- Joined
- Jul 28, 2013
- Messages
- 184
- Points
- 1,601
- Vehicle Year
- 1992
- Transmission
- Manual
At almost 300K miles and 30+ years old my trusty 1992 4.0 2wd Ranger had to leave me stranded eventually. I was on a job site with it backing in a trailer in a tight spot to get some gravel where we needed to dump it.
It put the trailer in the right spot and we emptied out the gravel but when I went to start it, nothing, almost like a dead battery but I know the battery was good. I quickly tested my theory and saw the 12.5v across the terminals. I cleaned and replaced all the engine fuses but they were all fine and no difference after that. The starter relay on the fender was showing 12.5v as well but still nothing with the key. The guys on site helped me unhook the trailer and push the Ranger out of the way so we could get the trailer with another truck.
In pushing the Ranger I did have to crank the wheel a hard to steer it where we wanted to park it but after doing so, I did turn the key to start and it caused the solenoid to engage for a second but after that, nothing. I noticed the power locks did not work correctly either. It was making me think I have a short or bad connection somewhere that somehow got affected by cranking the wheel.
I had to leave the Ranger on site as the work day came to an end. I might get back to it Monday or Tuesday. Wondering if anyone has had a similar experience with a bad connector or a short somehow related to cranking the wheel on a first generation Ranger.
It put the trailer in the right spot and we emptied out the gravel but when I went to start it, nothing, almost like a dead battery but I know the battery was good. I quickly tested my theory and saw the 12.5v across the terminals. I cleaned and replaced all the engine fuses but they were all fine and no difference after that. The starter relay on the fender was showing 12.5v as well but still nothing with the key. The guys on site helped me unhook the trailer and push the Ranger out of the way so we could get the trailer with another truck.
In pushing the Ranger I did have to crank the wheel a hard to steer it where we wanted to park it but after doing so, I did turn the key to start and it caused the solenoid to engage for a second but after that, nothing. I noticed the power locks did not work correctly either. It was making me think I have a short or bad connection somewhere that somehow got affected by cranking the wheel.
I had to leave the Ranger on site as the work day came to an end. I might get back to it Monday or Tuesday. Wondering if anyone has had a similar experience with a bad connector or a short somehow related to cranking the wheel on a first generation Ranger.

