1997 2.3 Ranger w/ 160,000 mi

Every few months it won't start, sometimes after just having been running fine.
Symptoms:
-the dash lights will be dim or off completely
-the chime will be softer than normal
-the headlights will not work, or be dim
-the starter will sometimes briefly click, sometimes crank once, sometimes do
nothing
-the emergency flashers will sometimes click much faster than normal
-if during one of these "episodes" it does start, the battery light will sometimes flutter on and off, and the meter will flutter a little higher than normal. the next time i stop it, it typically will have the same problem.
-it will typically start if i get it jumped

My battery, starter, plugs and wires are all fairly new.
On occasion, when it is having this problem, and I am trying like crazy to start it, if when I turn the headlights on and they are no longer dim, it starts right up and runs fine.

Please help!

 

Is your check engine light lit up when this happens?

Have you had the battery and/or alternator tested?

Have you checked under the hood for bad or loose electrical connections - particularly the grounds and battery cables? It sounds to me like you have a bad ground somewhere or maybe some other cable like the battery cables might have gone bad and is not allowing the current to flow like it should.

I think I'd start with the battery cables...

 

When you say it will start right up when the headlights are on indicates a body ground issue. Keep in mind body grounds are all around the vehicle depending on your vehicle type and model. If you have made any recent repairs like heater core for example, look in that area for loose or corroded grounds. I would concentrate at grounds outside the cab first. I am assuming you cleaned and tightened the battery terminals first.

Also, Take a volt meter and attach the black wire to battery ground. Attach the red to a long flat screwdriver. Remove the battery cell caps. Gently insert screwdriver into the cell furthest from ground, down to the plates and note the reading. Move the screwdriver to the next cell towards the negative terminal. You should have a 2 volt difference. Do this to all cells and note the change. Anything that differs greatly indicates a shorted battery.

 

I agree, sounds like an electrical B- ground, or B+ cable connection problem, so its time for some battery cable connection inspectons on Both ends, not just to the battery end.

Connections need to be clean, bright & tight at the battery posts & engine connections. If connections look ok, do a wiggle test where the cable goes into its crimped on lug, or molded on clamp. Inspect for signs of corrosion there, or for bulging insulation where the cable goes into its lug or clamp, as it could be a sign of corrosion or broken wire strands under the insulation. A bad high resistance connection there will feel overly warm or hot after trying to crank the engine.

If no obvious connection problems are found, time for some voltage drop tests with your multimeter. If your not familar with doing that, there are instructions in the "Battery Tutorial" link, atop this forums index page.

If you don't have a multimeter to do the voltage drop tests, try using a good quality heavy/four gauge jumper cable, to make a parallel connection along the B- battery to engine cable.

If no joy, do the same with the B+ cable, but be plenty careful with it, as its not fused, so if you short it to the body or engine, you'll get plenty of sparks. So hook it up carefully, I'd suggest first disconnect the B- cable at the battery post, while you rig/route the B+ cable, so if it gets away from you & touches the engine or body, it wont spark/short out. Once the B+ cable is routed & firmly connected, reconnect the B- cable at the battery post.

What your doing with the parallel jumper cable test is providing a parallel electrical path that'll check each battery cables internal out of sight electrical connections to its clamp & lug connections to the cables wire strads. Cable internal connectons have been known to go go bad/corrode, yet look normal externally. If an electrical problem goes away with a parallel/jumper connection, that cable, or its connections are suspect.

More thoughts for consideration, keep us posted on your trouble shoot.

 

wow, thanks for all the help guys. i'm a little embarrassed to say it was just a loose and slightly corroded ground at the batt terminal. it didn't look too bad, but when i cleaned the post and the wire, and made it extra tight, the truck started right up.

im going to make another thread, but while i have your attention, do you have any ideas for why the truck will run very rough only when cold? its a problem i've had for a long time now. as soon as i hit normal temp it runs great. i replaced the idle air control valve but it didn't help. i have a pretty new mass air flow sensor so i know it's not that. it doesn't seem to stay on high idle when i start it and its cold. (but its been so long now i'm not sure i remember what it should sound like)

thanks for all the help

 

OK, good trouble shooting, feedback & to hear it was a simple fix & your "on the road again".

On the idle problem, good idea to begin a new thread for that problem, so you get responses just for that problem.
That said, a number of things can cause an idle problem, beginning with the IAC which is a common problem part thats responsible for controlling idle speed, so have the computer scanned for pending or set trouble codes & post All code Numbers, as they can provide good trouble shooting clues.
Disconnecting the battery cables wipes KAM, in which resides the cold & warm idle strategy, so have you done the cold & warm idle relearn routine???? If not, begin with that & scan the computer for trouble codes & post All code Numbers in your new thread.
EDIT: Cold & Warm idle relearn routine. https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/s...9&postcount=12

 

ok, i disconnected the batt for about 20 minutes and then reconnected it and performed the relearn routine. i'm waiting for the truck to cool so i can start it and see if there is any difference. i'll start a new post when that happens.

in the mean time... when i reconnected the b- i had the starting issue again. it took a few minutes of messing with the cable to get a good connection and get it to start. i took a picture of the cable to post on here, but the "posting rules" say i can not post attachments. basically: the post and clamp are clean. there is however some green corrosion that i can see on the wires themselves (where they connect to the clamp). could my cable be "kind of" bad? i seem to remember the batt cable setup being a little expensive and maybe a bit of trouble to replace, but im not sure. any suggestions?

oh, and no codes either

 

Kinda sounds like the cable clamp to wire strand connection is corrupt, maybe from corrosion, maybe from broken wire strands, or both, anyway, look in the "Battery Tutorial" link for how to do voltage drop testing with your multimeter, across that connection & or along that cables length.