Hello. All I wanted to do is fix my 2003 Ford Ranger bc it won't start, no power at all. Hopefully I will get it fixed in time for work on Monday. But now that I see there exists a whole community of Ford Ranger enthusiasts plus the fact that I desire to restore and mod my vehicle, I think that I'll try to be a contributing member here as well. I live in central Florida and have owned my 2000 Ford Ranger XLT 5 speed since 2003. I've put over $5k into it (most of the work I probably could have done me self) and it has operated well for me with few kinks and quarks. Anyway, nice to meet you all and thanks for letting me be here. My username from a Van Halen album, whom I grew up with ; )

 

Welcome to the forum.
No power at all ???

Do the dash lights come on when the key is turned to the "ON" position ?
Does it turn over, but no start ?
When the key is off, do the brake lights and interior door lights work ?

I'm thinking you have a bad ground or grounds.
A common problem is for the negative battery cable to come lose on the engine block.
There is also a ground wire at the back of the drivers side head that's for the PCM.
The stud that it attaches too on the fire wall is painted green, sometimes the paint prevents a proper ground.
It's awkward to get at on the head, so be prepared.

Could also be bad cables at the battery and/or internal corroded connections inside the battery cables _ + and - .

Could be a problem with the PATS too.

 

Hey thanks Jeff R 1. Yes I need to check all of those things, am doing so now. Will post more in the appropriate area of this forum. And thank you for responding.

 

Welcome to the forum

2003 Ranger will have 2 Positive battery cables, the larger one will run to Starter Motor, smaller one to Engine Fuse Box

Smaller one powers all the electrics in the truck, when engine is off, check larger AMP fuses in this fuse box

There is no 12volts unless there is 0 volts(ground) so "power" can make a circuit.

As Jeff said check battery Ground cables

 

Okay, I've removed the battery cable connectors am cleaning them well for I put vaseline on the terminals after I bought them awhile back. I'll use a dielectric grease this time to help prevent corrosion on the battery and battery cables. The copper ends of the battery cables don't look good so I'll try to clean'em and if not cut them off as last resort. Hopefully it's just the battery cables that need restoration here.

I've looked at all the fuses from the engine fuse box (top drivers side) and they seem fine. But how do I know if the relays are still good?

Don't know how the heck I can check the end of the negative battery cable which goes under engine and onto bottom left side where the uh... starter is located?

 

The ground cable on the block is a bear to get at.
Reach down and see if it moves or the stud is tight.
If both are tight, then it's probably OK.
When I tore my engine down, the stud and nut was extremely tight.

Shortly after I bought mine, I was at the bank and all that happened was the solenoid on the starter clicked.
The previous owner allowed battery acid to penetrate inside the cable, and the cable itself wasn't making contact with the terminal clamp.
When I skinned it back it was full of acid and heavily oxidized, it's a wonder it even started at all.
Not saying yours in like that, but something to look into.

Vaseline isn't the greatest, it turns yellow with age.
The clear dielectric grease is far superior.

 

Yes, will buy the right product for MAF cleaning. Cleaned and reinstalled the pos & neg battery connectors and nothing, truck shows no sign of life. So it seems that my truck's battery may not be in good shape after all. I checked the battery water level seems to be a little low so maybe add some distilled water to it?

I've tested the battery with a tester and nothing although the tester might have gone bad (go figure), though I recently bought it at Harbor Freight few days ago. This particular tester must first be clipped onto the pos and neg sides of the battery in order to operate, it has a probe and the LED light turns either red or green. However, I accidentally left the tester connected to my truck's battery for an hour or so today. Maybe that drained the battery? I could attempt to restore the battery with a battery charger now and/or try to start engine with that but it the problem is something else then probably won't work.

 

I reached to the end of the neg. cable (that goes into the starter?) and it seems pretty well tight there, not lose at all.

After filling up truck battery with distilled water (to the bottom of the battery rim only), which did need about 1/2 - 3/4 glass full, I hooked up the Schumacher charger and plugged it in. That's when two different strange sounds came on, one fast clicking sound from right under the steering column and the other from some type of relay from under and behind the glove box. I turned the key in an attempt to stop those two clicking noises but they continued somewhat. I shut the battery charger off. Any suggestions?

 

Add water if it's low, don't over fill it.
Use a trickle charger over night, it's better for the battery.
Don't know if the tester would drain it or not, no experience with those.

You'll know in the morning if the battery holds a charge.
How old id the battery ?

What happens is the lead on the plates flake off over time and collect at the bottom of the battery.
Eventually the lead shorts the plates out and you have a dead battery.

 

You lost track of the negative cable, that's connected to the block, the positive connects to the starter.

The battery should be disconnected from the truck when charging.
Always disconnect the negative first.
You may leave the positive connected if you wish.
Wrap a rag around the negative cable so it doesn't accidently come in contact with the battery terminal of the charger.

Can't say what those clicking noises are.

 

Yeah I don't know about those clicking sounds from the battery charger being hooked up to my truck though. Even on trickle charge the sounds still occur. Don;t want to break anything else in that truck. Looks like I'll have to hire a pro, maybe a mobile mechanic, to get her fixed. You've given me good advice and I really appreciate it. I'll try to take some pics of the Ranger and put'em up here somewhere.

 

You do know dielectric grease does NOT conduct electricity, it should never be used on the metal parts that need to conduct electricity, like battery terminals, nor should Vaseline

You clean battery terminals and cables so they are clean bare metal then connected them, and THEN you can put a coating of what ever you like over them to prevent Oxygen from corroding them.

Same for any electrical connectors, metal parts need to be clean and dry, you put dielectric grease around the edges of plastic connector then push it together, this helps prevent water and air(oxygen) from getting in


Measure the battery voltage, 12.3 to 12.8 volts is expected
Under 12.2 volts is a dead battery
If you don't have a volt meter borrow or buy one, you will just be wasting your time until you can test voltages

 

Indeed. I may purchase a good volt meter tomorrow at Harbor Freight. Thanks for your advice!