2003 Ford Ranger MY TRUCK WONT START?PLEASE HELP

524SUPPORT

MEMBER
2003 FORD RANGER
4 CYL
2WD
AUTOMATIC
88,000 MILES

I started my car this morning and I heard a weird noise. Turns out it was the fan behind the radiator turning.I turn off my car and the fan behind the radiator kept on rotating and the pulley system on the motor with the plastic bank kept on turning slowly. Kinda at interval. Then after about 2 minuets it stopped. I goto turn on the truck again and the batteries are dead and all I get is a clicking sound. Any ideas what it could be. Please I need help with this, any suggestion would greatly be appreciated. Thank you

1 Reply

CARADIODOC

MECHANIC
33,727 POSTS

Hi 524support. Welcome to the forum. Start with a jump start to get the engine running, then use a cheap digital voltmeter to measure the voltage between the two battery terminals. After a few minutes, it must be between 13.75 and 14.75 volts. If it stays around 12 volts, the charging system is not recharging the battery while you're driving. If the voltage is ok, the battery may have a shorted cell, something may have been left on to drain it, or the cables could be loose or corroded.

With the engine stopped, the battery voltage should be near 12.6 volts. If it is around 11 volts or less, have it recharged and tested. If you have an electric radiator fan, it is run by a computer. Computers do weird things when the battery voltage is too low.

Caradiodoc