2000 Ford Ranger electrical

GMANGIBBONS95

MEMBER
2000 FORD RANGER
3.0L
6 CYL
2WD
MANUAL
170,000 MILES

My ranger has been giving me trouble starting for some time now, every time I went to start it I had to jump it, no matter if it sat for 10 minutes or two days. I went on vacation for a week, so my truck sat for a total of seven days and it started right up. Didn't give me any trouble for the next three or four days but then went right back to needing jumped every time. I checked all my fuses, I checked the battery cables for good connections and corrosion, spark plugs and wires, I also had the full starting/charging system checked on multiple occasions, its all in good, working condition. My passenger side airbag switch did go out on me but I don't know if that could be causing the issue. Is there anything I'm missing? (I checked my battery with a dvom after half an hour and it read at around 9.3 volts)

2 Replies

JDL

MECHANIC
16,098 POSTS

The generic spec for a full charge is around 12.6 volts. Get the battery charged up. Check for a drain with everything off. Generally around 30--50 ma. That is.050, not even a tenth of an amp. If you have access drain pull/replace fuses one at a time, when you pull the fuse on a problem circuit, the excess drain goes away. Then check everything on that fuse circuit. The generator might let the battery drain.