4 days ago i bought a 1994 4x4 5speed splash ranger. drove it home in 2wd no problem,ran great. put it in 4wd the same day and tried to go and it lunged forward and died, like a really hard stall. then i tried to start it again and nothing. no starter clicks,no engine cycle,no noise,nothing. also the CEL came on when i tried to start it. i just put a new starter and solenoid in it thinking it was that,but it wasnt. and i figured before i spend another $200 id get some help from some people who know a little more than i. any ideas as to what the problem may be?cant get anywhere to get the CEL ran.THANKS!

 

To start I’d ensure the battery terminals are clean and tight. Next check the function of the starter relay (I believe its fender mounted on a 94). If you’re not getting power to terminal I at the relay (red with blue stripe wire) while cranking, check fuse 1 (60 amp) in the engine bay fuse block.

 

Yes ^^^

Time to get out the volt/ohm meter and check voltages and fuses, in the engine compartment fuse box

 

thank you for your responses. im quite certain its something along the likes of starter/fuse/electrical,etc because it still drift starts and runs just fine. i just dont know that lunge could mess with the electrical system though :\ i will check my fuses and whatnot in the morning, thanks again!

 

Check the Clutch switch.
On the clutch pedal push rod is a switch.

When you turn the key to START the ignition switch sends 12volts to the starter solenoid, this 12volts closes the solenoid and starter motor starts turning.

BUT...............to keep people from accidentally starting in gear, a switch was added to the clutch pedal, so that 12volts now goes thru this switch, to close this switch clutch pedal must be all the way down.

If you jammed the clutch pedal down hard when truck lurched you could have broken or popped off this switch.
If so you would get exactly what you describe, no starter motor at all with key, no click, no nothing.
But it would run fine if push started

 

the clutch switch was the problem. now i think i wired my starter wrong,put the terminals back on and it sparked a ton and started to melt. anyone have a wiring diagram for the starter?lol....i have the red wire on top and black on bottom screw thing....then the little 3rd wire is spliced to the little wire that the old one was hooked to.

 

On a 1994 4.0l starter motor there are only two wires
Large Red wire from battery, positive terminal.
Smaller wire from "clutch switch"/key switch

Picture here: Part 1 -How to Test the Starter Motor (Ford 4.0L)
B+ is battery cable
"S" is smaller cable

Smaller wire should only have 12volts when key is turned to START and clutch pedal is in all the way

Starter motor is Grounded by being bolted to the transmission, but the Negative battery cable(black) is sometimes located on one of the starter motor bolts that hold it to the transmission, this is done because starter motor is the biggest amp draw in the vehicle, so needs the best connection to the battery.

 

awesome,ill run the black cable to a bolt and hopefully that will work :)

 

it runs!Thanks all!

 

Good work

Thanks for posting results