96 4.0 Ranger Automatic. Installed shell to load truck for a week out of town fishing. Went to put truck in gear and it wouldn't go out of park. Had it flatbedded to my mechanic who diagnosed a blown brake light fuse. New fuse and back on the road.Fuse blew when I wired the shell. Too weird.

 

Shift interlock. You can't take the truck out of Park unless the Shift Lock Actuator module gets the signal that the brake is applied. With the fuse blown, that can't happen.

 

Is this a problem anyone else has had? A guy I work with was telling a story from last weekend about his 96 4.0 Mazda truck and it turns out this was his problem. I have a 2004 4.0 Ranger and just wonder if this is a troubleshooting idea that I need to keep in my back pocket while I am towing stuff.

 

It is not a problem, it is a safety feature to keep people from driving around with no brake lights. You should be able to work around it in an emergency by shifting into D with the key in the on position, but the engine off, then starting the truck once it is already in D.

 

my truck is having this problem. it seemed to only start when it got cold. the day i bought it and the day or two after, it was shifting fine. now it will get stuck in park if it sits too long in the cold. if the truck is warm (like after i park it driving back to the office from lunch), it will shift fine. I also found it helps to get it out of park sometimes by applying the brake and also the accelerator lightly, then it will come out. does this sound like maybe the fuse is going bad? if so, i will love all of you if it fixes my problem :)

 

Panamint, ohhhhh, Studebaker Silver Hawk. Nice.

It sounds like you may have a short in your topper wiring. Try disconnecting the topper wiring. If that keeps it from blowing the fuse then check the wiring.

 

I don't think mine is a fuse issue. Today I tried putting the ignition in the on position (without starting the engine) and was still unable to shift out of park. I am seeing a pattern that if I let the car warm up a bit, it will shift out with a little acceleration.

 

This happened in my Car all you have 2 do is put the truck in Neutal witht he key in the on position then turn it on and put it in Drive thats just so u cna gte back and forth i'd check your rear tail lights and what ever you last messed with. To see if theres any broken wires.

 

Wont come out of park even in just the on position. I dont think it's a brake light problem. I haven't messed with anything either. Just got the truck a week and a half ago.

 

I have the same problem with my '98 4.0 auto. Sometimes when it's cold out the truck won't shift out of park, it gets better once the truck it warmed up. Is there a brake pressure switch as well?

 

Irrelevant, but I unhooked my shift lock solenoid. I no longer have to hit the brake to take the truck out of park. It comes in handy every once in awhile.

 

Yes check your fuses before you take it to a mechanic. I went fishing and when I got home and parked the boat the shifter wouldn't come back out of park. There was a short in the trailer which blew my fuse. Replaced the fuse and problem solved.

 

It's been since 06 I hope he figured out the problem...lol

 

How did you unhook your solenoid? & where exactly is it? I have the same problem but can't find the solenoid...

 

Hello -
Sorry to dig up an old thread. But I wanted to document my fix somewhere as this was driving me crazy.
Symptom: Fuse 13 on inner cabin was blown due to excess power on circut. Left blinker turned on all 3 brake lights & made them flash/blink along with the two left blinker indicators. Fuse 13 also runs the shift interlock & brake lights so after confirming the brake switch was good.
Fix: Remove trailer wiring and connect the two connectors. Replace blown fuse.

Resources used:
https://www.ranger-forums.com/genera...hazard-169032/ <-- see the electrical wiring PDF
https://www.therangerstation.com/tec...ams/#gsc.tab=0 <---- fuse diagrams
https://www.ranger-forums.com/genera...k-park-116038/ <--- interlock stuck