I have a 2001 B3000 that had bad head and cylinder so I decided to just to a full engine swap. I found a 2005 Ranger engine and transmission combo that came with the wiring harness also that only had 110K miles on them. I am using the original computer form the 2001. I finally got the engine in today and hooked everything up including all the electrical, but have not put the exhaust, drive shaft or radiator on. I wanted to make sure the truck would start before I went any further. When I try to crank the truck nothing happens at all. My first thought was that the transmission was not in park or neutral. I climbed under the truck and moved it through all possible positions and got the same result.

My goal was to use the 05 wiring harness because it was in better condition than the one from the 2001. Everything seemed to plug in ok except there is one connecter that is near the rear O2 sensor and I have no idea where it goes. Not sure if it is something from the 05 that was not on the 01. I have attached a picture of the connector, if you know what it is and where it goes please let me know. I am not sure if this is the reason that the truck will not crank at all.

The only real other difference is the intake is not cast like the 2001. I may have to switch the intake out so the throttle cables can be connected correctly.

Here are a few questions that I have.
Is the 2001 and 2005 wiring harness the same or can this be the reason for my issues?
Any ideas on why the truck will not crank at all?
Where does the connector in the picture connect to? We left the harness on the engine and trans and pulled it out all together, so I believe it had to hook so something on the truck.

Any help would be greatly appreciated. I am trying to get this truck running for my son.

 

Was the harness from a 4x4?
That looks like transfer case shift motor plug in

Yes, harness will be different between 2001 and 2005

And could be why there is a no crank situation
2001 used PATS in computer
2005 didn't use PATS at all

I assume the THEFT light works, comes on and then goes off, its not Flashing rapidly after key on
Check Fuse 24 in cab fuse box, that's the starter activate fuse, should have 12v but ONLY when key is turned to START

If so you may need to ground the starter relay in engine fuse box
Pull out the starter relay, key off
Test each slot for a ground, 2005 would have a full time ground, 2001 wouldn't
Turn key on, if no flashing theft light you should find a Ground now
If not that's most likely the issue

If there is a ground then.........key off, test each slot for 12volts, one should have 12v, full time 12v
Now have someone turn key to START, test for 12v, should now be another 12v slot from fuse 24 that passes THRU Neutral switch, if no 12v then wiring from fuse 24 thru neutral switch is the issue

 

So here is the update.

· No the transmission was not from a 4x4.

· The theft light does not come on at all, I had to actually hunt to find out where it was on the cluster.

· I ran through the other checks that you mentioned

· I have 12V at fuse 24

· Found the ground when the key was on at the relay and had 12V on one side. When I tried to start it I didn’t not have 12V on the other side.

I started and tested the engine and trans before we pulled them out of the 05 donor, so I know the neutral switch was working.

When I put the truck in reverse with the key in the ON position, the reverse light do not come on. So maybe the NSS went bad.

Is there a way to jump the NSS just to see if I can get it to fire and narrow down the issue? I do have the NSS off the 2001 transmission that I can swap it out for.

I am still wondering if that extra set of wires has something to do with it.

 

Up to 2002 all Rangers were wired for Manual transmissions, so if it was getting an automatic a Clutch switch Jumper was installed in the cab, this would pass the 12v START signal to NSS
2005 wouldn't have that part of the harness

At the NSS there should be a Pink wire, from fuse 21(thru the clutch switch jumper)
And also a tan/red stripe wire that goes to the starter relay in engine fuse box

Jumper pink to tan/red and 12volts will pass

Key in START(12v out)----------fuse 21-------------(clutch pedal jumper)----------------------pink wire-------NSS------tan/red wire------------------------starter relay

Pull back the wire loom(covering) on the connector and get the wire colors on it, then you may be able to find out what it is for

 

Life happens and it has been a few weeks since I could trouble shoot anything.

I realized that the 2005 wiring harness would not work because the main plug was wired differently than the 2001 harness and that is why I wasn’t getting 12V at the NSS. I put the 2001 harness on the truck and now I have 12V at the NSS. But I am still not getting anything to crank. Theft light is blinking but once every 3 or 4 seconds, so I don’t believe it’s the PAT’s stopping it and I don’t see how the computer could have gone bad.

Problem is that even if I jump the pink wire with the tan/red wire, I get nothing back at the relay(engine fuse block #10). I thought maybe the NSS was out of alignment, I check and it wasn’t. I decided to take off the NSS from the old trans to see if the NSS was bad and got the same result.

I am at a complete loss on why I am no getting power back the relay after the NSS.

If anyone has any ideas I would be greatly appreciated. I am about to just put the thing back together and take it to a shop.

 

So you have 12v at Fuse 21 when key is turned to START

Do you have 12v on the Pink wire at NSS with key in START position?
If so disregard below

Under the dash is the Clutch Jumper connector, this was used up to about 2002, after that Ford used a different wiring harness for manual and automatics
So prior to that ALL Rangers were wired as manuals
So there is a 6 wire connector above where the clutch pedal would be, to plug in a Clutch Pedal switch
On an automatic there would be a separate harness plugged into the 6 wire connector, that harness ran to NSS


If you jumper the pink and tan/red wire on NSS connector that bypasses the NSS and you should see the 12v at the starter relay with key turned to START

THEFT light should not flash at all with key on, it should come on and then go off, and stay off until key is off again
PATS also doesn't effect the 12volts to starter relay, it disables the Ground on starter relay if triggered, so no crank because of that

 

Update!!! Been a while since I worked on the truck due to shattering my arm and requiring surgery.



I retested the grounds at the starter relay and did not have a ground coming from the PATS system to the relay. Made a call to the Mazda dealership and they recommended having a locksmith come out to reset the system and reprogram keys. Locksmith just left and was unable to fix anything. All of their equipment could not find the PCM. The message was something like “powertrain control module unique identifier not recognized”. They recommended that I buy a new ECM online install it, then have them come out to recut the new keys. I know I can get an ECM online for about $200 that is already programmed to the truck and VIN number. Since the truck is using the original 01 wiring harness and computer I am assuming that there is a good connection between the ignition the engine and the ECM. I have checked all the pins at the engine connector and the ECM none of them are bent or broken.



Do you think somehow doing the engine swap would cause the ECM to fry? Do you think when I hooked up the 05 harness and tried that originally it could have fried something in the computer?

Are there any other suggestions that I can try before replacing the ECM? Am I at a level where I need to have a Mazda dealership troubleshoot the issue?



Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you

 

Have you tried just jumping the starter relay to see if engine will run?
If so you can just ground the starter relay like 1995 to 1998 Rangers did, pre-PATS

Wiring wise there were no pin changes on ECM from 1995 to 2006(2007-2011 had 3 connector ECM)
There were additions to unused pins but not on used pins
i.e. fuel injector 1 was hooked to same ECM pin in 1995 and 2006
So no you did not "fry" the ECM
Not sure why they couldn't talk to the 2001 ECM
They couldn't talk to a 2005 ECM unless its matching digital cluster was present

2001 and 2005 would have different PATS system
2001 had PATS "module" inside the ECM, just software not an actual module
2005 had separate PATS module in the Digital Instrument cluster

 

I have not tried jumping the relay. Can you walk me through that so i know im doing it correctly.

I am using the 01 ECM not the 05. the only thing 05 is the engine and trans. Although its still the 05 intake and accessories. i didnt swap any of that out.

thank you in advance.

 

Also not sure if the Fuel pump is getting power either. would jumping the starter relay fix that also?

 

If fuel pump is also not working then PATS, is indeed, preventing start up and no, jumping starter relay wouldn't help, engine would turn but there would be no fuel and no fuel injectors
There is no by-pass for PATS

Does the CEL(check engine light) come on with Key ON, that means computer is powering up, no CEL means computer is OFF

Does the THEFT light on the dash flash rapidly with Key ON, that mean PATS is active and won't allow start up

 

that is why i thought the PATS was acting up because of the fuel pump also.

the CEL does not come on at all no matter the position of the key, but it looks like the other lights all come on.

The Theft light flashes once every 3 seconds also, even when i have the key turned to the Start and On positions. I thought it was supposed to flash rapidly if the PATS was causing an issue.

 

You computer is not powering up, no CEL

Check Fuse #19 in Cab fuse box, 25amp
Also check fuse #11 in cab fuse box, 7.5amp

Check Fuse #7 in ENGINE Fuse box, 30amp

One is blown
or PCM relay or diode is bad

THEFT light flashes every 3 seconds or so with Key OFF, thats normal, should NOT flash at all with key on, unless PATS is activated and then its a few flash every second, fast flash
Until computer powers up key is NOT officially "ON"

You need to get the CEL to come on, i.e. the computer to power up

That's why Locksmith couldn't connect to it, its not "ON"

 

I checked the fuses and relays that you mentioned. All seem to working properly.

I disconnect the engine wiring harness at the square plug and i have 12V at Pin 6 the large red wire. i believe that goes to the ECM connector, and just looking at the wire colors I believe it goes to the 8th pin from the left on the top row. I count not find a good diagram. If that is the correct wire, I have 12V when the key is put to run.

After see this and talking with ford when I called about getting a new PCM diode (just in case it was bad), I believe the ECM has either lost all programming or just wont turn on. Unless there is something else to check or i checked the wrong wire going to the PCM, think I need to get a new pre-programmed PCM. it would cost me about $100 more to have it towed to a dealership to have them try and flash the PCM and that is not a guarantee ether.

and other Ideas? I really need to get this truck running for my kid.

 

Since this was just an engine swap I would be hard pressed to think the PCM would be the issue
The wiring harness is more likely

But Ford can check both

 

Originally I had the 05 harness on the engine and tried to start it that way. I then noticed that the engine wiring on the engine connector plug was different, so i swapped it out for the original 01 harness. I am wondering if power got sent to the PCM the wrong way then and that is what is causing it.

Ford wont even take a look at it because its a Mazda and the they say their equipment may not be able to talk to the PCM since its a mazda. Not saying i agree with this, but that is what my local ford service department is telling me.

 

The is a software call Forscan and a Forum for using it, its a more complete OBD2 interface than just a Code Reader, i.e. you can change things in the PCM
You can look on the Forum to see if people have used it with Mazda B-series

Its not expensive, if you have a laptop already, but you do need a OBD2 to USB cable to interface vehicle with Laptop/tablet
Its free to try but you still need that cable

 

Thank you for all the help!!!

Finally got the truck running today. I ended up buying a new PCM and it fired right up!!! just got to tighten a few bolts and I should be good to go!! I really appreciate all the help.