Stupid Ranger

2002 ranger 4.0 4wd.

Ugh. So when was it..Monday I tried to take the truck out after 2 weeks of sitting in fluctuating weather. Got in, turned the key, and absolutely nothing. Again.

Hooked up the charger, it immediately pegged on full charge and locked the doors. See a bad terminal connection and fixed it. Still absolutely nothing happens.

Ignore it for Xmas.

Today, try the charger again. On trickle mode it still pegs as full immediately, but I try the key anyway. Dash lights come on, Speedo needle goes to about 70mph but no click or other noises to indicate wanting to start.

All the cables I can actually see and touch are solid with good connections. No idea where my meter is.

I just want to get this thing inspected and up for sale, but that's not going to happen if it won't freaking start. 

Last time it did this it was the battery and terminals. This battery is acting like it's good and it's only a few months old, the terminals are brand new with good solid leads attaching them to the rest of the wiring. 

Are there grounds I'm missing on the back of the motor maybe? Bad ignition switch maybe? Another bad battery?

What voltage are you getting disconnected?

Edit: I think you need to find your meter

(as an aside, I had something very similar when the terminal clamps appeared to be getting a solid connection but weren't)

Can you use jumper cables to connect a known good battery directly to the pos/neg cables in the truck bypassing your battery?

Find your meter.

Yeah, find your meter, so you can track down  (I'm betting) a bad cable. 

My 97 Expedition didn't like to start occasionally, even after I put in a new battery and new starter. What I failed to notice was the bad positive cable going to the starter. It would wiggle just riiiight, so that sometimes it would start and sometimes it wouldn't. It was corroded inside the insulation. 

Yea I'm getting a new meter within the hour.

Earlier this year I had installed a kill switch because of bad door switches trying to keep the dome light on and killing the battery constantly.

I have since removed the kill switch and cut out the door switches and everything has been fine. I haven't really been driving it much, but haven't had a dead battery leaving it sit 6-12 days between trips, where I was getting hours before. 

On the battery end of the cables I had a bit of corrosion, but I cut it back to clean copper. I guess crawling under to check the other side of things is in order, trucks just not in a good spot for that. 

My sons trucks' negative (and positive to an extent) would appear to tighten down on the terminal perfectly. It fooled me to the point of frustration until my meter showed perfect voltage when disconnected. It was then I realized the cables only seemed tight but were "conditionally" loose. 

In reply to ebonyandivory :

These are brand spanking new sets though. I used these things on both positive and negative because my wires were a bit short.

 solid chunk of metal with a set screw to hold the cable in place. It definitely does that, I can't pull the things apart, but on the negative side there is a crimp connector for the smaller wire that connects to the radiator mount. I had trouble getting the crimps on, but I also can't pull it apart. so I'm considering it suspect for now. 

Once the new meter gets here I'll check the battery and try to check the wire connections for continuity. 

4 volts. 4 freaking volts across the battery. Charger still pegs at full. 

Bright the battery up to 12, hooked up the cables, and it plummeted. Yay.

Kill switch is going back in, I'm probably going to get another new battery. But in the mean time I guess I can start chasing wires looking for a drain.

Holds 14.7 at idle, so I guess that's good

Voltage completely disconnected from cables is what (probably 4)

What's the voltage with cables connected but not running, 4?

Voltage of 14.x while connected and running is good so your alternator is fine.
 

But your 4 volts just means a dead (and most likely junk) battery. Get a Walmart replacement and see what happens.

Completely disconnected was at 4

Connected and not running it drained away to nothing

Connected and running 14.7

Connected but kill switch off it's staying at 12.2

It's a pep boys battery, only 4 or 6 months old, gonna try to make them replace it. Again. Hoping they will, the store is closing and becoming tire and service exclusive, and I just don't want to spend another $150 on a battery right now. 

In reply to RevRico :

In case you do actually have a drain, do you know how you keep the meter connected and start pulling fuses to check for changes in current being drawn?

Easier and more methodical than chasing wires.

I just read where a guy had a similar issue and he worked his way to the a/c clutch solenoid, pulled it and the draw was gone. Replaced that solenoid and issue was fixed. 
 

Maybe a shot in the dark, maybe it's just a crap battery but if any of this helps I'll be happy.

In reply to ebonyandivory :

Yea, I'll get another set of hands here to make it easier though. Thankfully, great weather in PA this week. 

Definitely  indicates a drain.

Battery may be ok

So part 2 of the stupid ranger rant now that it's running again sort of: I don't have a key for the door.

Can I get one from the dealer or is it possible to have the door rekeyed to match the ignition key? 

All it has is the fob (with a new battery) and the trick with the antenna.

quick google

https://www.autozone.com/electrical-and-lighting/lock-door-cylinder-keys

So we went over the truck with a meter today. Every fuse, every ground we could find, running and not. Everything looks good. Frustratingly.

As soon as it shut off, voltage dropped to 12.6 and stayed there. 

"Fully charged automotive batteries should measure at 12.6 volts or above. When the engine is running, this measurement should be 13.7 to 14.7 volts."

Not sure what you mean with the key situation. The truck uses two different keys, but you have no keys at all? If you have no key and the door is locked I would just get a locksmith to make one. They can basically measure the tumblers and then cut a key without actually having to do any iffy door flexing lockout kit type stuff with wedges and air pouches etc. As far as making them match, depending on the value of your time that would cost more than getting a key made for it. If you want the $0 option, you could either rekey it yourself by rearranging the tumblers in the lock cylinders, or do what i once did and dump all the tumblers out so that any Ford key will turn the lock.  That may hurt resale if you actually inform the next guy, lol.