I went to turn the key on my Ranger and something snapped. I changed the ignition lock cylinder, which I learned later was not the problem. It was the actuator rod. In the meantime, I need to get this truck started and I thought maybe I could bypass the ignition and hot wire it. I found a diagram that says to use the red/light blue wire and the yellow wire. I took the panel off under the steering wheel and I see lots of yellow wires, but not red/ltblue one. Can anyone direct me to the correct wires?

 

Welcome to the forum

What year is the Ranger?

No on the hot wire if it is a V6 1999 or newer, or a 4 cyl 2002 and newer
These have PATS anti-theft system so need PATS key to start engine.

If older then remove the ignition switch from under the dash and then reconnect its wiring harness, you can then manually side ignition switch into its START, RUN and OFF positions, that's what the actuator rod does when you rotate the key

If it has PATS then you could do the same BUT you must have PATS key IN the key cylinder when you try to start engine
There is an antenna loop around the key cylinder that "reads" the number in the PATS key when ignition switch is put in the ON(RUN) position, if number MATCHES a number in computer memory then engine can be started, if not the right number or no number then NO START