Ran fine last night won't start this morning.

[bigrockets]

93 Ranger 4.0 4x4 manual transmission. Drove iot home from work. Parket it overnight. This morning it wouldn't start. Cranks and cranks but not even a sputter. I plan to start with determining if its getting spark. I can pick up a spark tester on the way home from work. I just want to make sure I wont kill a computer or anything by using a spark tester. Seems if it was a fuel delivery problem it at least would have sputtered before it died. Any help would be appreciated.

 

[4.0B2]

fuel could still be the problem.. things happen w/ no warning sometimes... check the fuel at the rail. justs push in the valve steam and make sure it has fuel there. listen for the fuel pump when you turn the key on.

check all wires and connections. check your fuses inside and out..

 

[88_Eddie]

have you tried jumping it? maybe a light stayed on, maybe the battery finally died for good and wont take a charge. maybe the alternator is wearingout and wont charge the battery anymore.....i wouldnt jump straight to fuel or spark, start simple

 

[bilzy7]

The same thing happens to my penis...

 

[bilzy7]

Did u move shifter to make sure it isn't in-between gears?
Ignition coils was one guys problem I just talked to. His truck did same. Check fuel inertia switch in passenger footwell?

 

[4.0B2]

shouldn't be battery, he says it turns over..
inertia switch could be it.
in between gears shouldn't be it, b/c its a manual and surely he is clutching it. right? lol

 

[nitrofan1]

Try the inertia switch first. Located in front of the shifter right at the bottom of the dash where the carpet meets the dash. Pull the carpet back a bit and you'll see it. Try pressing it in. If it's down and won't press it's OK. Next take a voltage tester and crawl under the back of the truck. You will need to work your way between the gas tank and the frame. Follow the harness to the sender plug harness. Take the test light with the key in the on position and test for power. With the key on and if your test light comes on you have power going to the pump. 90% of the time this ends up being a bad pump. If you don't have power the next would be a pump relay located in the power distribution box next to the battery. There are 3 identical relays. The lid will indicate what relay works which system. Swap the relays around. If the truck starts you have a bad relay.

If none of these work take a .45 and shoot the block. Then call me and we'll talk a sale!

 

[johncos007]

Sounds like my ranger. I parked it came out three hours later and wouldn't start. It ended up being my fuel pump. Listen for it when you crank it if you don't hear it hit the top of the gas tank with a mallet and crank it. Might get it going worked on my friends silverado.

 

[bilzy7]

Ya mine was auto and I went into store came out shot wouldn't start so I thought the starter or something went, moved shifter to neutral boom right up. Course I'm an auto. That or check coils maybe? Idk when's last time u replaced them.

 

[--weezl--]

Neutral safety switch and clutch switch typically prevent the engine from turning over, will not cut spark... My money is on fuel pump...

We don't need him crawling under the truck just yet... Check the schrader valve on the rail, for pressure... Overnight can drop it to 0psi, which will cause a crank, no fire situation (not even a little cough)

 

[bigrockets]

Neutral safety switch and clutch switch typically prevent the engine from turning over, will not cut spark... My money is on fuel pump...

We don't need him crawling under the truck just yet... Check the schrader valve on the rail, for pressure... Overnight can drop it to 0psi, which will cause a crank, no fire situation (not even a little cough)

Update: We had the big storm here so I didn't get a chance to play with it until this morning. I found the Inertia switch. The button was in but being an engineer I pushed on it anyway. I rolled out my tools lifted the hood and was just getting ready to dig into it when my wife suggested I try to start it again. So I gave her one of those looks that says " I know you're wrong but just to humor you I'll try it". Well the damn thing started right up. So this is really puzzling and I wish it would have stayed broken so that I could put the problem to bed. Could I have somehow flooded it when I went to start it on monday? I hate problems like this because it would be just my luck that it would fail again in the middle of the woods. I haven't replaced any parts on it since I just got it last month. It was my son's and we did replace the idle motor back in February. I have had fuel pump failures on other vehicles and usually the engine will fire until the rail pressure drops to zero. I am going to check the fuel pump pressure and flow today and maybe pick up a replacement pump. I read the section of the forum on the ignition system and I have a spark tester from my outboard motor so that if it presents again I can diagnose it. Thanks for all the great advice and help. It remains a mystery.

 

[Big Jim M]

You could have a lectric problem that occurs after a good heat soak.. I'd be getting it as warm as possible and allowing it to sit for a few minutes and then cycling it again and again to see if heat soak is the problem..
Big JIm

 

[--weezl--]

The problem was after sitting overnight...

I'm still going to say fuel pump... They have a tendency to cutout and not work, then start working again...

 

[tonyjklh]

i had the exact same problem once. for me it turned out to simply be two wires from the maf that wore through the insulation and shorted. took a while for me to figure out until my truck started randomly dying while driving.

 

[munchkinbaby01]

grrrrrrrrrrrrr

I have the same problem. My truck drove great coming home from work yesturday. Went out this morning and it wont turn over. I've got all my interior lights. We have replaced a lots of parts in the last year. The last part was a fuel pressure regulator and brake cylinoid. Could the fact that we replaced this cause another problem since it was running much better. Please help cause I love my truck my husband is ready to throw in the towel but I would hate for it to be one more simple thing to have it on the road again.