I am new here, looking for any suggestions.

My '95 Ranger 2.3l 2WD Manual Trans. Will not Start!

Went out to start it up sunday afternoon {after using is 3 hours earlier with no problems} and there was barely enough power to
light the dashboard lights, and if I turned on the headlights the dashboard went totally dark. I can hear the starter trying to engage but it won't crank. What follows is what I did next.

Assuming that the battery {it's the original battery that the pickup came with when I bought it new in '95} was dead, I tried to jump it using the directions in the Owners Manual, connecting the jumper cable (+ to +) and the (- to the engineblock), this got
it to crank, but slowly, and not enough to start....so going against
the safety warning I tried jumping directly from good battery to
suspected bad battery terminals....this time it cranked normally and started! Great!!.....I removed the jumper cables and decided to drive it around the block to see if the Battery would reecharge
...the very moment I turned on the headlights the engine died and I was back to square one....same problem as before, is this just a battery that is simply too old anymore to bear the burden or should I suspect the alternator or somthing else? Any help is appriciated!

Thank You,
Eric Malain
lyoncoeur(No Email Addresses In Posts!)

 

Howdy,
Well from the sounds of it, it could be one of a few possible things, I had the same thing happen to me a while ago on my 94 Ranger.. The battery could be cooked dry. or the alternator is not charging properly. or it could even be something simple as a loose connection.. I'm not an expert mechanic but at least I hope I can steer you in the right direction. so at least I can tell you that you are on the right path... (if that helps...)

From my own experience if the engine is running , and the moment you turn the lights on or something else that draws alot of current, kills the engine, chances are the battery isn't even holding a charge.. any electrical things that are on, directly run right off the alternator voltage, and combined with the load of a dead battery, once you turn something else on that draws alot of current, it takes away from what it needs off the alternator to keep the engine running.

P.s. If it is the alternator, just to let you know they aren't cheap.. the regulator was part of the alternator on mine. so a standard atlernator won't do.. you have to get the replacement,.. but that was a 94 with the same setup 2.3L 2WD Man yours may be different.. probably not..

Or I could be even way off. ( I hope not ) I suggest wait till a few other people reply and go from there...

cheers..
jim

 

Thanks Nightshift....I am hoping for the battery because I just got laied off from work and the cheaper the fix the better.....

 

Get it started again and pull off the neg battery cable if it dies you need an alternater.

 

Another way to check out your charging system is to use a multimeter and check the voltage on your batttery with the engine running. If the voltage is 13+ volts at the battery terminals, then your alternator is not the problem. From your description above, it sounds like the alternator.

Good luck,
Dan

 

DON'T EVER pull a battery cable off a car with a PCM with the
engine running!!!! The battery acts as a filter for the voltage
spikes coming from the alternator. In addition to that, if there
is a high charge current into the battery, a large voltage spike
will be created from the Di/Dt when the cable is removed. The
PCM, or electronic ignitions can be easily damaged from these
high voltage spikes!!

Use a volt meter to measure the battery voltage with and without
the engine running, this will tell you if the alternator is working.

 

Bimmer ese, should that be 13v with a good battery?

 

I agree with Bob. Do not disconnect the battery cable while the engine is running. That may have worked in the old days, but not anymore. Another thing, DO not also disconnect a spark plug wire from a coil, then try to crank the engine. You can do some serious damage to your electronic system this way.