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Need some help...87 Ranger Gauge issues?

Hey guys, i used to be around here alot, under my old name "workin rig" askin questions about my old 77 F250....

Either way, ive retired the 77 as my daily driver and bought an 87 Ranger. 2.9/5sp/2wd....

Im having issues im hoping are electrical related...

The temp gauge and oil pressure gauge will read high, as will the fuel gauge. But only sometimes. The oil gauge will read about 3/4 up, the temp gauge a bit higher then that, and the fuel will gain 1/8-1/4 tank.

Sometimes the temp gauge will peg on "H" after a hot restart, but then return to the top of the normal band...

Here is the kicker, it only does it sometimes, sometimes the oil hangs right in the middle, temp will hang about 1/4 way (180*tstat) and fuel gauge will be accurate. I should add that the temp gauge still fluxuates, but still never goes much over midway and only at understandable times (like in a drive thru).

When the gauges are acting up, i notice that when i turn the blower or headlights on, it seems to put a noticiable load on the engine, but when things are fine, then it doesnt. Alternator is charging.

Im 99% sure its not actually overheating, because being a 2.9 it would of been dumping coolant by now. Oil is clean, coolant is as green as grass, and i have good cab heat. I have felt the hoses when it says its overheating, and they were hot, but not so hot i couldnt hold my hand on them for 15-20 seconds. Fan clutch seems to be working as well.

I have checked the ground strap that runs from the head to the firewall, it seems to be fine. The only one im concerned about is the little black wire that runs from the neg battery terminal over to the core support. What is this for and could it cause these issues?

Any help is apperciated.
 
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dustybumpers

don't play well w others
Sounds like bad grounds
 
Do these have the ICVR like the 70s stuff? I cant find anything about them after 85 or so.
 
I was wonderin about the VR itself, its internally regulated. Ive never had one fail though so im not sure what the symptoms are, besides battery meltdown.

Guess i can hit the battery with a multimeter. How many volts is to much, i know normal is 13-14 with it running.
 

DNFXDLI

The Token Canadian
Staff member
With it running you should be seeing 14.4 ish....13 while running is too low.
 
With it running you should be seeing 14.4 ish....13 while running is too low.

Im gonna have some time tuesday hopefully to look into this further. Im really leaning toward some alternator issue, reason being under full load i noticed the Amp gauge riding just a bit below 1/2, then when unloaded it jumps up kinda high, then settles down, seems they usually stay pretty steady correct?

The alt has been replaced at some point, but the truck was last tagged in 2006 and i put it back into duty in april of this year, so who knows.
 

Jasperrc

Texas Chapter member
The intermittent nature of it makes me wonder about a loose connection/bad wire or ground.

Assuming the truck has AC, when you turn the blower on does the compressor kick in as well? That would put more load on the engine.
 
The intermittent nature of it makes me wonder about a loose connection/bad wire or ground.

Assuming the truck has AC, when you turn the blower on does the compressor kick in as well? That would put more load on the engine.

It does have AC but the compressor is shot and doesnt even have a belt on it.

I read the temp sender grounds thru the intake manifold where its screwed in, it had teflon tape on the threads...would that cause these issues?
 

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