Ranger power Gremlin or Stoopid Owner?

Maninblack · #1 11-21-2010, 01:25 PM

I have a 1991 Ranger that recently started doing something strange. While driving, the engine quit, and the little battery/power distribution light came on. I still had lights and everything else but after I pulled it off the road and tried to restart it, the engine cranked fine, but wouldn't catch. Checked the fuse box- everything was fine. Checked the battery cables, no visible or loose cables or wires... Started the truck and everything was fine. Unfortunately I never know when this will occur so I'm usually in the middle of traffic or going up a hill when something goes wrong. The battery isn't new but seems fine. Cleaned the terminals and inspected the wiring- nothing obvious. Any time it quits,I jiggle the battery and it starts up.Any ideas? Thank you.

SpitfireEMT · #2 11-24-2010, 11:57 AM

check your battery, if minimum maint. May be low on water. If it is a sealed battery, may have something broken inside the battery itself. Go to autozoo or someplace with a SABRE and have them do a test on it.

Maninblack · #3 11-25-2010, 04:39 PM

Thanks- I thought it might be a damaged or dry cell in the battery- Appreciate the response and advice .

SpitfireEMT · #4 11-26-2010, 06:25 AM

My only other thoughts on that are possibly a broken conductor inside a wire/cable causing a break in continuity. I would personally run continuity tests on everything, but that is a pita without a fault finder. Hope you get it figured, and if there is anything specific I can help with, feel free to pm me

DieHard4rd · #5 11-26-2010, 06:42 AM

I don't think it has anything to do with the battery.

I would start by having it checked at Auto Zone for engine fault codes. (Auto Zone does that for free)

But my guess would be a fuel related issue.

Maninblack · #6 12-03-2010, 10:40 PM

Well- strange as it may seem, I replaced the DieHard battery and have had no issues since. Probably will replace the battery cables since they look worn out.