This has gone on for two years. In the morning on a warm day I’d turn the key with the choke on and nothing would happen. A few more tries and it would eventually kick over normally and start. Other times it would light up and then fade out after a few revolutions, as if it had a shortage of spark. Then it would get its act together and work faithfully for the rest of the day.
This caused apprehension when waiting to begin a parade, but otherwise wasn’t all that inconvenient because it never let me down. I became adept at predicting on which turn of the key it would start, based upon the combination of heat and humidity over the last week. After a ride on the trailer it would be fine for a few weeks. As the days grew colder it became more reliable, as well.
The local small engines guy couldn’t find anything wrong with it. The dealer muttered something about starter brushes and suggested I bring the machine in for an examination.
Then we completed the heated garage and I treated the Ranger to a 400-hour oil change on a luxurious concrete floor in a warm room. It went well. I have finally learned how to wiggle the filter out and in with my finger tips. A lot has to do with jacking up the back wheels, rather than the front, to drain the oil. That provides the angle I need to make best use of the limited space. I also moved a fuel line up out of the way temporarily to provide more space.
So in a fit of fussiness I decided to clean the contacts on the battery. Found a Phillips bit in my ratchet set. Braced myself for a hard turn to remove the screw which holds the first cable. It came off with no effort. The screws looked tight, but they were loose, and evidently have been for some time. I sanded the surfaces and tightened the screws back up.
No more strange hesitations at start-up. Funny it took me 300 hours of operation to figure this out.
UPDATE: February 2, 2011
That didn’t solve the problem. Winter starting was growing noticeably weaker to the point I couldn’t rely on the vehicle. A new battery restored starting capability, but to my surprise it did not eliminate the strange hesitation, just reduced it to a momentary pause.
UPDATE: March 4, 2011
What hesitation? With the new battery it starts fine. Looking back at my earlier comments, I must conclude that there’s a bit of corrosion somewhere I haven’t found.
UPDATE: June 3, 2011
Since the new battery went in, the hesitations have become a distant memory. The battery was worth the money.
April 12, 2011 at 8:53 pm
Hi, very interesting writing. I happened upon your postings while looking for preferred spark plugs for my 2004 ranger tm.
Which plugs do you recommend? My ranger started to stall at idle so i changed fuel filter and that did not help. Inrease throttle and choke did not help, so i am figuring spark plugs are fouled. It has happened before. It ran fine for a while this morning and acted up afternoon.
I wonder how many tools and spare parts i should keep on the ranger. It would be interesting to learn what others take with them. A box of tools, fuel lines, filters, plugs, ???????????
April 12, 2011 at 9:06 pm
Because the Ranger usually operates out of its garage on short trips around the farm, I don’t carry repair parts save a pair of pliers in case it encounters fence wire. In 2005 they changed the specification on the plugs. They went from a ####5 to a #####4, I think, one hotter. Better look that up. Since I went with the hotter plug it has preformed quite well, including extended periods at idle in many Santa Claus parades and 7 hour tree-spraying sessions.