Glasken
Elite Explorer
- Joined
- December 16, 2014
- Messages
- 72
- Reaction score
- 9
- City, State
- Wisconsin
- Year, Model & Trim Level
- 1993 Ford Explorer XLT
Hey guys, been a while!
I come to you all with a problem.
Aside from my two lovely explorers, I also own a '94 Ranger XLT 2x4 that I use as a daily driver.
It has remained stock and in excellent condition, except for an odd quark that has developed into a problem.
The Story:
In general, the vehicle runs great. Three small matters of contention that have plagued me are that the engine revs and sputters slightly at idle, and that the voltage reads somewhat high (~15V) while running. Finally, the buzzer for the door/lights on alarm seems to have choked and died. These three things have been a constant for about 50k miles. Oh, and the low beams don't work.
A few days ago I had driven to work like any other day. Truck ran fine like it always did, pulled up and put my 9hrs in. As I am walking out to my ride home a become thankful that my new AC system is working well in the 117 PHX heat. Sliding into the drivers seat I fail to notice that the interior lights were dim. I turn the ignition to start the vehicle aaaaaaaand....
nothing.
No clicks, no turn over, just dead.
"Thats odd..." I think to myself. Almost without thought, I turn the key off, take it out, and repeat the process. Truck starts.
Fast forward. Another day, another 9 hours, 115 degrees of heat. Truck does the same thing, except this time it wont start. Period. No clicks, no turn over, just dead.
I end up calling a buddy to jump me, and I make my merry way home. On the way, I notice my voltage meter inside the truck is jumping from ~8V to ~18V all the way home. Once in the driveway I turn the vehicle off, and attempt to start it.
No dice. No clicks. No turnover. D.e.a.d.
"Must be the alternators time." It only has 115k miles, but its still 20+ years old. Maybe its time for a new one. Off to the local Autozone (its the closest parts store, no ads here) to get a new to me alternator and a new voltage regulator.
Now, being that its ridiculously hot here, I decide that I'd rather work on the truck in the shade of the garage. Again I call a buddy to help push me up the slight hill into the "shop".
As I get in the truck to get the windows rolled down and the wheel unlocked, I notice that the dome light comes on. "Hmm, thats funny..."
With cautious optimism I turn the ignition. I hear the AC blower, and the radio comes on. "Oh boy, maybe it will start!"
No dice. No clicks. No turnover.
"Well, we're here to do the alternator and voltage regulator, may as well get to work."
As we get the truck rolled into the garage, I notice an odd thing:
Smoke.
And not just any smoke. The magic blue smoke that electronics tend to give off when they are upset. I had left the ignition in the "on" position while we were pushing the truck in. I quickly remove the key and pop the hood.
A small puff of the blue stuff billows up. The battery lead has melted plastic ooze on it from the dust cover, and the positive leads were hot *chuckle*. Hot to the touch and hot enough to melt plastic.
I started pulling fuses, checking for stray volts and amps. I also noticed that the ground cable, and indeed every cable in the engine bay other than the positive leads were stone cold.
Following the wires (I didn't have a manual handy with a diagram), I traced them under the vehicle to the starter motor and the fuel pump.
Finally, to my question: what on earth would cause the battery to drain, the voltage to be funky, and the leads to short themselves nearly to death while the ignition is on, but no other time?
To summarize, the symptoms are as follows:
Ignition OFF:
"Dead" battery
Dome light comes on as it should
Underhood light comes on as it should
Ignition ON (but engine off):
Interior accessories work (Blower, radio, dash lights... everything else is manual)
Dome light comes on as it should
Underhood light comes on as it should
Positive battery terminal and leads get extremely hot, enough to melt plastic
Ground battery terminal is cold
All engine bay wires are cold (except for positive battery lead noted above)
Door buzzer sometimes works... like it has been for the past 50k miles
Engine ON (from jump):
Interior accessories work (Blower, radio, dash lights... everything else is manual)
Dome light comes on as it should
Underhood light comes on as it should
Positive battery terminal and leads get extremely hot, enough to melt plastic
Ground battery terminal is cold
All engine bay wires are cold (except for positive battery lead noted above)
Door buzzer sometimes works... like it has been for the past 50k miles
Erratic voltage levels read from the dash
Vehicle Details :rangergreen::
1994 Ford Ranger XLT Extended Cab. 2.3l 4cyl, 5-speed M5OD 2x4.
Power steering, cruise control, manual locks, manual windows.
~115000 miles. Had required ignition, plugs wires ect.. at 60kmiles per owners manual. Battery is two years old, Duralast Platnium.
Vehicle issues prior to the above condition:
Voltage read slightly high, door/light buzzer erratic, low beams inoperable (high beams work fine), engine has a "rough" idle on a cold start. Runs like a top otherwise.
I'd love to hear your thoughts on this issue. I am at a bit of a loss at the moment. I have not yet replaced the alternator, voltage regulator or anything else as I do not want to add fresh parts to a broken system without knowing what may be the root cause.
Lets get this figured out!
Thanks in advance!
tl;dr: Truck wont start, ***** broke. :roll:
I come to you all with a problem.
Aside from my two lovely explorers, I also own a '94 Ranger XLT 2x4 that I use as a daily driver.
It has remained stock and in excellent condition, except for an odd quark that has developed into a problem.
The Story:
In general, the vehicle runs great. Three small matters of contention that have plagued me are that the engine revs and sputters slightly at idle, and that the voltage reads somewhat high (~15V) while running. Finally, the buzzer for the door/lights on alarm seems to have choked and died. These three things have been a constant for about 50k miles. Oh, and the low beams don't work.
A few days ago I had driven to work like any other day. Truck ran fine like it always did, pulled up and put my 9hrs in. As I am walking out to my ride home a become thankful that my new AC system is working well in the 117 PHX heat. Sliding into the drivers seat I fail to notice that the interior lights were dim. I turn the ignition to start the vehicle aaaaaaaand....
nothing.
No clicks, no turn over, just dead.
"Thats odd..." I think to myself. Almost without thought, I turn the key off, take it out, and repeat the process. Truck starts.
Fast forward. Another day, another 9 hours, 115 degrees of heat. Truck does the same thing, except this time it wont start. Period. No clicks, no turn over, just dead.
I end up calling a buddy to jump me, and I make my merry way home. On the way, I notice my voltage meter inside the truck is jumping from ~8V to ~18V all the way home. Once in the driveway I turn the vehicle off, and attempt to start it.
No dice. No clicks. No turnover. D.e.a.d.
"Must be the alternators time." It only has 115k miles, but its still 20+ years old. Maybe its time for a new one. Off to the local Autozone (its the closest parts store, no ads here) to get a new to me alternator and a new voltage regulator.
Now, being that its ridiculously hot here, I decide that I'd rather work on the truck in the shade of the garage. Again I call a buddy to help push me up the slight hill into the "shop".
As I get in the truck to get the windows rolled down and the wheel unlocked, I notice that the dome light comes on. "Hmm, thats funny..."
With cautious optimism I turn the ignition. I hear the AC blower, and the radio comes on. "Oh boy, maybe it will start!"
No dice. No clicks. No turnover.
"Well, we're here to do the alternator and voltage regulator, may as well get to work."
As we get the truck rolled into the garage, I notice an odd thing:
Smoke.
And not just any smoke. The magic blue smoke that electronics tend to give off when they are upset. I had left the ignition in the "on" position while we were pushing the truck in. I quickly remove the key and pop the hood.
A small puff of the blue stuff billows up. The battery lead has melted plastic ooze on it from the dust cover, and the positive leads were hot *chuckle*. Hot to the touch and hot enough to melt plastic.
I started pulling fuses, checking for stray volts and amps. I also noticed that the ground cable, and indeed every cable in the engine bay other than the positive leads were stone cold.
Following the wires (I didn't have a manual handy with a diagram), I traced them under the vehicle to the starter motor and the fuel pump.
Finally, to my question: what on earth would cause the battery to drain, the voltage to be funky, and the leads to short themselves nearly to death while the ignition is on, but no other time?
To summarize, the symptoms are as follows:
Ignition OFF:
"Dead" battery
Dome light comes on as it should
Underhood light comes on as it should
Ignition ON (but engine off):
Interior accessories work (Blower, radio, dash lights... everything else is manual)
Dome light comes on as it should
Underhood light comes on as it should
Positive battery terminal and leads get extremely hot, enough to melt plastic
Ground battery terminal is cold
All engine bay wires are cold (except for positive battery lead noted above)
Door buzzer sometimes works... like it has been for the past 50k miles
Engine ON (from jump):
Interior accessories work (Blower, radio, dash lights... everything else is manual)
Dome light comes on as it should
Underhood light comes on as it should
Positive battery terminal and leads get extremely hot, enough to melt plastic
Ground battery terminal is cold
All engine bay wires are cold (except for positive battery lead noted above)
Door buzzer sometimes works... like it has been for the past 50k miles
Erratic voltage levels read from the dash
Vehicle Details :rangergreen::
1994 Ford Ranger XLT Extended Cab. 2.3l 4cyl, 5-speed M5OD 2x4.
Power steering, cruise control, manual locks, manual windows.
~115000 miles. Had required ignition, plugs wires ect.. at 60kmiles per owners manual. Battery is two years old, Duralast Platnium.
Vehicle issues prior to the above condition:
Voltage read slightly high, door/light buzzer erratic, low beams inoperable (high beams work fine), engine has a "rough" idle on a cold start. Runs like a top otherwise.
I'd love to hear your thoughts on this issue. I am at a bit of a loss at the moment. I have not yet replaced the alternator, voltage regulator or anything else as I do not want to add fresh parts to a broken system without knowing what may be the root cause.
Lets get this figured out!
Thanks in advance!
tl;dr: Truck wont start, ***** broke. :roll:
