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Old Sep 3, 2006 | 08:21 PM
  #1  
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starter

88 ranger xlt wont start i took off starter and had it tested its fine replaced ground wire from neg battery terminal to starter turn key and silonoid clicks but nothing else i can here the fuel pump cycle as well
 
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Old Sep 3, 2006 | 08:24 PM
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eigenvector
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Did you give it the ol' smack with the 2x4 before starting it? My old '83 occasionally had to be smacked up the side of the head before it would engage.
 
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Old Sep 3, 2006 | 09:52 PM
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From: Durant, OK (SOSU)
The wire from the solenoid to the starter, how is it? First things first, CAREFULLY check for voltage at the starter terminals when someone else tries to start it.

And eigenvector has a point, starters tend to cooperate more when given a little love tap on occasion.
 
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Old Sep 3, 2006 | 11:11 PM
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frankenbroncoII
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From: north carolina
you didnt say what engine plant you have, but if you have a 2.9 check the routing of the starter cable itself. i have seen where the cable hook to the starter be so close the oil pan (from a bad install) and short out. and i have also seen where the cable it self chafed the chassis and or oil pan and wear a spot in the insulation and short out. thus no power to starter, or slow draggin starters. which if left unchecked on a draggin starter will prematurely wear it out, and a $15 cable becomes a $90 or so starter replacement.
 
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Old Sep 3, 2006 | 11:56 PM
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starter

yes its a 2.9 i checked the wires thats why i had to replace the negitive ground it had burned through and freyed and coroded but the positive is in mint condition, i gave it a tap or 20 as well im also having tranny problems with the key off i can shift it in any gear(it's automatic)
 
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Old Sep 4, 2006 | 12:06 AM
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saultman, Welcome to FTE.
The reason you can't shift the tranny into gears with the key off is there is a ignition switch interlock to prevent someone from putting your vehicle into nuetral when the key is turned off. This has 2 purposes, first keeps kids from accidently taking the vehicle out of park and having it roll down a hill causing an accident, second it makes it a little harder for a thief to put it in nuetral and push or tow it away.
 
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Old Sep 4, 2006 | 12:10 AM
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i know that

it's a automatic when i have the ingition off, key out it can be shifted into all gears.
 
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Old Sep 4, 2006 | 12:16 AM
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Oops didn't read your post correctly thought you said can't shift it, well the main part is still correct the issue is your interlock is broken.
 
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Old Sep 4, 2006 | 12:18 AM
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what is interlock

what is interlock do i have to pull the tranny
 
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Old Sep 4, 2006 | 12:32 AM
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From: iowa
No it's in the steering column, it's usually a cable operated system between the key switch and the shifter, most likely the cable is broke, but it could also be the lock itself within the shifter, you will need to pull the cover to access the shifter workings and see whether the cable section is working or not.
 
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Old Sep 4, 2006 | 02:13 PM
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a

its an automatic with floor shifter
 
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Old Sep 4, 2006 | 02:16 PM
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From: iowa
Yes there is a cable that goes from the steering column down to the floor shifter (lift the carpet and you will find it) if that cable is broke or missing the interlock won't work. If the cable is in place and operational then the little lock on the shifter itself maybe broken.

reread my previous post, and I wasn't clear, if it had been a column shifter it won't have the cable, only the floor mounted shifters have it.
 
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Old Sep 4, 2006 | 07:52 PM
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starter

thanks i'll check the cable, now still only clicks the neg battery wire i replaced i went over to positive one today and it seems fine no ware of open spots but it still only ticks one when i try to start it could it be a fuseable ling connected to the silonoid if so how do i test them
 
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Old Sep 4, 2006 | 08:33 PM
  #14  
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From: north carolina
just curious, but what is the voltage on the battery? if the voltage is too low, the selanoid will just click click click. also one way to see if you have a falty selenoid is to bypass it. put the truck in park or neutral if it is a stick, set the park brake. turn the key to on and then take an old no good screw driver and jump the terminals that the battery and starter cable hook to. *NOTE* there will be sparks! do not have the selenoid jumped like this for no more than 10-15 seconds at a time, the selenoid could over heat and malfuntion. if you do this repetatively you could make the selenoid "hang up" in the start postion and you will have to tap on it to make it disengage the starter. though i would start with the battery voltage and im sure you have checked to make sure the cable clamps on the battery are tight and free of corrosion. aslo on the ground side of the battery there are 2 cables one goes to the frame and engine block for ground and the other small one goes to the body. some times the one going to the body may get unpluged or unhooked and never reistalled and with out this the truck may not function properally.
 
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