starter solenoid
 

i have a 99 ranger 3.0 2wd auto i went to start it today and nothing happened all ligjts come on so its not battery and had starter checked and its good i bought a starter solenoid but cant find it on my truck its supposed to be mounted on the fender but its not there and its not the same one thats mounted on the actual starter not sure where to go from here

'99 won't have fender mounted solenoid, auto parts store should have known that?

Your starter solenoid is on the starter motor, it will have a large cable from the battery and a smaller wire from the Key switch connected.


The Key switch wire activates the solenoid when key is turned all the way to START, 12volts is sent out from ignition switch to solenoid, but it passes thru another switch as a safety precaution.

If you have an Automatic transmission then it will pass thru the NSS(neutral safety switch) located on the transmission, if transmission is not in Park or Neutral then starter solenoid will not get the 12volts from Key switch.
On automatics the shift cable can get loose so it will shift into Park but NSS isn't fully depressed so can't pass the 12volts to starter, try starting in Neutral.

On manual transmissions there is a Clutch safety switch, it is located on the clutch pedal push rod under the dash.
When clutch pedal is pushed down all the way the switch closes and will pass the 12volts to the starter solenoid.
This switch just clamps on to the push rod and can pop off, or the switch can fail.

EDIT:
Just look up '99 Ranger 3.0l and if does have Type B PATS(passive anti-theft system), type B system has a "starter interrupt", is your anti-theft light working as usual or is it flashing?
Do you have another key you can try?

theft light flashes as usual and i did try to start in neutral

Should be a Starter relay in engine fuse box

ron thanks so much turns out my key was cracked on the top i tried my spare key and it started right up! thanks so much

Good work on figuring it out

Thanks for posting the fix