It's a few times in the past 2 weeks, the shift lever won't come out of PARK easily. Sometimes I have to wiggle the shifter for quite awhile before I can get the shifter to shift out of PARK. It also doesn't start when that happens, like everything works but it doesn't start. It's like it's locked. It finally lets go and I can start it and put it in Drive and Reverse and go on my way. But there's not set thing that I can do to make it work. It's just luckily let me go the few times it's happened. We replaced the shift cable about 1.5-2 years ago and of course the cable is out of warranty. But even if it's the cable, it's definitely going into park because you can hear the click when you stop the truck and turn it off, and throw it into PARK. But when the shift get's stuck it won't crank or make any kind of cranking noise, it's like the battery is dead but it isn't. When it happens you can't even shift it out of PARK to try and start it in D or R. So I was thinking something could be going on with the NSS. Is there any kind of brake pedal interlock switch on a 98 Ranger? I notice when I start it and press the brake pedal it clicks loud under the dash, which I don't remember hearing always. But maybe it always makes that click when you hit the pedal because I usually always have the radio on. Any ideas on what I can do if the shift gets stuck when I go to leave work? What do I need to look at to determine the problem?

 

Not sure why it would get stuck in Park. I know a guy with an Escape that won't start unless you put it in Neutral, not Park. Will your Ranger start in Neutral, provided you can get it into Neutral? To avoid missing work, you could possibly leave it in Neutral with the parking brake on and a wheel chock to park it, until you can figure out what's wrong. I know I can start my '94 in Neutral, but the shift lever's never neen stuck.

 

AFAIk as long as the key is turned to run & your foot is on the brake you should be able to shift out of park whether the engine is running or not. Are your brake lights working?

Your owners manual should have instructions on how to shift when the shift lock does'nt release.

The start circuit should be seperate from the shift lock circuit.

 

You may have developed more than one problem that's cross feeding each other & confusing things some.
Did all of these problems begin slowly over time, or suddenly after some event? Like some under hood, in cabin, tranny, or body work close to those areas, weather, or off road event, ect?

If we don't, or can't first set the emergency brake well, so the vehicle completely stops moving After taking our foot off the brake & Before shifting into Park & it moves a little after taking our foot off the brake pedal, it'll bind the tranny parking pawl, making it difficult to take out of Park. So make sure the vehicle can't move After taking our foot off the brake pedal, like when parking on uneven ground, Before putting it in Park.

If the rear brake shoes are worn, the emergency brake cable may need adjusting so we don't get a Wimpy brake set that'll Creep after we leave the vehicle & bind the tranny parking pawl.

On the no start woe when in Park, check the TRS=Transmission Range Selector on the drivers side of the tranny, about where we get in.
It's mounting fasteners, shift linkage electrical connector & it's wiring should be there undamaged & tight. Same for the safety interlock Brake pedal switch.

If the above all check out ok & it'll start in "N" without having to wiggle the shifter, maybe the TRS is worn & needs replacing?

If no joy in your trouble shoot & you can come by the inexpensive ELM scan tool, running FORScan, or the like software, on the viewing device of your choice & have it scan All of the vehicle computer/controllers for trouble code clues & post up All code Numbers, as you my have tranny, brake, or body codes stored that a parts store, or low end code scanner, or scan tool can't read & they can help focus a trouble shoot.
More thoughts for consideration, let us know what you find.