Couple questions about a 1991 Ranger
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From: MO
Couple questions about a 1991 Ranger
I'm posting this for my buddy whos not a car guy. I've got a couple of questions and I'd appreciate any help.
Every once in awhile his turn signals will stop working and its usually the fuse has popped out and he just pushes it back in. Recently his turn signals will light up, on the gauge cluster and on the exterior, but not flash. I told him to check grounds, but without knowing anything about his particular truck I'm not sure what grounds should be cleaned, although I'm sure all of them could benefit from it. So that's my first question, if anyone has any other ideas or diagrams showing the location of the grounds I'd appreciate it. He's due for an oil change so that'd be a good time for me to help him clean his grounds when I change his oil. My next question is about his engine. As far as I can tell he has the 4.0 V6, from stickers under the hood and looking up the vin, but last time I changed his oil the filter I removed was for the 3.0, IIRC, so that's what I replaced it with. So my question is are the two engine filters interchangeable or is there something else going on?
Thank again for any input.
1991 Ford Ranger 4x4 about 60,000 on the clock, probably 160,000. BTW this truck has the cleanest underside I've ever laid eyes on.
Every once in awhile his turn signals will stop working and its usually the fuse has popped out and he just pushes it back in. Recently his turn signals will light up, on the gauge cluster and on the exterior, but not flash. I told him to check grounds, but without knowing anything about his particular truck I'm not sure what grounds should be cleaned, although I'm sure all of them could benefit from it. So that's my first question, if anyone has any other ideas or diagrams showing the location of the grounds I'd appreciate it. He's due for an oil change so that'd be a good time for me to help him clean his grounds when I change his oil. My next question is about his engine. As far as I can tell he has the 4.0 V6, from stickers under the hood and looking up the vin, but last time I changed his oil the filter I removed was for the 3.0, IIRC, so that's what I replaced it with. So my question is are the two engine filters interchangeable or is there something else going on?
Thank again for any input.
1991 Ford Ranger 4x4 about 60,000 on the clock, probably 160,000. BTW this truck has the cleanest underside I've ever laid eyes on.
Welcome to the forum
Yes, 3.0l and 4.0l OHV used same oil filters
Turn signal lights won't come on at all if ground or 12volts is not OK
So its either a failing Flasher or a burned out bulb
Flashers work be HEAT, when you turn on the 3 bulbs(front, dash and rear) the amps used by the 3 bulbs heats up the Flasher unit, and its internal contacts separate making a "CLICK" noise and cutting power to the 3 bulbs, bulbs off
Flasher cools off fast and reconnects, bulbs ON, repeats..............until you turn off the bulbs
If a bulb burns out then less AMPS are needed, so flasher doesn't get hot enough to "open"/click and cut power to remaining 2 bulbs, so they come on but do not flash, go off
Each of the 3 bulbs has its own ground, local, so front bulb is grounded at front of vehicle, dash bulb is ground in dash, rear bulb is ground in rear, so no common ground
Flasher itself can also fail, so turn on turn signals; then walk around the vehicle, if front, back and dash lights are all on then replace flasher
When you hook up a trailer you add a 4th bulb, so you will notice turn signals flash faster, because of higher amps with 4 bulbs, so flasher heats up faster
Yes, 3.0l and 4.0l OHV used same oil filters
Turn signal lights won't come on at all if ground or 12volts is not OK
So its either a failing Flasher or a burned out bulb
Flashers work be HEAT, when you turn on the 3 bulbs(front, dash and rear) the amps used by the 3 bulbs heats up the Flasher unit, and its internal contacts separate making a "CLICK" noise and cutting power to the 3 bulbs, bulbs off
Flasher cools off fast and reconnects, bulbs ON, repeats..............until you turn off the bulbs
If a bulb burns out then less AMPS are needed, so flasher doesn't get hot enough to "open"/click and cut power to remaining 2 bulbs, so they come on but do not flash, go off
Each of the 3 bulbs has its own ground, local, so front bulb is grounded at front of vehicle, dash bulb is ground in dash, rear bulb is ground in rear, so no common ground
Flasher itself can also fail, so turn on turn signals; then walk around the vehicle, if front, back and dash lights are all on then replace flasher
When you hook up a trailer you add a 4th bulb, so you will notice turn signals flash faster, because of higher amps with 4 bulbs, so flasher heats up faster
Last edited by RonD; Jun 17, 2020 at 12:48 PM.
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From: MO
Thanks for the reply. That all makes sense just didn't cross my mind at the time. I'll have him double check all the bulbs and inform him about the flasher. How do I know which one he needs? I see three options at Autozone, one says hazard flasher so I assume that's out and then there's an LF12 or LL552. Thanks again.
Either one is fine
1993 has TWO flashers, same part numbers, one flasher is on the front of the cab fuse box, easy to get at, it is for the Turn Signals
The second Flasher is for the 4-way Hazard lights, its on the BACK SIDE of the cab fuse box
Its the round thing in this picture: https://cdn.hswstatic.com/gif/turn-signal-dashpanel.jpg
Just pulls out, 552 model is pictured
1993 has TWO flashers, same part numbers, one flasher is on the front of the cab fuse box, easy to get at, it is for the Turn Signals
The second Flasher is for the 4-way Hazard lights, its on the BACK SIDE of the cab fuse box
Its the round thing in this picture: https://cdn.hswstatic.com/gif/turn-signal-dashpanel.jpg
Just pulls out, 552 model is pictured
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From: MO
I've got another round of questions.
1. What is the torque spec for the oil drain plug?
2. Are any of you guys running diesel oil, 15w40, in your trucks? I've got some leftover that I'll offer to my buddy if he wants to buy an extra quart or two to have enough.
3. I don't think his temp gauge is working and I'm not certain his oil pressure gauge is either. Is there some simple testing I can do to tell him whether he needs a new sensor or something else?
Also, his rear antilock light is on, this ones not a question just putting it out there. I don't think he'll care much till a problem presents itself.
Thanks again!
1. What is the torque spec for the oil drain plug?
2. Are any of you guys running diesel oil, 15w40, in your trucks? I've got some leftover that I'll offer to my buddy if he wants to buy an extra quart or two to have enough.
3. I don't think his temp gauge is working and I'm not certain his oil pressure gauge is either. Is there some simple testing I can do to tell him whether he needs a new sensor or something else?
Also, his rear antilock light is on, this ones not a question just putting it out there. I don't think he'll care much till a problem presents itself.
Thanks again!
Last edited by _Spencer_; Jul 3, 2020 at 03:14 PM.
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From: Everett, WA
Diesel engine oils have a higher anti-wear (AW) load in the form of zinc dialkyldithiophosphate (ZDDP). The catalytic converters in diesel systems are designed to be able to deal with this problem, while the gasoline systems are not. This is one of the main reasons you don’t want to use a diesel engine oil in your gasoline engine. If your automobile was built prior to 1975, there is a good chance it does not have a catalytic converter, and thus the above statements do not apply.
Diesel engine oil has more additives per volume. The most prevalent are overbase detergent additives. This additive has several jobs, but the main ones are to neutralize acids and clean. Diesel engines create a great deal more soot and combustion byproducts. Through blow-by, these find their way into the crankcase, forcing the oil to deal with them.
When you put this extra additive load in a gasoline engine, the effects can be devastating to performance.The detergent will work as it is designed and try to clean the cylinder walls. This can have an adverse effect on the seal between the rings and liner, resulting in lost compression and efficiency.
Diesel engine oil has more additives per volume. The most prevalent are overbase detergent additives. This additive has several jobs, but the main ones are to neutralize acids and clean. Diesel engines create a great deal more soot and combustion byproducts. Through blow-by, these find their way into the crankcase, forcing the oil to deal with them.
When you put this extra additive load in a gasoline engine, the effects can be devastating to performance.The detergent will work as it is designed and try to clean the cylinder walls. This can have an adverse effect on the seal between the rings and liner, resulting in lost compression and efficiency.
Drain plug would be 19ft/lb, so snug
You CAN DO whatever you want, for oil, but the info about the gasoline Cat converters is correct, anecdotal stories are fine, but facts is facts, lol
My Dad never changed oil in any vehicle, just changed the oil filter and added a quart now and then, worked fine for him, on my vehicles I change the oil, lol
The dash temp and oil gauges use senders which are 12volt and different from sensors which are 5volt, just FYI
You can test the gauge and wire for each by GROUNDING the sender's wire to the engine or battery negative with a jumper wire
Then turn on the key, engine off
Temp gauge should go to HOT, this means wire and gauge are OK, replace sender
Oil gauge should go to about 1/2, that means wire and gauge are OK, replace sender
If you know what year/engine he has then we can tell you where the SENDERS are
What year is your friends Ranger?
It matters for the ABS light
You CAN DO whatever you want, for oil, but the info about the gasoline Cat converters is correct, anecdotal stories are fine, but facts is facts, lol
My Dad never changed oil in any vehicle, just changed the oil filter and added a quart now and then, worked fine for him, on my vehicles I change the oil, lol
The dash temp and oil gauges use senders which are 12volt and different from sensors which are 5volt, just FYI
You can test the gauge and wire for each by GROUNDING the sender's wire to the engine or battery negative with a jumper wire
Then turn on the key, engine off
Temp gauge should go to HOT, this means wire and gauge are OK, replace sender
Oil gauge should go to about 1/2, that means wire and gauge are OK, replace sender
If you know what year/engine he has then we can tell you where the SENDERS are
What year is your friends Ranger?
It matters for the ABS light
Oil pressure sender/switch is on drivers side of block just above oil pan toward the front, seen here: https://www.freeautomechanic.com/mec...on-diagram.gif
After the test, if gauge moves and you decode to replace sender/switch then pull off extension it there is one and clean it
Temp sender is on the lower intake just above thermostat housing, and there are TWO that look similar but one is a sender and one is a sensor, so not the same
ECT sensor will have TWO wires
Sender will have just ONE wire
Senders are often ONE wire units, this means they are GROUNDED by their threads to the engine block, so DO NOT put sealant on the lower threads, they must BARE Metal to get a good ground
The ABS yellow light will often come on if the rear axle sensor starts to fail, its not an expensive part to change, called VSS sensor
You can test it with an OHM meter, unplug its 2 wire connector and put probes on the two VSS terminals, should see 190-250 ohms
VSS sensors create there own AC voltage(.1 to 1.5vAC) so testing the wires on the VSS won't tell you much, one will read as a ground or close to it
After the test, if gauge moves and you decode to replace sender/switch then pull off extension it there is one and clean it
Temp sender is on the lower intake just above thermostat housing, and there are TWO that look similar but one is a sender and one is a sensor, so not the same
ECT sensor will have TWO wires
Sender will have just ONE wire
Senders are often ONE wire units, this means they are GROUNDED by their threads to the engine block, so DO NOT put sealant on the lower threads, they must BARE Metal to get a good ground
The ABS yellow light will often come on if the rear axle sensor starts to fail, its not an expensive part to change, called VSS sensor
You can test it with an OHM meter, unplug its 2 wire connector and put probes on the two VSS terminals, should see 190-250 ohms
VSS sensors create there own AC voltage(.1 to 1.5vAC) so testing the wires on the VSS won't tell you much, one will read as a ground or close to it
Last edited by RonD; Jul 3, 2020 at 08:55 PM.
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