I have a 93 ranger 2.3 manual. when its cold outside and I try and start the truck the starter just clicks and somewhere between the battery and driver side fender clicks, eventually it starts. Any suggestions?

 

Your Battery is most likely near End of Life

Easy to test it with Volt Meter
new battery will show 12.8volts to 13volts at rest, at rest is after sitting for 3 or more hours.
So you test a battery after is sits over night or for at least 3 hours

3 year old battery will show about 12.5volts at rest

5 years old 12.3volts at rest

When a battery gets to 12.2volts or less it is at End of Life, and with colder temps won't have enough amps to start engine.

Car battery store AMPS using Chemical reactions, the Plates in the battery transfer electrons back and forth as battery is Drained and then recharged, this damages the plates, so they eventually wear out, they can short out and battery will self drain, i.e. battery is dead in the morning but works OK after jump starting for the day.

Colder temps reduced the ability of the electrons to transfer from plate to plate, so a battery that is older simply doesn't have enough extra plate area to get enough amps out for the starter motor.
But this battery would be OK in warmer temps.
And the reason it works after several attempts is because each time you try to start engine the chemical reaction to get amps out heats up the battery a bit, when it reaches a certain internal temp enough amps can be released.

If battery is newer then could be your alternator/voltage regulator is going out, not fully charging the battery.
Sign of that is dimming headlight at idle, no that is NOT normal, lol.

 

The battery is only 2 mo old

 

No signs of bad alternator or voltage regulator

 

Read battery voltage, after it sits overnight

"New" used to mean "tested and it works"
New now means "never tested, but here's a warranty"

You could have a bad connector on the battery or start motor, but far more likely is that the new battery has failed

 

i second what ron d said in his last post. i had the 2.3 and had the occasional no crank phenom. it was clearly loose connections at the starter that was causing it. cleaning and tightening the wire connections on the starter cured it. those wires are very exposed to the elements, and you're in plattsburgh, so enough said.
check that first.

 

Make sure that you clean both the terminals on the battery AND the connectors thoroughly! Then make sure they are on tight. Only slight resistance is needed between the two to cause your issue.