My only vehicle I have ever owned is my 99 Ford Ranger 3.0L V6 4x4. Recently my car wouldn't start, and I thought it was my Alternator, but it ended up being a bad battery I had bought just 6 months ago. Since the new battery was installed my Speedometer, Odometer, power windows, windshield wipers, dome light, the ding sound that tells you your lights are still on when opening the door, no longer work anymore. I have already checked the fuses and replaced my ABS sensor on my rear axle. Please help ... I can't figure out what is wrong and don't want to pay an arm and a leg to some mechanic to explore what could possibly be wrong.

Thanks for any advice!

 

Have you done anything with the truck yet?

 

After checking all the fuses and installing the new ABS sensor, I have not touched anything.

 

Here is something you can try and it doesn't cost anything , is easy to do and may solve the problem.
Remove the negative battery cable, let the vehicle set for 1/2 hour with the cable off then touch the loose cable end to the other cable that is still attached to the battery.
Then reinstall the negative cable back to the negative battery post. The vehicle may idle funny until it adjusts to your driving habits. Then check to see if the other problems have gone away. Let us know if you got rid of the gremlins.

 

Where should I touch the loose cable end on the other cable exactly?

Thanks hanky ... Once I have time to try it, I'll let you know how it works ASAP.

 

It did not work ... Cables also aren't long enough to touch one another.

 

Have you tried to use a piece of wire to connect the cables together after waiting the 1/2 hour with the negative cable removed?

 

Check Fuse #15 and Fuse #8 If the fuses are good take DVM and check the sockets of those fuses for power. If everything is ok then I'd probably start to look at the GEM. I believe it's located behind the radio.

 

Could this be caused by putting the terminals getting switched during the battery change? Perhaps something got fried?

 

check and see if there is a loose wire somewhere close to the battery that should be connected to the negative terminal. my ranger has three wires connecting to the terminal. they all ground different parts of the electric system.