Ford Ranger / B-Series :: 1997 - Key Cylinder Not Engaging / Flops Back And Foth
Oct 12, 2013
The key cylinder is basically not engaging anything. The key rotates all the way from auxiliary to start but there's no resistance anywhere, just sort of flops back and forth. I put in a new cylinder just now and luckily it engaged the starter just enough so I was able to get the car home from my wife's work but of course once in my driveway the key would not turn the car off. So if the cylinder is good then what should I check next?
On a side note, what's an easy way to turn the car off next time this happens? Disconnecting the battery didn't work, then I couldn't find an inertia switch. I finally disconnected the alternator with lots of sparks but it did shut the engine off.
It's been a rough night already and I still need to figure out how to get the Ranger I left at my wife's work. The Bronco's got no insurance and my wife can't drive a stick anyway, same issue with the motorcycle. Thinking I'm in for a 10 mile bicycle ride.
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Besides being spark plugs and wires and/or a bad coil pack, what other things could make it so i have misfires on cylinders 4 and 6? going to replace the plugs and wires later today when they get to my house but i just want to know what other things i could be so I can evaluate the potential repair cost and should the wires for cylinders 4,5, and 6 be under or over the intake manifold? I bought my truck used and they are currently under the manifold i think it would make more sense to have them over personally.
I have a 1997 Ranger 4WD with the 6 cylinder 4.0L engine. I can't remember the codes that it tripped at the moment but i think one might have been the 304 code not sure though.
I tripped the 300,304, and 306 code but don't know about any others i remembered what codes i tripped the other day when i had it scanned
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Wife tells me last evening while in gas station fuel lid on side of truck made a popping noise and lid now just flops back and forth and does not stay shut. I haven't looked yet but is this common problem and can i fix or dealer job. 2004 F150 XLT ....
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I've got a 1982 Courier 2.0 2wd 5speed pickup and it's been passed down through my family and has sat for quite a while so I started tinkering with it in my spare time.
I began with the motor and got it to run after 15 years of sitting around but am having issues with the transmission. When I first got it running a while back i had it in gear and when I let out on the clutch it lunged forward a little and stalled. I have since then towed it a short distance across my yard (in neutral of course), but now it seems like it isn't doing anything while it's in gear.
While its running I can put it in gear (even without the clutch) it doesn't grind jump or anything. Everything feels like it's okay as in going into all the gears. I was wondering if this is possibly clutch related or if it's the trans itself. Or maybe some electrical thing related. I haven't taken anything apart yet in hopes that it's something simple. I was curious if it might be low on fluid and maybe that would cause it not to engage properly?
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I have a 2001 ranger 4x4 4.0 L with what appears to be a unique a/c problem. Over the last week the compressor will not kick on immediately and seems to randomly decide when it is going to function. Once it starts, it runs properly and cools well, until I turn the engine off and it is back to square one. We have checked the coolant level and it is full. the problem seems to be getting progressively worse....At first it took about 15 minutes for it to decide to trip, then 30 minutes, and yesterday I drove for over an hour and the compressor never kicked on.
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So went today and bought a 1993 ranger 4x4 ext cab 4.0! Runs good some bad handy work that i need to fix but truck has plenty of power and good handling...
issue 1- 4x4 not engaging. the light by the push buttons does not come on and you dont hear the "clicking" of the relay trying to engage. so whats the problem and how do i fix it?
issue 2- when clutch is fully depressed and you go to shift (this is only sometimes) you can feel and hear it grind just for a quick sec. and forget about down shifting you cant do that without slowing down. so maybe new clutch?
issue 3- at 65 the vehicle does shake a little otherwise but pretty smooth. any tips on how to smooth it out? maybe new ball joints? tighten some stuff up maybe?
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I have a 99 ranger 4x4 4.0 V6 with 200K miles..I just had the slave cylinder replaced and bled however, it is still hard to get into gear and when at a stop light with the clutch pedal pushed in all the way the truck tries to move forward as if its in gear. I took it back to the shop and the mechanic says that the hydraulic system is working as it should and the problem could only be the pilot bushing failing and causing the trans to partially engage. The clutch and previous slave cyl only had 25K before the slave cyl failed and started leaking!!
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So that's what if feels like, in park at idle it sounds great, starts great no codes. IF you floor it it will not go over 3000 rpms in park, it feels like it has hit a rev limiter. I have 60psi fuel pressure at idle and at 3000 rpm.
When driving down the road I won't go over 55 mph and drives normal if you keep it under 3000 rpm, if you give it more gas it falls on its face?
AC is not working (clutch not engaging)I don't know if that's related or not.
We did just swap the motor the truck is a 2003 2wd drive. motor came out of an 2002 4wd. we are running the 2wd harness, computer egr delete etc.
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I noticed that my ABS was engaging when I would slow down to a stop while turning left. I pulled the fuse for the ABS just to make sure that's what was causing the pulsating brake, and it was. Anyway, if it's an ABS sensor problem, would it be the front passenger side sensor if it's only happening when I turn left? Is there a way to test this. Would a scanner detect it? It hasn't been throwing a code or anything. Just the ABS engaging while braking and turning to the left when it shouldn't be.
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My 88 2.3l 5 speed ranger was running fine then i went to start it up again and it wouldn't turn any of the cylinders or none of the belts move. i can hear the fuel pump turn on for about a second every time, there is weak fuel pressure at the rail. Why wouldn't the engine crank? the starter does not turn the belts and all i hear is a whizzing sound. it sounds as if the starter is spinning but not engaging.
I have had problems with the fuel pump relays but those are all taped up pretty good. I am leaning towards a clogged fuel filter or bad fuel pump. but even with a bad fuel pump or clogged filter wouldn't the engine try to crank even with low fuel pressure? I have a new battery in there. I checked all the fuses in the kick panel. I will check the inertia switch wires as the inertia switch has been disabled.
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I have a 2003 ford ranger xlt 4.0L and here recently my ac compressor has been making a loud click noise engaging even though i am not using heat or AC, so when it engages the rpms drop and almost wants to stall and it does this in about 10-15 sec. intervals, but when I am driving it acts fine. What is going on here, I recently had a vacuum leak and i found it and fixed it, and now this issue just started.
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1999 XTL 4.0 auto, was doing fine, replaced Interior light bulb, now wont crank over!!! i suspect the anti theft system... how do i fix or ByPass the security system, i can start the truck by Manually engaging the starter Relay under the hood.
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2001 Ford Ranger 4.0L V6... Okay so I bought my truck last September with 100K on it. Ran perfectly fine. No problems for for the first two months and then it started to misfire when at idle. Check Engine Light came on. Scanned and got a random multiple misfire code. I then changed the plugs and wires. Had to repair the threads for cylinder two. Did all that and it kind of but not really solved the problem. A few weeks later got another check engine light. Cylinder 3 misfire. Changed ignition coil. No better. Shortly thereafter I checked again whilst at work and read misfire on 3 and now 2. Currently replacing the intake manifold o-rings and cleaning out intake.
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This has been an issue for about 8 months now. I'm getting a misfire on cylinder 4. So far compression test, new gas filter, fuel injectors cleaned, spark plugs and wires replaced. coil pack replaced. Heater valve was leaking but was replaced.
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OK, got a check engine light today when I fired up the Ranger.
Took it down and got the codes read it have a miss fire on cylinder 5. Picked up some plugs and wires, got to get those E3's out of there, but kind of think that's really not going to fix the problem. So that probably leaves the coil pack or injectors.
So what's the consensus on the best coils to use?
Also, being an 18 wheeler for more years than I care to remember, I've learned swapping just 1 injector is never the way to go. So whats the best type of injectors to get and where the best place to get them should it come to that?
Oh, it's a 2000 3.0L Flex fuel 5 speed.
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My parents 2000 Ranger has an CEL for cylinder 4 misfire, but it will clear on its own and then start up days/weeks later, is this common? Could it be an injector?
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I have a misfire mystery going on in my girlfriends 00 ranger. What is going on, is there is an intermittent misfire on #4. I have an ultra gauge hooked to it, so most of the time when it does it, it will flash a pending code. A lot of the time, the pending code will go away, but sometimes it will set the PO304 code.
First I tried a tune up. New plugs and wires, air cleaner, cleaned out the throttle body. This cured it, for a short while. Then we were back to the pending code / setting code for #4.
When I pull the plug on #4 it is sometimes wet with gas. If you put a new plug in it runs fine for a while. In fact the last time we took a several 100 mile trip with it right after plug change, and it ran great. The pulled plugs re always in good condition with no burn, oil, chips or glazing. I have been using the standard autolites that are in advance auto's computer for that engine. No issues with the other 5 so I figure they re good enough.
The day after we came back I get the call... Honey its doing it again. Often to the point of having no power at all.
But it will clear itself usually, if not a new plug for #4 will cure it immediately.
So I thought something is killing this plug.... Or flooding it. SO I ran 2 cans of sea foam though it, put in a new plug and an new wire. It fixed it for a week then it did it again.
Ok I think... maybe the coil pack is bad either killing the plug or just not firing it at all? So since the pack has never been change in its nearly 300K life (to my knowledge, shes had the truck since about 60K) What the heck.... a new coil pack for the old thing.
I have not had the chance to clean the MAF but we are talking misfire on one cylinder, every now and then with no real conditions that set it off. More often than not its a pending code that you can even hear or feel and other times its a full blown miss that drags the truck down. Well for a short while until it clears up or I replace the plug.
3 cans of seafoam surely would have cleared a sticky injector. I realize it could be a bad wire to that injector but I have not had the time to tear the fiddle bits off to get to it to clean and test it... or just replace it.
Honestly Ive had a lot of cars and trucks, I don't remember ever having to replace an injector. Ive had bad wires to them but they misbehave ALL the time. This problem is so intermittent its freaky.
She says it does it mostly when its cold or not totally warmed up. Almost always, by the time the engine is hot it goes away.
And hot for this truck is over 185F, which I think its too cold to be running and the thermostat needs changed BUT she thinks cool=good. I keep telling her no, cool is often not good, the engine needs to be up to the operating temp.... which to me means 190-200. Her ranger runs between 170-180 all the time. I doubt thats causing the problem but still.... I think new thermo is in order.
My thinking is since it runs so cool all the time, the issue might be related to a spike in the temp over 180 ish, that gods forbid is opening a crack somewhere to suck air or lose compression.
And a compression test is my next step on #4 if/when it does it again. Now I have had cracked valves before, I don't recall them acting this way. After all sometimes the thing will go 100s of miles under different driving conditions and run fine. I don't think a cracked valve would be that nice.
Shes getting @18 MPG mixed driving, when it runs t runs like a bear. It always fires right up. There is no smoke, white or black. There is no water in the oil, no oil in the water. No audible exhaust leaks. No ticks knocks or oddball noises. For its age and miles almost 300K it runs perfectly.
Well until it has its intermittent issue with the misfire, that isnt bad enough to actually set the code.
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I got this 98 Ranger 2.5 that I've done a tune-up on less than 30,000 miles ago. I changed plugs, wires, and both coil packs. Timing belt, thermostat, fuel pump, fuel injectors are all recently changed too within a year or two. Fuel filter and air filter I change every 30,000 miles. The truck runs as great as a 4 Cylinder will run. It's at 344,000 miles but the engine was changed once so it probably has over 100,000 miles on it. There is just a slight miss you can hear through the tailpipe but it's not severe enough to be picked up by the Check Engine Light. In fact, even when the coils were totally gone it never put up the Check Engine Light. I can tell when a coil pack is going out on this because it's done it several times so I usually just change them with the tune-up. It's only a slight miss some people may not even notice it. I was just wondering is there any way to track down where the miss is? I tried looking under the hood in the pitch black and there's no plug arcing.
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'92 Ranger 2WD with 4 cyl and 9" brakes, right rear wheel cylinder keeps blowing out, replaced it twice. I've thought about maybe an obstruction in the left brake line creating too much pressure, or in the junction block on the rear axle. I believe only one line leads to there from the master cylinder, so what else could it be? Only other thing I can think of is that the right brake has a mechanical problem which is causing the forward shoe to move too far away from the cylinder, leaving no 'stop' so the piston just slides right out of the cylinder. But I can't figure that. Original adjuster star wheel was chewed up so I swapped in another, doubt it's that.
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I figured something out on my ranger that has been bugging me for a while it was a third cly misfire so I changed the plugs and it went away for a while.the po told me he had just changed the plug wires so i didn't mess with those and it was an intermittent misfire so i changed the brain box because it was 15.00 at pull and save and it had been all updated boy did it run smooth for a while then the misfire came back. So I decided to check the 3rd cylinder plug wires and found out the one that is hard to change on the drivers side was badly rusted so i borrowed one off my windstar it was a little longer but boy does it run smoother and it doesn't die all the time and chug chug all the time now i just need to change the battery. i have already changed the clutch and the tranny twice i took one out of an 88 and it fit just fine by the way the engine is a 2.3 8 plug engine with over 230,000miles on it my next project is a timing belt and a heater core won't that be fun and yes i smell the antifreeze inside and don't like the stop leak like the last person put in.
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Been awhile since I've been able to post but I've got a serious issue with my 2006 Ranger XLT 4L V6. So last night about 2 miles from home my check engine light started flashing like it was a at a rave and my engine wasn't acting right, also had the STRONG odor of raw gas, no other lights from the dash, no fluids leaking, oil was good n nothing in radiator but coolant. Was able to baby it to my current home but all my tools are in storage so had to wait to get my ODB scanner to see what's up. Scan came back as 'cylinder #3 misfire' & 'O2 sensor reading rich'.
Go cylinder #3 spark plug out and it were fouled bad. Got ride to the store and got a whole new set. Got back n got'em changed and fired ut up, idle still rough and check engine started flashing again and white cloud coming from exhaust pipe and STRONG odor of gas. Check and now have 'multiple missfire', 'cylinder #2 misfire' and 'cylinder #3 misfire'.
Shut it down go and double check ALL spark plug wires are connected and TRY to start, get about a turn n a half then starter spin. Try again and the engine won't even turn over. "Great I've seized the engine!" Was able to put a socket on the crankshaft pully and manually turn the engine over "whew didn't seize the engine", did this a couple of times and tried to start, was rough but eventually it fired up, still idling rough and again check engine light flashing, while it was running I pulled one plug wire at a time from the coilpack to see/feel the lighting and there was spark for the 3 I pulled, didn't affect engine idle.
Run codes and 'cylinder #3 misfire', so now that the engine is was warmed up I pulled out my ohm meter and started checking wire resistance. Cylinders #1, #2 were at .012, #3 was .011 and #5 was .009.
I've figured that the raw gas is due to cylinder #3 not burning and just pushing gas into the exhaust. So to the brass tacks, do I invest in a new set of wires? Or could it be the injector being stuck open and just flooding the cylinder? No when I originally pulled the #3 plug fuel did not spill out. Haven't pulled #3 again due to it being May in Arizona and had to take a break. I'm going on the assumption that the engine wouldn't start after a short run do to "hydraulic lock in cylinder #3", my manually turning the engine over cleared this and allowed the engine to start.
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