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My truck will not start


sithways

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1993 Ford Ranger

This morning I attempted to start my truck and heard a noise. Sounded like the electrical popped or something. Was first thing in the morning and I was not ready for it so it took me by surprise and I do not remember.

I do know though, that it did not attempt to turn over. The only thing that happened after the noise is that the alternator or fuel pump was running. I could hear it running, but nothing else was happening. It ran for like a minute or so and then stopped. I tried to turn it over again and the alternator or fuel pump just ran again. This time for a shorter period before dying out.

I tried one more time and the same thing happened with the alternator except this time it ran for a short time before dying out. I have not tested the battery, but when it turn the key it makes a sound and all the dash lights come one. The cab light will come on also and my head lights are strong.

I had not had any trouble starting the truck previous recently. Once or twice it would begin to turn over then die, but the next time I tried it the truck would start. I am talking like this has happened twice in the last two months like that. Don't know if this may be a part of it, but over the last couple months also... when driving sometimes it feels like something misses momentarily and the truck drags, but then runs fine again. This also happens sporadically.

For a reason that is not concerned to this I had the hood open this morning when I went to start it. It had rained the night before and some water may have dripped into the engine area. Lastly, do not know if this matters, but I did change out my starter 1 to 1.5 years ago.

Please any suggestions will be amazing, because I have no clue where to start haha. Thank you in advance!
 


Spott

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Start by testing the battery and inspecting the wires and connectors to the battery, starter, and starter relay. This includes the ground cables and their connecting points to the vehicle.

If you've proven to yourself that all of the above are absolutely perfect, then we can walk you through the process to identify the less-likely causes of the problem.
 

sithways

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Thank you. Do I need a tester to test all of that (excluding the battery and starter, because I am sure I can take them to Oreilly's) I mean for the cables and ground connectors?
 

alwaysFlOoReD

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I suspect a loose connection. Do like Spott says and check all the wires for looseness and corrosion. A wire brush and wrench to start. A quick check is to turn on your headlights, and then try to start the vehicle. If the lights go out it is a bad connection.

Sent from my XT1032 using Tapatalk
 

sithways

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Thank you. I tried what you said the lights did not go out.
 

alwaysFlOoReD

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Check all the fuses?
 

sithways

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No I will in the morning though. I have never checked fuses before. Is there a way to tell if one is bad or not? Does it look burnt out like a bad bulb does?
 

alwaysFlOoReD

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The fool proof way is to check with a multi-meter but your eyes can do just about as good. So yes, like a light bulb filament. If a fuse is gone and it pops as soon as you replace it it means you have a short. You will need to track the wiring and find where it has worn thru and is grounding out against metal or another wire. Also there is more than one place for fuses, under dash and under hood.
 

sithways

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Thank you. So I checked all the fuses under the hood. There were to many. They are all fine. I took my battery, starter and alternator all in for testing and they passed. Any other suggestions? Tomorrow when it stops raining I will check the dash fuses after I find where they're located. Thank you!
 

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