Hi everyone,
A couple weeks ago, my truck wouldn't start. No start, no crank, no clicks. After reading several threads, I decided to replace the NSS. I also replaced the starter relay. Now when I turn the key I get no start and no cranks but one click. When I turn the key off, for several seconds I get this loud electrical groan that comes from inside the cab, somewhere behind the radio/defroster console. What is back there that could be connected to this problem? The ignition switch is located back by the steering column, right?
I hate to tear into the instrument panel without having a part ready to pop in because I know putting all that stuff back together can be a pain and it may take me awhile to get the part. I live on an island in Alaska.
Any suggestions?
My internet is also pretty unreliable so if I don't respond quickly to questions, don't give up on me.

 

Welcome to the forum

Nothing behind the dash that would cause no crank/no start

But the GEM Module, and 4x4 relay is behind radio

Ignition switch is under steering column above brake pedal area

There is a relay box above gas pedal, has several relays inside, nothing to do with starting though

What your battery voltage?
12.8volts is a new battery
12.3v is a 5/6 year old battery and time to shop for a battery sale

12.2v and under is a dead battery, one "click"

And if battery voltage is low you will hear noises under the dash

Check fuse #24 in cab fuse panel, thats the starter activation power fuse, 7.5amp


Have to ask, 2001 Ranger will have PATS, passive anti-theft system, so will disable starter motor if wrong key is used or if it doesn't "read" the key correctly
BUT............there would be a Flashing "lock"/"theft" light on the dash if this happens, and no start motor

Lets assume no Flashing Theft light????

So test the starter motor first
You need a wire long enough to reach from Battery positive to the starter motor
On the back of the starter solenoid(smaller tube on top of starter motor) are two wires, well 1 larger cable and 1 smaller wire
The larger cable runs to battery positive
The smaller wire is the Activation wire that comes from the starter relay in the engine fuse box, its called the "S" wire(yellow), its on the "S" post
MAKE SURE tires are blocked and trans is in Park or Neutral

Touch jumper wire from battery positive to "S" post
Starter motor should activate, if not starter motor or the larger cable is bad, for sure

 

Thanks Ron
Yes, I have no flashing lights when I turn the key. "Theft" light comes on briefly then goes off. I have also checked all the fuses in the cab and engine compartment. I don't have a voltmeter to check the battery status. A friend is bringing me one on Monday and I will check it then. But I have been trying to start the truck by jumping it off another truck that does have a good hot battery and I'm still only getting one click.
Today I will make up a jumper wire to check the starter by touching the "S" post. See what happens and go from there.
Thanks for your help. Really appreciate it.

 

Hi RonD
I was finally able to try the checks you suggested. The voltage on my battery was 11.78v. When I connected a jump starter, that bumped it up to 12.39v. Still pretty low. Clearly a new battery is in my future. When I tried jumping the starter, I got an audible click when I touched the jump wire to the "s" post. Single click, no crank. I also tried touching the larger (supply) post on the solenoid and got nothing.The key was on for both these tests but I didn't have anyone with me to try turning the key.
With the multimeter, I tried to check for resistance (corrosion) in the large supply cable by touching the battery + post to the solenoid supply post and got no v. This is normal, right? Then I tried touching the battery + to the "s" post and got 11.80v. Is that what I should have gotten?
Other than telling me that I need a new battery, have these tests pointed at anything else I need to replace? I'm hoping it's anything other than the starter, because it is sooo hard to get to on this truck. Thanks for any suggestions.

 

Testing battery cable is tough with volt meter because that uses maybe .2amp draw, not 60-75 AMPS needed by starter motor
The 11.8v means cable is connected, thats all

Yes, under 12.3volt in a car battery is a dead battery, 11.8v would SUCK most of the AMPS from the Jumping battery
I wouldn't even bother to test more with that battery, unless you can pull it out to charge it and then test it again the next day to see if its holding voltage above 12.3v

 

After replacing the battery, checking all the connections, and replacing the clamps on both battery cables, I'm still only getting a single click at the solenoid when I turn the key, so I guess I'm down to the starter. I'm also still getting that terrible growling from behind the radio for several seconds after releasing key
In order to get to the solenoid connections, I had to drain the oil and remove the oil filter, which sits right above the starter. When I took off the filter, the small red plastic solenoid post cover fell out of the space. It's purpose, I suppose, is to protect those posts from corrosion and to prevent arcing between + and -. Looks like I had a little bit of fire going on down there. Would that have been enough to kill my starter/solenoid?


"fried" solenoid post cover

 

The connection was corroded under that cap, so heating up, or the starter motor was drawing too many amps for that connection to provide, so going bad

 

ok, I got a new starter, spent about 12 hrs swapping it out for the old one (space is really tight down there). and it started right up! It started perfectly several times, so I gassed it up and took it out for a road test. I didn't get 3 miles before it started shuddering and shaking. It idles and runs fine until I get over about 15 mph, then it starts missing terribly and will not accelerate any faster. The only trouble lights on are the ABS light (which is on constantly) and the air bag light (which flashes). Oddly, my speedometer/odometer also doesn't work!
These symptoms seem so random that I'm starting to wonder if I've fried the computer. The truck was running perfectly until it failed to start a month ago.
Am I looking at a brain transplant here? Is there any way to confirm that?

 

Yes, with a 4x4 it is a Chinese puzzle to get the old one out and the new one in

There is no connection between computer and starter motor

2001 automatic 4x4 would get speed signal from OSS(output shaft speed) sensor on drivers side rear of the 5R55E transmission
The OSS signal goes to the PCM(computer) only
The PCM then converts that signal to an 8,000ppm(pulse per mile) signal that the speedometer can understand.

But I would check some fuses, I assume you unhooked the battery before changing starter, but you can still blow fuses
check fuse 26 in cab fuse box

Does the CEL come on with key on, it should, and then go off after engine starts?

 

Hi Ron,
I did disconnect the battery before the starter replacement but I'm wondering if during my various fuse/relay/wire/connection/ checks initially, I might have cooked the PCM. The things which do not work now are: interior/dash lights, windshield wipers, speedometer/odometer, When I turn the key on, all dash warning lights illuminate, including CEL. When I start the engine, all go off except ABS which is on constant, and air bag light is on constant and flashes when I drive.
I will check all the fuses again after work and I suspect I will find some blown ones.
But what can account for the horrible driving performance? The engine runs smoothly until about 2000 rpm (while driving) then starts bucking, shuddering and missing like crazy and it won't accelerate. Sounds electrical, yes? Is there any way I can check the OSS?
by the way, You were right on the money about the battery and starter. They both needed replacement. The truck starts like a dream now. Thanks for your help. I appreciate it.

 

There is a REV limiter that prevents higher RPMs at 0 MPH or if in Park or Neutral
No speedometer is 0 MPH

Test when sitting in driveway see if you can REV past 3,500RPM and hold it for a few seconds

interior lights(not dash) and wipers are controlled by GEM Module in 2001 not PCM

 

Checked fuse 26 and it's good. Then I tried revving the engine to 3500 while parked. It accelerated well until it got to 3000, then started missing terribly and wouldn't accelerate higher.

 

So the REV limiter is working, is that whats happening when you drive?

 

yes

 

So either speed sensor(OSS) issue or DTR sensor(shifter sensor on side of transmission)

I would guess with no speedometer its the speed sensor but................................there should be transmission codes and flashing OD light

 

So,does the fact that I found no blown fuses suggest that the GEM might also be bad? Would that account for all the random failures like the wipers, interior lights and air bags?
It sounds like I'm dealing with multiple electronic issues at once. Starting system (fixed with new battery/starter), OSS or the DTR (Neutral Safety switch) which I replaced last month, but may have damaged or had a bad one, and the GEM.
Is there no single part I could replace that might fix the random failures and the poor engine performance above 3000 rpm?

 

The 2001 GEM wiring diagram below

It controls wipers and interior dome light directly

Also warning lights like the Air Bag light

But not Speed, but.......................it does get the speed signal, VSS +, from the computer same as speedometer does, so if that VSS wire was shorted inside the GEM then it would kill the speed signal to speedo

But no connection to starter motor so not sure what could go wrong when changing starter motor?

Unless these issues pre-date the starter motor change?

 

None of the issues I have now existed before it wouldn't start. It ran perfectly and everything worked fine until it wouldn't crank, which I'm fairly sure was due to a poor battery and bad starter. Now that that issue is resolved, it sounds like my next issue is the GEM, because nearly all of the symptoms I have are controlled in some way by that module. If there's a possibility that it might also be responsible for the speedometer issue then maybe the next step is to replace the GEM and then see what it fixes. Do you think that's a good plan?
The challenge with that (aside from the cost), is that I've also read that I will need to have it reprogrammed at the dealership for my own particular truck. Is that true? I am many miles from the nearest Ford dealership so that is not an option.
Any suggestions?

 

It's been a long and bumpy ride.
Recap...
Middle of Sept. truck wouldn't start. No click no crank. I suspected the DTR (NSS) because for awhile,I hadn't been able to start in P. Only in N. So I replaced that. Now I had clicks in P and N. but no crank.
Thanks to RonD and some other smart folks, I narrowed the "no start" problem down to battery and starter. Replaced both. Solved that issue. Truck starts fine now.
But it didn't have interior lights, low beam headlamps, windshield wipers or speedometer/odometer. All warning lights worked but only 2, the ABS and Air bag light, stayed on. The CEL worked but wasn't staying illuminated. All of these symptoms are somehow regulated by the GEM, which just happens to be located in an area (behind the radio console) from which I'd heard a weird grinding noise back when I was in "no start" status.

I also couldn't drive it over 3000 rpm without it bucking and missing like crazy.When I learned that there was a REV limiter that got it's signal from the DTR (again, thanks to RonD), I went back to check it. Sure enough, it was not properly aligned. There is no way to see the alignment marks on the sensor during installation. I was only able to discover that it was misaligned by squeezing my phone up to it and taking fotos (attached). I read in my Haynes manual that this alignment is very critical since it sends so many different signals and it may need to be fine-tuned at the dealer. Is this true? I don't have that option.
The realignment fixed my REV limiter issue (the truck now purrs like a kitty over 3000 rpm) but I still had all the random electrical failures, including no speedometer or wipers.
I live on an island in SE Alaska that gets about 150 inches of rain a year, so if you don't have wipers, you're literally dead in the water.
Since all of these failures have the GEM in common, I bought one on EBay (from coloradoauto...anybody know 'em?), but, due to the weather, it took me 15 days to get the part. I just put it on and it did not solve any of my electronic issues!
I won't give up on this truck. But I don't know what to try next.
RonD, if you're still listening, brother, I need some more of your wisdom.


Before adjustment: Neutral alignment is off by about 4-5mm.

After adjustment: still not perfect. maybe 1 mm off. Good enough?

 

Good work, that should be OK for DTR

Wipers
The Multi-function switch(turn signal) is what tells the GEM to activate the wiper relays
Fuse 16 in cab fuse box powers the relays(and wipers) with key on, and the GEM then GROUNDS the relay to activate it when told to do so by the multi-function switch

 

Thanks again to you RonD. The problems are fixed. Fuse 16 was ok but in checking all the fuses again, I found that I had replaced one of my fuses (26) into the wrong slot the last time I checked it. When I put it back where it belongs, the truck woke right up.
I really appreciate you keeping me pointed in the right direction over the last two months.
Stay warm and dry, brother.

 

Good work, and thank you

And thanks for the update, it will help others down the road