I was told it was the battery. new battery installed, same issue sometimes. it wont start. was told the electrical test was ok. I have the original starter and alternator on here, 145,000 miles.

could it be one of the relays, the things you plug into the fuse box under the hood?

I have the 3.0 V6. if the starter or alternator were bad, how would I know?

 

Welcome to the forum



"Won't start" ?

Starter motor doesn't turn the engine........, no sounds at all
Starter motor doesn't turn the engine........but I hear "clicks"
Starter motor does turn the engine, but it doesn't startup, fuel or spark problem not battery

You need to get a Volt meter, $20
Set it for DC Volts
Test battery terminals with key OFF, should read 12.3 to 12.9 volts
Start engine
Test battery again, with engine running, 13.6 to 14.9 volts mean alternator is working, same 12volts as engine off means it is not working

 

turns a little with low sound but no clicks. then theirs not enough power to turn at all. I'll try your suggestion thanks. :)

 

Starter motor tuning slow can be a few things:

Low battery voltage, should be 12.3-12.9volts, lower can be battery problem or charging system problem

Battery cables, BOTH + and - cables need to have good connections
Starter motor pulls 70-150amps depending on the engine size
With any electrical system the lowest AMP connection is the maximum amps that can travel through the circuit.
If Positive cable can handle 200 amps but negative cable has a dirty or loose 50amp connection, then 50 amps is the maximum for that circuit.

Starter motor is failing, it is an electric motor so will always fail at some point, it can suddenly just not work, or it can slowly start drawing more and more amps until available amps can barely turn it.
Easy test for that is to hook up volt meter to battery, say battery reads 12.5volts
Watch voltage as someone tries to start engine, it should only drop 2.5 volts, usually less, so you should see 10 to 10.5volts on meter, if it drops below 10volts then starter or cables can be at fault

 

they tested electrical again. starter and alternator is fine. I was looking at the relay for the fuel pump. I noticed if I pull that relay out while its running, the motor mimics what it does when it wont start. so for $15 I bought a new relay. I"ll see if that is the culprit. if it still happens I may just get a new starter and try that. thanks for the tips everyone. :)

 

so today it would not start. (ongoing issue for months now).. I was at the gas station. a guy came up to speak to me. he was driving an older fold truck. he said it sounds like the fuel pump is going bad. (motor turns but wont start). he said if I tap on the gas tank it should start. well I did and it started!

so does this mean the fuel pump is the issue? anyone? it will cost me $750 to fix this so I don't want to be wrong. I have 146,000 miles and the original fuel pump

 

Yes, if tapping on gas tank got fuel pump to start(you can hear it) then it is going bad.

Once an electric motor starts it will stay running even it has a problem.
Starting an electric motor is when a problem will show up, giving it a tap will often get it going, and it will stay going until you shut it off.

Although the $750 sounds a bit high.
OEM Ford fuel pump module should be $200-$250
Labor to remove and replace fuel pump $250

EBAY has Ford original(OEM) fuel pumps for $150-$175: NEW OEM Ford Fuel Pump Module YL5Z-9H307-FC Ford Ranger Extended Cab 2000-2001 | eBay

Even with 50% mark up thats $225-$262
Shops have to mark up parts because they also warranty the parts, and it is also why they only use OEM parts, less problems.
You can get 3rd party fuel pumps for $100, and most work fine, but........not and easy part to swap out if it does fail early