Engine Mechanical problem
2000 Ford Ranger 6 cyl Two Wheel Drive Manual 119K miles
Wednesday morning the thing took three cranks to start, and would only start if I gave gas on the pedal, which has never been the case for 120K miles. No gas peddle assistance necessary, and that's not how you start it anyway. Just crank the ignition. Always started on the first crank, with no gas pedal assistance.
Drove it to work, same thing after work, three cranks, had to give gas pedal to start. Went to Autozone, they checked the battery and declared it "dead." Bought new battery, $100. This morning I wake up, same exact problem. Three cranks, third using the pedal, Ranger starts. It does not whine or hum or grind, it just tries to start and dies immediately. Third time with gas, starts just fine. Starts just fine when it is warm or has been used, ran on highway, stop, do an errand for 30 minutes, boom, starts, no gas pedal. So it's a cold start problem, or a start problem after sitting for a few hours.
Strangely enough, what I noticed is that my cigarette lighter socket has collapsed. It fell into the dash. The actual lighter part broke many years ago and I have not used the thing in years. This happened at the exact same time the engine is having trouble starting. Is that lighter now shorting out the electrical/battery? I mean literally, the day the lighter assembly fell away, this problem started, or just co-incidence?
Fuel pump?
Alternator?
Starter?
Ignition?
Electrical?
Like I said, there's no grinding noise, no cranking noise, it's not been totally dead engine, just won't start until the third crank, with added gas pedal assistance.
It's been doing it for three days. Help.
2000 Ford Ranger 6 cyl Two Wheel Drive Manual 119K miles
Wednesday morning the thing took three cranks to start, and would only start if I gave gas on the pedal, which has never been the case for 120K miles. No gas peddle assistance necessary, and that's not how you start it anyway. Just crank the ignition. Always started on the first crank, with no gas pedal assistance.
Drove it to work, same thing after work, three cranks, had to give gas pedal to start. Went to Autozone, they checked the battery and declared it "dead." Bought new battery, $100. This morning I wake up, same exact problem. Three cranks, third using the pedal, Ranger starts. It does not whine or hum or grind, it just tries to start and dies immediately. Third time with gas, starts just fine. Starts just fine when it is warm or has been used, ran on highway, stop, do an errand for 30 minutes, boom, starts, no gas pedal. So it's a cold start problem, or a start problem after sitting for a few hours.
Strangely enough, what I noticed is that my cigarette lighter socket has collapsed. It fell into the dash. The actual lighter part broke many years ago and I have not used the thing in years. This happened at the exact same time the engine is having trouble starting. Is that lighter now shorting out the electrical/battery? I mean literally, the day the lighter assembly fell away, this problem started, or just co-incidence?
Fuel pump?
Alternator?
Starter?
Ignition?
Electrical?
Like I said, there's no grinding noise, no cranking noise, it's not been totally dead engine, just won't start until the third crank, with added gas pedal assistance.
It's been doing it for three days. Help.
Nov 19, 2009 at 10:25 AM