04' Ranger Edge - Any idea what happened?
Not a mechanic just a backyard tinkerer
I bought the truck 4 years ago and within the first year, noticed the fuel gauge was a bit deceptive as it ran dry before the low fuel light came on, but that time after adding some gas it started right up.
I took a short trip two days ago. I was low-ish on fuel (under 1/4). When I went to start it up for the return trip, it cranked and started very rough then died after a few seconds. Would continue to crank but not start. I put in 10L of gas but that didnt help. I did some research online and suspected the fuel pump. I tried to prime the lines by turning the ignition to ON for 15s then off a few times, but it still would not start. I swapped the fuel pump relay and fuse, no change. Tried cranking while someone else beated on the tank.
I ended up having it towed back to my place, planning to replace the fuel pump. Today I started working on it and after a while decided to just try starting it again and to my surprise it started and ran like normal. Let it run for a few minutes and turned it off. Started again perfectly normally. Half hour later and same result. Any ideas on what might have happened to cause it not to start or need this 'cool down' period after it ran dry again?
Thanks