My 95 ranger 4wd 3l v6 won't start when hot. It is getting worse, to the point that it won't start unless cold. Didn't used to be that bad, a couple of years ago. It doesn't stall, ever, unless you turn the engine off after starting it cold, then it will run rough a few seconds and stall. It may or may not start again before reaching cold, but usually not.

Various odd electrical problems, including a loud clicking sound from the starter about 3 times in the past two years, when trying to turn the engine over. The radio goes out sometimes, but only for a single trip. Same with the clock face on the radio. The wipers used to go crazy about once a month, but not in a long time.

Check engine light about a bad purge valve, too.

The temp guage on the dash was wobbly, so I replaced the sender and it goes up and down smoothly again. I got the temp sensor to replace that, too. Haven't had time this week.

What else should I replace on the engine/electrical/console? Haynes and Chilton have not been too forthcoming about my problems.

Thanks.

 

pull the codes

 

I have the same problem intermittently. Ended up being the fuel pump relay as best as I can determine. Replaced it and no problems, but like I said its intermittent so I keep a spare relay in the box and when it wont start just pop in the other one and off I go. Next time it does it get under the hood pull the relay and see how hot it is, cool it off and then try to start if it does you found your problem. Relays are about $5-6 so they are easy to buy and easier to change. BTW 94 4.0 is what I have.

 

Can't pull the codes until the weekend, but they are always the same - bad purge valve. Once, there was fuel pump secondary circuit low - no idea what that was, and it went away. I will check the codes again anyways, I've been meaning to.

 

OK, I will find the relays.

 

Thanks Hank, replacing the fuel pump relay has ameliorated the problem quite a bit. It still didn't start right away after I shut it off after a 40 mile drive. But, it is behaving more like it was before the problem got worse. The next time it won't start when I'm hopping around town, I will put the old relay back in and see if it starts more quickly.

I got a fuel injection system pressure tester, and hooked it up to the test port the last time the truck wouldn't start. The fuel pressure was at about eight pounds. I popped out the fuel pump relay and it was warm. I left it out for a minute, then plugged it back in. Turning the key pushed the pressure up to 35+ pounds, and then when I started it, pressure when down slightly then back up. So the system seems to be working fine. I then went to the parts store and got a brand new relay. I went back to my truck and put it in, it started right up!

It revved too much, but that might be bad training from the malfunctioning relay. I then drove to the gas station and fueled up, and it started straight off. This morning after the drive, I tried to start it immediately after I shut off the engine, same problem. I drove to the store during lunch, and it started right up after I did my shopping.

Hopefully, I can start to manage this problem now. I wonder if you have any ideas about why the relay is heating up? The truck never evidenced this problem until about 2 1/2 years ago, and then it wasn't nearly as bad. It has started getting incrementally worse, and has become much worse in the past three months. It has been taking longer and longer to start up.

I want to figure this out and make swapping relays an interim solution, instead of something I have to live with for the next five years (which is the minimum that I want to keep this truck.) I've heard nothing but raves about 100000+ mileage Ford Rangers, and I would like to be that happy about my truck, too.

Do you think the pump is going bad, or maybe something else is heating up the relays? I'm going to start checking the wiring, and seeing if there is a piece too close to the engine. I don't have a cooling problem - I had to replace the engine temperature sender because the gauge was fluttering, but it always warms up the same and runs at the same temp.

I was wondering if the pump might be getting old and hot, and maybe it is heating up the wiring?

Thanks for your time and knowledge.

Chris Rhodes

 

Well I am guessing that you might be on the right track. I have had the same thoughts, but then mine will work for months OK before it has start issues, so I really dont worry about it.

BTW my truck has 167,000 on so yes you can get some milage out of them.

 

Cool. I had my best truck day in months thanks to you. The only time I wasn't able to start it was when I turned it off right after my long morning drive. I went to the store, etc, and the truck started right up each time.

Thanks!

 

I put 400+ miles a week on my truck, right now, and I have 105,700 miles it.

 

Three weeks and hundreds of starts later, not a single problem. I really appreciate your help. My auto mechanic skills are largely derived from Chilton's and Haynes, and every time I encounter a new type of problem I have a steep learning curve. This one was a doosey, so Thanks!

 

When I was trying to diagnose my truck way back a couple of months ago, I appear to have accidentally bent a pin on the ECT sensor, so the engine was running for a while like it was -40 below all the time. Anyways, that was bad for my spark plugs, and is why my truck still had starting problems after the fuel pump relay was replaced. I found that when I hooked up my computer again to start diagnosing again. Man, that was depressing - thought I found the problem, and it started all over again, only worse. Turned out to be just the bent pin, but it fried my plugs - which were due for replacement anyways, I'd already bought them.

Did the wires too, and after all the work I've done on the engine, it is starting to run well again. I replaced the relay on the PCM, too, just to be safe, as it was showing discoloration around the bottom (white plastic was turning dark yellow.) The circuit markings are the same on all the relays, and I called the guy at Ford here and he said they use the same relay in different applications. I have two spare relays in the glove box now, and I expect my gas mileage to go back up to where it was a couple of years ago.