Good Evening, I ran my 2004 ranger for my hunting season. It was running great with a new carb and fuel pump. One day it decided to lose lights, started to bog out under throttle then eventually die. I took it back to the garage to look further. I independently tested the fuel pump and ruled it was shot, so I replaced it. Jumped the battery to start it, idles fine. In fact in neutral I can rev it as much as I want, rpm’s wise… when I put it in gear and drive it (either high or low) I can hardly get it to move then it just bogs and hesitates at lower rpm’s. Sometimes it’ll die. It feels like a fuel issue but something tells me it’s an electrical for some reason, just due to the battery always being dead. The battery is new to this year
‘04 Ranger 500 bogs out under load
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If the Ranger sat for an extended time between when you installed a new carb and when this problem began I think I would be looking into cleaning the carburetor, especially if you run fuel with ethanol. Ethanol does some bad things when it sits for a while and it can begin to degrade in as little as 30 days. It attracts moisture from the air and since carburetors are vented to the atmosphere moist air can get in and affect the fuel. With time it undergoes phase separation and ethanol alone can be corrosive. Since gas floats on water and the main jet is usually at the bottom of the carburetor it tires to pick up water or fuel that has undergone phase separation and engine performance suffers. Ethanol fuel will even turn jelly like in the float bowl. The main jet will become partially or fully plugged and on may carburetors the fuel supplied for idle and mid range goes through the main jet to reach the idle and mid range circuits.
Bottom line, if the fuel pump is KNOWN to be good and fuel pressure is correct I would take my carburetor apart and inspect it for ethanol related issues, particularly in the float bowl. I would also be certain the gas in the fuel tank hasn't undergone ethanol related issues; drain the fuel into a clear glass container let it sit and look for an area of cloudy stratification with water below the strata.
Ethanol can also deteriorate the rubber in fuel lines causing tiny pieces to break away and enter the fuel and clogging carburetor orifices.
Note that even non ethanol fuel can cause problems if it sits for a long time without a fuel stabilizer added. It will eventually evaporate from the float bowl and can leave a resinous substance referred to as varnish which will plug jets and passages in the carburetor. With non ethanol fuel this process takes considerably longer than ethanol fuels do and it may take several cycles of letting the fuel sit and evaporate before enough varnish builds up to cause troubles.
Either way, pull the float bowl and inspect the bowl and main jet at the very least. Many carburetors incorporate an emulsion tube above the main jet and that tube has a series of small holes cross drilled in it that can become plugged.
Bottom line, if the fuel pump is KNOWN to be good and fuel pressure is correct I would take my carburetor apart and inspect it for ethanol related issues, particularly in the float bowl. I would also be certain the gas in the fuel tank hasn't undergone ethanol related issues; drain the fuel into a clear glass container let it sit and look for an area of cloudy stratification with water below the strata.
Ethanol can also deteriorate the rubber in fuel lines causing tiny pieces to break away and enter the fuel and clogging carburetor orifices.
Note that even non ethanol fuel can cause problems if it sits for a long time without a fuel stabilizer added. It will eventually evaporate from the float bowl and can leave a resinous substance referred to as varnish which will plug jets and passages in the carburetor. With non ethanol fuel this process takes considerably longer than ethanol fuels do and it may take several cycles of letting the fuel sit and evaporate before enough varnish builds up to cause troubles.
Either way, pull the float bowl and inspect the bowl and main jet at the very least. Many carburetors incorporate an emulsion tube above the main jet and that tube has a series of small holes cross drilled in it that can become plugged.
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