My ranger wont start now... It's got no hood for reasons, and it rained really hard this past week. it cranks just fine but wont start. it's not a spark issue because it will start on starting fluid. that leaves fuel as my issue. I'm not sure if its injectors, or maybe a fuel pump or something. any advice on how to check these things?

 

Welcome to the forum

When you turn the key on you should SEE the CEL(check engine light) come on, this means computer is booting up
And you should HEAR the fuel pump come for 2 seconds, repeat key off and on to make sure you HEAR the HUMMM from the pump


If you get the CEL but are not sure on the fuel pump then you can try to turn it on manually

Go here: https://www.therangerstation.com/tec...ry/OBD_I.shtml

In the engine bay between fuse box and firewall will be the OBD1 connector, also called VIP connector, as seen in drawing
Fuel pump slot is labelled on drawing
If you put a jumper wire in that slot and Ground the jumper wire(battery negative) the fuel pump relay under the fuse box should "click" closed, and fuel pump should be heard running in the gas tank
If not then pump is either dead or not getting 12volts


If CEL is not coming on then no computer or fuel pump, but spark would still work
Under the engine fuse box are 2 or 3 relays, 3 relays if you have AC
One relay has a brown base, its the EEC relay, if should "click" on with key on, it powers up the EEC(computer) and injectors, also the fuel pump relay
Other relay has green base, its the fuel pump relay

There is also a 20 or 30 amp fuse in the fuse box above these to power the equipment, make sure no blown fuses


Not for nothing.............
A tarp over the engine bay when its sitting would be a good idea
Water doesn't cause short circuits, the minerals mixed with water DOES(remember that high school Chem class experiment)
Engine bays tend to get pretty dirty over the years
When you add water then the minerals in the dirt get mix with the water, and if you add electricity...................well you get shorts and blown fuses

 

When I turn the key to on position I get no CEL. no fuses are blown, the brown relay is incredibley corroded and crusty, but I clean the connections. is there a way to check that it's the issue?

 

The EEC Relay(brown) should "click" closed with key on

If you are alone, turn key on,then unplug the relay it should click OPEN, then plug it back in and it should click closed

The red/light green wire turns this relay on when it has 12volts from ignition switch
So you can use a test light or volt meter to see if this wire has 12volts with key on, if it does but relay doesn't "click" then relay is bad
If no 12volts then problem is with the red/green wire, it runs back to ignition switch under steering column in the cab

If relay "clicks" then its OK but either the Yellow or red wire is too corroded to pass 12volts
Yellow wire should have 12volts all the time, from 30amp fuse in engine fuse box
Red wire should have 12volts when relay closes, it sends 12v out to computer and injectors

 

I replaced both of the relays, now I can hear the fuel pump prime and the CEL is on. now it wont start at all. before it would sputter when I put fuel in the intake. now I've got nothing... any advice?

 

No start after adding fuel manually means no spark, so test if you have 12v at the coil and/or TFI module with key on
The CEL should go OFF when cranking the engine over, that means computer is "seeing" the timing pulse from TFI module/distributor

So if CEL stay on when cranking then no timing pulse for spark or fuel