What can cause a 1996 ford ranger no to be going in gear when the vehicle start. It has a manual gear box

Keith, 1995 ford ranger, looks like interior light fuse is # 27, 10 amp. in interior fuse box panel and module #3 in under hood fuse/relay. Pg. 308 to 315 in the attached manual show fuse locations for all. Check the attached links,instruction and guides, Good luck
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Manual shift or automatic?

Check if the you have an automatic gearbox for a steel and/or rubber pipe attached to the gearbox via a little vacuum unit. If this exists this pipe is connected to the inlet manifold, and supplies vacuum for the gearbox to select top gear in an automatic gear box. If this rubber and/or steel pipe is damaged or fallen off, repair or replace as necessary and then try again. If the vehicle has a manual gearbox, check the selector lever's, arms and or connectors. These can be rubbing on the vacuum pipes and may have split one of them.

could be a vehicle speed sensor, Is your check engine light on since this problem arose, and could also be the speedo itself going bad.

I'm not an expert and I have a similar problem on the 1996 Mazda extended PU w/2300 four cylinder. Same vehicle, made in ranger plant in NJ.

On the four, the purge solenoid and the purge flow sensor are located just aft (towards driver) of the battery on a vac line between the canister (next to the battery) and the intake (Just forward of the brake master cylinder.

QUESTION: Is there a pressure sensor in the fuel tank of this vehicle??????

The large MAXI fuses in the engine compartment fuse block are the MAIN fuses. They supply voltage to several other fuses or circuits.

MAXI Fuse #13 in your 1996 Ford Ranger is supposed to be a 30 Amp fuse (not a 50 Amp) according to the power distribution diagrams as well as the fuse block detail diagram. This fuse supplies voltage to the Powertrain Control Module (PCM) power relay and to the oxygen sensor heater circuits.

Please note that it is NORMAL for this fuse to cause a draw on the battery during vehicle operation and also after engine shut down. The OBD-2 oxygen sensor heater circuit monitors run after engine shut down and key off. This can take up to 45 minutes to complete. After the O2 heater monitor has run, the PCM will go into sleep mode.

When the PCM goes into sleep mode, the battery draw from this fuse will be reduced greatly. If you are performing "ignition-off-draw" tests trying to figure out why the battery keeps going dead, it is best to use an ammeter that has a 1 or 2 amp scale. You should set-up for the test using a shunt bar. Wait for 45 minutes to an hour for all of the computer systems in the vehicle to go into sleep mode, then open the shunt. Your computer memory, radio pre-sets, clock, etc. will continue to draw without ever shutting completely off. Any draw under 300 Milliamps is considered "acceptable". It is my experience that most vehicles have an ignition-off-draw of somewhere near 150 Milliamps.

The underhood fuse box diagram can be found on page 314 in the 1996 Ford Ranger Owner's Manual.
If you do not have an Owner's Manual, you can get a PDF version HERE (direct link)

Ford Ranger 1996-current models. Don't feel like looking inside your glove box... just click here: Ford Ranger Owner's Manual

Have a nice day; thank you for using FixYa.

Sounds like the clutch is going or the slave or master cylinder is failing. You could have some bad gear synchronizers.

I recommend you get the Haynes repair manual for your vehicle. This replacement will require removing many parts from the motor and aligning components that are normally not visible. If you fail to align the timing marks properly before installing the new built you could cause serious damage to your vehicle.

With out a check engine code there could be few things that can do this, clean the mass air flow sensor, check your engine air cleaner and then if this doesn't help, have someone start the car while you watch the throttle linkages, after it warms up watch which linkage moves when the engine speed drops this will be connected to the problem sensor / auto choke. Try unplugging it to see if it helps before you go out and buy a new one.
I hope this helps
Sam