Hey! First time poster long time reader. Been have an issue with my ranger and its putting me in a bind and its beginning to irritate me because it was running perfect before. So going back about a month more ago I was using my 12v pp to charge my phone and about 5 minutes or so in it would pop or crackle and i would instantly take it out and id try doing it again and the same thing happened so I took it out and didnt use it for about a week. Tried using it again after that and again 5 minutes go by and it popped crackled and started to smoke a little and i didnt use it again after that. Now going to a few weeks ago. Was driving somewhere parked it, turned it off. Came back in and my lights on dash were dim and tried starting it. Cranked fairly slow and lights were dim but started and when it's turned on it runs perfect no issues. After that went to a gas station, pumped my gas and tried starting it. Nothing. Had it jump started and it had that same slow crank and I drove it home and once I turned that key to turn it off a loud pop sound happened and I lost all power. Only thing that worked was the dome light. No headlights or nothing works. And there's a series of 3 rapid clicks that happen the second i open my door that die down after about 15 seconds. While the clicking sound happens my dome light is dim and flickers with each of the clicks. Once I turn the key I lose power to my dome light but the clicking resumes and it still just as rapid. This bring me to today where I've replaced the 50a starter relay fuse a few others, the ignition switch cleaned my battery terminals quite well and cleaned the the starter grounds. After all this i get the same thing. And I have a fairly new battery that I've had tested and its fine. Has a new alternator, and everything from the head gasket up is new. The only thing I haven't replaced is the starter but I don't know if that's the case because I even tried jump starting it today and it barely Cranked but with the cables on it had power to everything and the clicking stopped and the second i took them off I had nothing again.my though I guess is that maybe I have a short somewhere because of the 12v port fr9m it smoking but I wouldn't know where to look first for that. I unplugged that 12v port and the prongs looked just a little burnt but not horrible. My questi9n for you guys is what could possibly cause this Problem? To have no power but has it on cablea. Also another note that might be.a Factor but not sure Is that I have 2 amps, one powering my speakeys and one powering my sub, just thought I'd throw that out there because im sure it draws a bit of power.

 

When electrical issues happen, check ALL the fuses, and not just visually. The best way (unless you have a fancy power probe 3 or greater) Is to use a volt meter with a resistance setting. Remove the fuses from the panel one at a time and check for continuity. Resistance should be very close to zero.

Replace blown fuses as necessary.

The device you mention crackling and smoking probably fried something. At the first sign of malfunction, it should have been either tossed or repaired.

Replacing the starter will not fix your problem, I can tell you that right now.

Keep an eye out for melted wires, and keep your nose out for that electrical burnt smell.

The clicking you hear is most likely going to be relays. It's not a bad idea to test your relays, but another option is to also replace them. You can get buckets of them from other Ford Vehicles for basically nothing at scrap yards. There will be relays under the hood in the mass distribution box and there should be another relay box under the dash, up towards the center in a black box, fairly narrow and long.

From all the info you've given, it wouldn't surprise me if the computer or the GEM were fried.

 

so I've replaced multiple relays and took off my ecu and checked to see if there was anything and it looks clean nothing out of the ordinary and even with it offim still getting clicking from the relay box that you had described

 

circuit boards are funny in the respect that it can look OK but can still be damaged or otherwise non-functioning.

You need to determine which relay it is that is making the clicking sound. Best way to do this is to touch each relay individually. You should feel the clicking as it makes and breaks contact.

With the ECU disconnected and the same symptom still being in effect, we can reasonably assume it's not the ECU sending voltage to the relay. Therefor it is most likely the GEM module.

If you can figure out which relay it is then you can determine which circuit is being affected and back-track from there.