Hello,

So i have been having some trouble with my 2002 ford ranger. Last week I was driving and it started jumping on me and losing power whenever I accelerated. I found out it was the MAF sensor and put a new one on. It ran fine for a few days now I was driving and the truck shut off on me. It reset my radio also. I checked the battery and replaced the negative battery clap because it wouldn't tighten enough. Now when I go to start my truck I put the key and and go to turn it and there is no power and there is a clicking sound under the dash. I'm not turning it to start so I know it's not the starter clicking. The noise is inside the cab of the truck and the theft light comes on and it again resets my radio. I will give it a few turns and they the power is back and it will start. I was thinking maybe it was a relay or something going bad or the ignition having problems. Any help would be appreciated thank you.

Mine does it, usually wont start. I pop the hood and wiggle the negative cable and shell fire right up.

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2000 Ford Ranger. It has the 4.0 EFI OHV motor. It is an automatic 4 speed with overdrive. It is lifted 7 inches (3" body, 4" suspension). It has 35/12.50/16.5 tires. The rims are Weld Racing Rims. It has a cold air intake.

Check where the negative cable bolts to the frame as well. If it is loose, severely corroded or badly frayed, it will give you trouble.

Electronics Tech

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2005 2.3L XL 5SOD 3.73 K&N
KYB Shocks Husky Toolbox
Alpine / Rockford Fosgate Sound

"Ask me about my AC Vent fix!"

I will check that out thanks. It's weird that it just did this out of the blue.

Okay so I checked all my grounds and they are good. This morning it lost power as I was driving. There is this humming sound while I accelerate and also the airbag light stays on in the dash. At a stop the rpm jump between 0 and 15. It does this out of no where. I drove to advance and had them test the battery. It was low and when I went to start no power but a ticking noise under the driver side dash. I hit the brake peddle and I got full power back. The guy at advance had no clue. We tested the battery and the alternator and both are fine. He said the battery could use a charge. I don't know if my computer is going bad or something but it's driving me crazy. Any ideas? Thank you. Oh and also the humming sound isn't there all the time just when I am having problems. I will hit the brake and the radio will completely reset itself.

This is going to be a tough one! Just to narrow things down a little:

How long have you had the truck?

Have any modifications been made to it?

What was the most recent thing you worked on before this trouble started?

Electronics Tech

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2005 2.3L XL 5SOD 3.73 K&N
KYB Shocks Husky Toolbox
Alpine / Rockford Fosgate Sound

"Ask me about my AC Vent fix!"

I have had it a couple years now. No modifications. I just replaced the MAF sensor last week. The truck all of a sudden started jumping on me while I was driving and I couldn't accelerate. I also changed the fuel filter before I did the MAF sensor to rule that out.

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and it's not the rpm that jumps its the speedometer sorry. But it goes back to normal after I touched the brake. Then out of the blue it starts acting up again. every day it does this.

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Im beginning to wonder if its the GEM module going bad or needing to be reset. Does it reset from unhooking the negative cable? (which i have done already)

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I did have a cd player put in it a couple years ago if that counts as a modification.

I wonder if it might be the VSS (Vehicle Speed Sensor). That would account for the speedometer movement and if its sending the wrong info to the PCM, that would ruin your day.

Maybe someone smarter than me will chime in on that idea.

Electronics Tech

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2005 2.3L XL 5SOD 3.73 K&N
KYB Shocks Husky Toolbox
Alpine / Rockford Fosgate Sound

"Ask me about my AC Vent fix!"

Would that sensor cause the truck to have no power (and I mean it won't even turn over) with the loud ticking noise behind the dash and then when I hit the brake pedal I have full power again? Or is that more for when I am driving?

I honestly don't have an answer I can tell you is the truth. I'm just thinking out loud a little. It wouldn't seem to be the cause of everything. It will probably be something amazingly small and stupid.

Electronics Tech

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2005 2.3L XL 5SOD 3.73 K&N
KYB Shocks Husky Toolbox
Alpine / Rockford Fosgate Sound

"Ask me about my AC Vent fix!"

I appreciate your help. Since we are thinking out loud do you think it could be the Ignition control module under the dash? I don't know anything about electrical stuff but I know it's something electrical.

Could it be? Absolutely. I don't know how helpful it will be, but let me throw this at you. Go to: www.bbbind.com

Enter your information and click in TSB's, then enter your truck information. Select Wiring up top. (I'm trying to remember the layout exactly, so this may be off a little.) I think next is Electrical Distribution, then Ignition.

You can pull up all kinds of diagrams and when you find Ignition Module, you will be able to see what color wires hook up to it. That should help you find it.

Electronics Tech

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2005 2.3L XL 5SOD 3.73 K&N
KYB Shocks Husky Toolbox
Alpine / Rockford Fosgate Sound

"Ask me about my AC Vent fix!"

Ok so update. I pulled fuse number 26 to check it which is for the gem and a few other things. Fuse was fine so put it back in. Put key back in and turned to on position no power. Clicking sound came back so I found it in the auxiliary relay box next to the steering column. I hit the break pedal with my shoulder and it stopped and power came back. Also if I pulled number 26 fuse it quit clicking. Can't get it to do it again now so I can find out which relay it is clicking.

I know you already checked your grounds, but did you disconnect and clean all of them?

I had a similar problem with my truck the past few weeks and grounding was the issue.

My symptoms included:
- Low ammeter
- radio would reset when anything electrical was turned on. This included using a turn signal, turning on the headlights, pressing the brake, shifting gears (auto trans), etc.
- ABS light would come on randomly
- Airbag light would come on randomly
- Truck would stall while driving. Turning the engine off and back on usually worked.

I didn't have any starting issues or clicking sounds however. My first thought was that the accessories I added were wired incorrectly, but after disconnecting them all my problem remained. I visually inspected the grounds and they were all connected. Slight tugs on the wires ensured they were secure. Then I went ahead and disconnected the negative cable from the battery, all the wires attached to it, and disconnected the ground wires from the front crossmember (just forward of my battery). Took some 400 sandpaper, cleaned the wire terminals, battery terminals, crossmember contact point, and bolted everything back together. Haven't had any issues since and my ammeter is back to normal.

Just a thought

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Dennis Brady

Black 2001 4x2 XLT Supercab 3.0 "Shadow" - WIA

Black 2001 4x4 EDGE Supercab 4.0 ('Body donor' for Shadow lol)

Build thread:
http://www.fordrangerforum.com/proje...adow-redo.html

I have cleaned them still having issues. Yesterday it shut off on me while driving dash went completely black and no power hit a bump and it came power came back to the dash. Stopped the truck and it fired right up.