i have a 2000 Ranger with a 4.0 engine
Yesterday, when I drove a short distance, it smells from burning wires, then I did stop, open the hood and there was smog at the left side.
I did disconnect the battery and the smog did stop.
After that, i did check the wires at the left side, include the starter wire, but did not anything.
Then i did drive the truck, nothing happen, but in the evening, the high headlamps wend out and it did smells again really bad
Did someone have the same problem?
Who can help`?

 

Welcome to FTE.

Sounds like a unfused electrical short circuit & seeing as how your now having problems with the head lights, seems to me that circuits wiring, especially where it lays against something that moves/vibrates, or is hot, would be a good place to begin your trouble shooting.

I'm not clear on your left/right side descriptions, because we don't know from what position you were looking at the vehicle.
So maybe referring to, drivers side, or passenger side, would help, as it takes out the viewers position when looking at the vehicle & helps us all refer to the same vehicle area.

The reason wires burn, or overheat, is because of a overloaded unprotected, or over fused electical circuit.

So have you added something, or made any modification to, your head lights electrical circut?????

Did this problem come about after some event???? Event could be almost anything, say from a off road trip, a repair, a vehicle service, accident, ect, ect.

Just some thouhts to get this troubleshoot started & maybe help us narrow things down some.

 

smoke came from divers side, under the battery. No there was no event. I did replace the fuse from the headlight, did run the truck about an hour, with light on, with light off, with wipers on etc nothing happend, i moved and shacked the circuit wiring, nothing happend, i am thnking to replace the starter, maybe there is a fault inside, i did check also the voltage of the alternator, it was fine, about 14 volts all the time

 

Ok good feedback, so the smoke problem was on the drivers side underneath the battery & later the "high beam" head lights were not working.

Was the dash board light switch "on" & the "high beam" head lights activated, when you first had the smoke problem????

What kind of road conditions were present, when the problem first began????

Was this the first time this has happened????

Are you saying that the headlight fuse was blown & thats why you replaced it????

If so, then there was/is likely a problem with the headlight wiring harness wire insultion, some where on the drivers side, underneath the battery, or close by, in that area, that may be chafed, cut, melted, or other wise damaged.

So look closely at any point where those wires touch or are routed through metal, or are close to a heat source, or a vibration source, for sgns of wire insulation damage.

Good idea to shake the wiring harness, but did you do it with the light switch on & the "high beam" lamps activated????

Why do you suspect the starter motor, have you been having problems with it?????

The starter motor relay is mounted on the drivers side inner fender, sort of underneath the battery, so have you checked it & it's wiring????

 

well, inspect wiring harness first. Melt isolation is easy to see, what color is bad wire? are fuse links in it?

 

I had this problem with a 2000 Ranger I bought dealer new. It happened at about 37000 miles. I never found out what the problem was because I took the cowards way out and traded it in for a F250 with the Triton 5.4L.

 

yes the headlight high beams fuse was blown up and the switch was on on and high beams
but when the problem first happend, the headlight switch was on and on low beams.
i had never any problems before.
road conditions were good
where is the starter motor relay exact located?
i did check the wiring, did not found any meltet wire

 

OK, more good feedback.

So you've never had previous problems, weren't off roading when this first happend & the smoke didn't stop until you removed the battery cable.

The headlight switch was on & the headlamps were at LOW beam, not High beam.

Was the high beam fuse barely blown/melted, as if it had seen a mometary overload, or really vaporized/black, as if it had seen a direct short to ground????

What I'm trying to figure out is if the blown high beam headlight fuse was just a coincidence, thats diverting our attention, or a clue to your problem.

The part you posted about the smoke not clearing until you removed the battery cable & not finding any signs of problems with the headlight wiring, makes me want to believe you have another problem.

The blown headlight fuses condition/how badly it was blown, would be a good clue.

When you removed the battery cable, did it arc & spark a lot & was it warm, or hot to the touch????

Have you been having any problems with the starter hanging up & not wanting to release????

Or with the ignition switch in the start position????

On the starter relay question, follow the Red, large diameter, battery B+ cable to the starter relay.

If your Euro wired model Ranger has one, it'll likely be mounted on the drivers side inner fender, or frame rail, between the battery & the underhood power distribution fuse box .

 

OK, more good feedback.

So you've never had previous problems, weren't off roading when this first happend & the smoke didn't stop until you removed the battery cable.

The headlight switch was on & the headlamps were at LOW beam, not High beam.

Was the high beam fuse barely blown/melted, as if it had seen a mometary overload, or really vaporized/black, as if it had seen a direct short to ground????

What I'm trying to figure out is if the blown high beam headlight fuse was just a coincidence, thats diverting our attention, or a clue to your problem.

The part you posted about the smoke not clearing until you removed the battery cable & not finding any signs of problems with the headlight wiring, makes me want to believe you have another problem.

The blown headlight fuses condition/how badly it was blown, would be a good clue.

When you removed the battery cable, did it arc & spark a lot & was it warm, or hot to the touch????

Have you been having any problems with the starter hanging up & not wanting to release????

Or with the ignition switch in the start position????

On the starter relay question, follow the Red, large diameter, battery B+ cable to the starter relay.

If your Euro wired model Ranger has one, it'll likely be mounted on the drivers side inner fender, or frame rail, between the battery & the underhood power distribution fuse box .

 

i did find the problem, it is a relay behind the front bumper, driver side
number XL2T-15A270-AB
what kind of relay is that? it is melted away

 

12 V relay, normally open.... can you post a pic? Yes, sometimes relays burn....

 

yes i will, give me some time,

 

how can i insert a pic

 

click go advanced and add pic's URL, before fined a host for pics....

 

XL2T-15A270-AB is the DRL Module.