1988 Ford Ranger Electrical problems?

DARRIN0819

MEMBER
1988 FORD RANGER
4 CYL
2WD
AUTOMATIC
80,000 MILES

My ranger when im driving the truck just dies. Then their is no power. I turn the key and nothing. It wont turn over. I just got it so I dont know much about it. Its got a new battery. What do I need to check?And I was wondering how to get a EVTM's for the ranger. I called every local ford dealer. Nothing. Thank you for all your help.

3 Replies

CARADIODOC

MECHANIC
33,873 POSTS

What do you have to do to get it started? If you have to charge the battery, suspect a charging system problem. If not, suspect a loose / corroded connection. Any details or observations you can provide will help in narrowing down the problem.

As for the electrical manual, I can help you find one on eBay. I bought 50 of the Ford Electrical / Vacuum manuals from one seller who always gets more books like these.

Caradiodoc

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Monday, March 15th, 2010 AT 11:13 PM

DARRIN0819

MEMBER
2 POSTS

Hey thanx. Well im telling you what my uncle told me before he gave it to me. But now ill start my truck and it will run great. Then ill shut it off and start it again and it will just turn over and not start. I checked the coil for spark and it had no spark. Then I put the wire back on the distributer and it will start. Its like it has spark then it doesent? What can I check? It has the tfi module. Also it would be great if you could help me get a evtm on ebay. Im clueless when it comes to ebay. Never bought off ebay. Thank you for all your help.

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Thursday, March 18th, 2010 AT 11:08 PM

CARADIODOC

MECHANIC
33,873 POSTS

Sorry for the delay. I found my favorite source on eBay, "lorieandeff" and one other person with lots of books. Would you believe I couldn't find a single book for a 1988 Ranger? Found 'em for a Taurus and an Aerostar. I'll keep hunting.

People are leaving eBay in droves because it is becoming very unfriendly for the little guys. Sellers are no longer allowed to accept checks and money orders. Payment must be made through their system which costs more fees. It is getting very expensive to sell through them.

I don't have an answer on why it has spark sometimes unless there's a burned contact on the ignition switch. What you might try is to turn the ignition switch to "run", then back-probe each wire in the TFI module connector and measure and record the voltages. At that point try to start it without turning the ignition switch off first. If it starts, mark those voltages as "normal". When it doesn't start, leave the ignition switch on and remeasure the voltages again. If you find one wire that's different, that will give us something to pursue.

Caradiodoc

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Saturday, March 20th, 2010 AT 1:37 AM