about a minute that sounds like it's coming from the right side of the steering column, sounds like a relay clicking, but is not the starter relay. I know the gem is behind the stereo, could that be the issue? What is the easiest way to test the ignition cylinder and/or the ignition switch?
Any help would be greatly appreciated as it's one of the few things my dad was able to leave me. I'm no mechanic but comfortable with tools and multimeters etc.
Been lurking around here for quite awhile, but now need some serious help diagnosing an issue. I just received my dad's 97 4.0 ranger after he passed away. It was driving great a few days ago, I parked it and now it won't start. It doesn't even try to turn over, when I turn the ignition the dome light cuts out and won't turn back on until I disconnect and reconnect the battery. I know it has a bad parasitic drain somewhere that caused my dad to Install a battery disconnect as it was always draining batteries. I've checked all the fuses under the hood and checked all relevant fuses in the driver's side dash panel. There are no dash lights, if I turn the key to start position the oil pressure gauge drops a tiny bit otherwise zero reaction on the cluster. Occasionally when I turn the key off or if I flip the dome switch there will be a soft erratic clicking for about a minute that sounds like it's coming from the right side of the steering column, sounds like a relay clicking, but is not the starter relay. I know the gem is behind the stereo, could that be the issue? What is the easiest way to test the ignition cylinder and/or the ignition switch?
Any help would be greatly appreciated as it's one of the few things my dad was able to leave me. I'm no mechanic but comfortable with tools and multimeters etc.
