97 Ranger electrical

Howdy everyone. I just bought a 97 Ranger with 130K and a 2.3 motor. It runs out awesome and looks good, but I have a question regarding the electrical. When I bought it, the guy warned me in advance that I would have to change the dash bulbs because over time they have all slowly burned out, which is no biggie. I justgot the truck but haven't had time to change out the bulbs. I noticed when driving it that when I put on my turn signals and press the brake pedal that the turn signals will stop flashing and just stay on, and when I let off the pedal, they will flash again. Also, when I'm just driving without the turn signals on and I rpess the brake pedal, the turn signal bulbs will light up (not flash, just light up), and promptly go out once the brake pedal is released. The dome light doesn't work when you open the door, but will work when you manually turn it on by the switch. Any thoughts on all of this? I thought that maybe with so many bulbs burned out in the dash that it could be causing these issues, but I've never seen that happen in a car before. Thought I might get some opinions on all this so when I go to change the bulbs, if that don't fix the problem, I know where to start lokoing. As always, THANK YOU to everyone who has helped me in the past and will lend help in the future.

I suspect the wrong kind of bulbs were put in the turnsignal/stop lamps in the rear. Either that or somehow he has managed to put a bulb in the wrong position. Make sure the dome light switch is on the right position for the dome to light up with the doors opened. Spray the ground switch at the door with some WD 40. Could be a bad ground.

Thanks, I'll check it out tonight when I get home.

Okay, I checked the bulbs and they are all the right kind. The guy who had it before me hit a deer on the left hand front quarter panel. It didn't do much damage, just cracked the grill, pushed the bumper back an inch or so, and cracked the turn signal lens. Here's my issue. When you turn on the left turn signal, both the back right and left turn signals blink AND the brake lights blink. When you press on the brake pedal, both back turn signals and brake lights stop blinking and just stay. However, when you turn then right turn signal on, both the front and back turn signals work just fine. This is the weirdest thing I have ever seen and it has me baffled. Any thoughts on what might be causing this? Oh yeah, the dome lamp doesn't work either. The map lights work fine, but the dome light itself won't come on when either of the doors are open, and the bulb is fine.

Is it possible a wire on the left side got pinched or is somehow grounding caused by the wreck. The first place I would look in in the area of the damaged side and try to trace wires back from there

<P>Okay, I checked the bulbs and they are all the right kind. The guy who had it before me hit a deer on the left hand front quarter panel. It didn't do much damage, just cracked the grill, pushed the bumper back an inch or so, and cracked the turn signal lens. Here's my issue. When you turn on the left turn signal, both the back right and left turn signals blink AND the brake lights blink. When you press on the brake pedal, both back turn signals and brake lights stop blinking and just stay. However, when you turn then right turn signal on, both the front and back turn signals work just fine. This is the weirdest thing I have ever seen and it has me baffled. Any thoughts on what might be causing this? Oh yeah, the dome lamp doesn't work either. The map lights work fine, but the dome light itself won't come on when either of the doors are open, and the bulb is fine.</P>

What are the front bulbs doing during the flashing state for both the left and right? Do they come on? Do the brake lights work fine when the turn signal is in the neutral position? Off hand (as already mentioned), you have a wire or two pinched. I would investigate the left side since there was damage there. I have a 94 Ranger 2.3L wiring diagrams and it may be different from yours, but it shows that the bulbs for the back for the turn signal and brake lights are separate bulbs and are not using a dual filament bulb to share these functions.&nbsp;Is that the same for your truck?

As far as your dome light, that sounds like a totally separate issue. Did you try turning the rheostat on the headlight control fully counterclockwise to see if the dome light comes on? That may help you in your troubleshooting of where to start for your dome lamp.