Hey guys, I'm on a quest to bring my brother's truck up to speed (Specs in profile). Every time I type up a question on Google links to this forum come up. I figure is better to sign up.

Long story short he signed up for the Army and wants to sell his truck but has yet to take a step in that direction. While he's at boot I thought I would be a generous brother and try to solve some of his problems. Maybe I could convince him not to sell (for various reasons). This is where you guys come in.

As of right now there are 3 things that need to be addressed, as long as a little back story...

1) The airbag light is on. In relation, the light to the right of the stereo that says "Passenger Airbag is off" (or something of that nature). My general direction would be to just pull the bulbs and disable the air bag--pulling the fuse as well. Pure and simple.

2) The tire pressure light is on. My brother said he's aired the tires up accordingly, but he's a little reluctant to buy new sensors. I'm geared towards abandoning this whole tire pressure thing. Yank the bulbs, a true auto enthusiast checks his own tire pressure. Always been my motto on the topic.

3) There's some sort of short going on. Occasionally something will drain the battery even when the car is off.

This is by far the biggest issue. My brother replaced the battery before leaving for boot. We initially thought it was the AC since he claimed that it was frosting up as soon as the truck started even tho the AC wasn't on. I figure there's no real harm in unplugging the AC. Thus far this battery issue has only occurred once without the AC.


Any input, or directions pointed would be much appreciated. If my brother doesn't sell his truck, you may be hearing more of me, possibly him.

 

I would say fix it. Replace the passenger side air bag deactivation warning light. They don't cost that much and the air bags can save someones life.
To reset the tire light, turn the ignition switch from off to run three times, then apply and release the brake pedal, repeat the key cycle and brake pedal push until the horn honks, change the air pressure = add or release air. in the L/F tire until the horn honks, then do the same thing for the R/F tire, then the R/R tire, then the L/R tire. If you can't get this to work any tire shop should be able the reset the light for you = it's easier to reset the light with a tool to wake up the senors. Changing the tire pressure will also wake up the sensor.
To find a draw you can connect a amp meter between the battery and the cable, you shouldn't have more than .05 amp draw. If you do have a draw remove one fuse at a time until it goes away. Then you will know what circuit it's on and you can check things on that circuit. You may find something as simple as a glove box light that's not turning off.
I think your better off to fixing the Ranger right or just sell it as is.

 

Thanks for the reply. When you say the cable, which one are you talking about?

Another few things to mention about the truck. The horn doesn't work. So the tire pressure thing may be a little difficult.

Also, as far as ignition positioning I'm observing, counter clockwise, run, a blank position, the key eject position, and then a radio position. This is normal? Maybe I'm just not used to it from the vehicles i've driven in the past.

 

You can connect the meter between the positive post and positive cable.
Turning off the tire light is very easy with the tool to wake up the sensors, It's a little more of a pain without the tool.
To check the horn just unplug the power wire and use a test light to see if you have power when you push the button.
The ignition switch from full going clockwise is Accessory, off/lock , run, start

 

Okay, so a little progress on the battery draining issue. Without actually looking into it, I noticed that after the key is out of the ignition, the climate control will still respond to adjustments in the vents. In other words, even with the key out, I can still turn the **** from strait vents to windshield vents and still get activity--as if the vents would still adjust. This happens only to a certain extent. Fiddling with the **** enough it eventually stops responding.

I pulled the corresponding passenger fuse (10a for climate control blower relay/blend doors) and the only difference is no air blows out, still get adjustments in the vents for a small period of time.

Mods feel free to move this to an electronics section.

 

Alright, to make proper use of a forum and to further help others, I have an update on my brother's truck.

The battery drain issue was solved. Or at least for the moment. I took it to a shop and turns out it was a bad AC relay. I'm hopeful since the battery hasn't drained since but I'm hesitant to close the case on it right away.

The horn still doesn't work, and as far as the vents not working on long distance drives I have yet to follow up on that but I haven't taken the truck on any long distance drives either.

I'll keep posting with updates as I go along. :)