At 50,000 miles or so the air conditioner was not cooling properly. I took it in to the dealer, and after diagnosis, the Dryer was leaking. An extended warranty I purchased when I bought the truck used covered all costs ($300).
More recently, the dome light began to stay on after the engine was shut off/door closed, and when the engine was first started when I go somewhere. The light will usually go off after 15 minutes or so when the engine is off due to the built-in safety. When the engine is running, the light will go off after a few minutes. Some research on my part revealed a stuck switch in the door jam. My 1988 Lincoln Town Car did this also, but the switch was actually a button on that car.
I pulled the fuse controlling the dome/map/glove box lights. It also controls the 4x4 system, but my truck is a 2wd.
Overall, it has been a great truck. I am fairly disappointed in the gas mileage. It very well should get better than it does. My truck gets on average 21MPG, no matter what I do or where I drive. Its about twice the mileage my Lincoln got though. It got an average of 12MPG.
The truck is seriously underpowered. I would recommend to others to opt for the V-6 engines.
The reason everyone's door ajar light is staying on, or dome light is staying on... is due to door sensors being dirty. A simple cleaning solution will take care of this problem, but finding the sensor is the task. I was using some WD 40 which worked well for a while, but later learned it actually made it worse.. so find a good cleansing solution out there, and the problem will be fixed. Hope this is helpful.
I have owned my '97 Ranger XLT standard cab truck since new (2/97). It has a 3.0 L V6 motor with manual transmission and 41.000 miles on the odometer.
Other than the standard Ranger problem regarding the wiper control (they have a tendency to come on unexpectedly or won't shut off immediately after taking control to "OFF"; it must be first taken to "HIGH" then to "OFF") and a unusual in-leakage of fuel in the gas tank fuel float (it's brass - go figure! Float appears replaceable alone - don't spend $180.00 for new float/pump assembly if you don't have to!) it's been a good little work truck.
Now to find out how to retrofit an A/C system into it (didn't need it in Seattle, now I'm in the desert.).
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