Electric....???

[Fryedbm]

1999 Ranger. Manual. This truck sat for a while before I got it. It was involved in an accident with a deer on the passenger side. I have had it for a couple of weeks and it has been running okay with intermittent hard shifting. Now about 3 days ago I was driving in my windshield wipers went across my windshield one time. The next day they did it again. Yesterday they did it again. Now I have also noted that my shifting has gotten harder but only while the engine is running. Also my battery light started flickering now it stays on and the voltmeter is down. I have the battery and the alternator tested and they both passed. Help!! Any and all ideas / suggestions are needed and wanted!!

 

[Curious Hound]

Loose or dirty connection. Need to check positive and negative cable connections at battery terminals, starter relay, chassis ground, engine block ground, etc. make sure battery cables are clean and not corroded at the clamps.

 

[Uncle Gump]

Were the battery and alternator in the truck when tested... or did you take them off and into a parts store for testing?

Hard shifting with a manual transmission is not likely electrical. First thing to do is to check the fluid level and condition of the transmission lube.

 

[RonD]

Manual trans is an M5OD-R1, just FYI
Easy shifting engine off, but hard shifting engine on means your hydraulic clutch system may have air in it and needs to be bled
There is a clutch fluid reservoir in the engine bay on the firewall, pull off the cap and pull out the "air cup" inside, look at fluid level, add fluid as needed
Google: Ford ranger clutch bleed


Parts stores can NOT test batteries or alternators, just FYI, they "may" test them but 50/50 chance of them being correct

Buy a Volt meter, under $20, worth its weight in gold
Test battery engine and key OFF
Select DC Volts on meter, and touch probes to battery posts, Red positive, black negative
12.8volt is a new battery
12.5v is a 3 year old battery
12.3v is a 5/6 year old battery and time to shop for battery sales

12.2v or lower is dying battery

Once you have YOUR battery voltage REMEMBER IT, exactly
Now with Red volt meter probe on battery positive, put black meter probe on alternators metal case, should show "battery volts" exactly
If not then you have a bad negative battery cable, clean or replace

With black probe still on alternators metal case move the red probe to the "B+" terminal on the back of alternator, the stud/nut terminal, should see battery voltage exactly, if not then blown MEGA fuse or corroded terminals

Unplug the 3 wire connector on the back of the alternator
Black still on alternator case
Red now on Yellow/white wire on 3 wire connector, should see battery volts exactly, if not then blown ALT SYS FUSE in engine fuse box, 30amp

Then test light green/red wire on 3 wire connector, should see 0 volts
Turn key on
Re-test light green wire, should now see battery volts, can be 0.3 less

And that's it, key off plug 3 wire connector back in
Look at the white jumper wire on 3 wire connector and make sure its not fray or disconnected

Start engine
Re-test battery
14.2-14.8volts is expected, if under 13volts then alternator is bad, period, if above 3 wire tested OK that is

Let engine idle for 5min
Retest battery voltage, should now be 13.5 to 13.9volts, under 14volts, voltage regulator is OK

 

[Fryedbm]

Were the battery and alternator in the truck when tested... or did you take them off and into a parts store for testing?

Hard shifting with a manual transmission is not likely electrical. First thing to do is to check the fluid level and condition of the transmission lube.

They were connected. So I should pull the transmission plug to check fluid?

 

[Fryedbm]

Manual trans is an M5OD-R1, just FYI
Easy shifting engine off, but hard shifting engine on means your hydraulic clutch system may have air in it and needs to be bled
There is a clutch fluid reservoir in the engine bay on the firewall, pull off the cap and pull out the "air cup" inside, look at fluid level, add fluid as needed
Google: Ford ranger clutch bleed


Parts stores can NOT test batteries or alternators, just FYI, they "may" test them but 50/50 chance of them being correct

Buy a Volt meter, under $20, worth its weight in gold
Test battery engine and key OFF
Select DC Volts on meter, and touch probes to battery posts, Red positive, black negative
12.8volt is a new battery
12.5v is a 3 year old battery
12.3v is a 5/6 year old battery and time to shop for battery sales

12.2v or lower is dying battery

Once you have YOUR battery voltage REMEMBER IT, exactly
Now with Red volt meter probe on battery positive, put black meter probe on alternators metal case, should show "battery volts" exactly
If not then you have a bad negative battery cable, clean or replace

With black probe still on alternators metal case move the red probe to the "B+" terminal on the back of alternator, the stud/nut terminal, should see battery voltage exactly, if not then blown MEGA fuse or corroded terminals

Unplug the 3 wire connector on the back of the alternator
Black still on alternator case
Red now on Yellow/white wire on 3 wire connector, should see battery volts exactly, if not then blown ALT SYS FUSE in engine fuse box, 30amp

Then test light green/red wire on 3 wire connector, should see 0 volts
Turn key on
Re-test light green wire, should now see battery volts, can be 0.3 less

And that's it, key off plug 3 wire connector back in
Look at the white jumper wire on 3 wire connector and make sure its not fray or disconnected

Start engine
Re-test battery
14.2-14.8volts is expected, if under 13volts then alternator is bad, period, if above 3 wire tested OK that is

Let engine idle for 5min
Retest battery voltage, should now be 13.5 to 13.9volts, under 14volts, voltage regulator is OK

This seems REALLY helpful. I will follow this tomorrow. THANK YOU SO MUCH!

 

[Fryedbm]

Loose or dirty connection. Need to check positive and negative cable connections at battery terminals, starter relay, chassis ground, engine block ground, etc. make sure battery cables are clean and not corroded at the clamps.

I put on new terminals when I got it. However I cut back about 1 inch of the negative cable and found xgeen corrosion all through the wires. I didn't wanna strip it back any further. Should I? Is that even typical?

 

[Fryedbm]

put on new terminals when I got it. However I cut back about 1 inch of the negative cable and found xgeen corrosion all through the wires. I didn't wanna strip it back any further. Should I? Is that even typical?

 

[Fryedbm]

Manual trans is an M5OD-R1, just FYI
Easy shifting engine off, but hard shifting engine on means your hydraulic clutch system may have air in it and needs to be bled
There is a clutch fluid reservoir in the engine bay on the firewall, pull off the cap and pull out the "air cup" inside, look at fluid level, add fluid as needed
Google: Ford ranger clutch bleed


Parts stores can NOT test batteries or alternators, just FYI, they "may" test them but 50/50 chance of them being correct

Buy a Volt meter, under $20, worth its weight in gold
Test battery engine and key OFF
Select DC Volts on meter, and touch probes to battery posts, Red positive, black negative
12.8volt is a new battery
12.5v is a 3 year old battery
12.3v is a 5/6 year old battery and time to shop for battery sales

12.2v or lower is dying battery

Once you have YOUR battery voltage REMEMBER IT, exactly
Now with Red volt meter probe on battery positive, put black meter probe on alternators metal case, should show "battery volts" exactly
If not then you have a bad negative battery cable, clean or replace

With black probe still on alternators metal case move the red probe to the "B+" terminal on the back of alternator, the stud/nut terminal, should see battery voltage exactly, if not then blown MEGA fuse or corroded terminals

Unplug the 3 wire connector on the back of the alternator
Black still on alternator case
Red now on Yellow/white wire on 3 wire connector, should see battery volts exactly, if not then blown ALT SYS FUSE in engine fuse box, 30amp

Then test light green/red wire on 3 wire connector, should see 0 volts
Turn key on
Re-test light green wire, should now see battery volts, can be 0.3 less

And that's it, key off plug 3 wire connector back in
Look at the white jumper wire on 3 wire connector and make sure its not fray or disconnected

Start engine
Re-test battery
14.2-14.8volts is expected, if under 13volts then alternator is bad, period, if above 3 wire tested OK that is

Let engine idle for 5min
Retest battery voltage, should now be 13.5 to 13.9volts, under 14volts, voltage regulator is OK

....also,I stripped back about 1 inch of insulation on my negative cable and there is green corrosion all in the copper wires. Is this typical?

 

[RonD]

Its typical when the cable/wire is bad
It means moisture has gotten inside the insulation, this corrosion decreases the amount of AMPs the cable can pass, so can cause issues like you observed
Slice it back farther to see how bad it is

What was the positive cable like?

 

[Fryedbm]

I did not cut into it. Should I?

 

[Fryedbm]

Its typical when the cable/wire is bad
It means moisture has gotten inside the insulation, this corrosion decreases the amount of AMPs the cable can pass, so can cause issues like you observed
Slice it back farther to see how bad it is

What was the positive cable like?

 

[Fryedbm]

I don't know if you can tell but it is all through. Every strand is coated.

 

[Fryedbm]

The positive looks the same.....

 

[RonD]

Change the cables
What engine?
Battery cables are engine and year specific