Hi everyone, I am new but am excited about my new ranger (old) and joining this forum looks to be very informative.

I do have a problem already which is to be expected with the 150$ price tag that was associated with buying this 95' 4 cyl. Ranger.
I cranked it up a couple of days ago and it was idling very rough and the rpms were about 400 higher than usual. I proceeded to shift into first and it required milking the clutch and gas pedal for a while before i could actually get it into first but still seemed very shaky and was generating very little power, all the while rpm's were still way higher than normal.

My first thought was maybe coil or plugs, so i got a test light and hooked it up one at a time to the first set of coil ends and only 1 failed to cause the light to blink. On the second set of coils only half even caused the light to come on. Any thoughts??
plugs bad? both coils bad? I am not a real mechanic but I have a little knowledge from my 7.3l Diesel, but this is something I have never really worked with..spark plugs haha.

THanks everyone,

Whit

 

new modern ignition wires are very well insulated
the old test light trick will not work
the wires that cause the tester to light up indicate the wires insulation is bad

try replacing both sets of ignition wires,, and go from there

if is still not making any power , then it sounds like the engine is worn out
and the computer is trying to compensate .

 

The coils are interchangeable on my 92 2.3. Maybe they are for yours too. I'd note exactly which ones are firing and then switch the coils and see if the trouble follows. Coils are expensive so it's worth trying everything. As cheese_man suggests, changing wires is worthwhile.

One final note, I just had problems with the coils because the computer got wet. It's on the kick panel passenger side. Blew it out and put a droplight on it for a couple hours and all my problems disappeared.
Good luck

 

Ok thanks guys, I found a set of replacement wires for 30 bucks at autozone, and I plan to change them tonight. I really appreciate the help my good men. Will post in a few hours and let ya'll know if it has worked, and where to go from there if that is to no avail.
-Musick♫

 

So I replaced all of the wires last night (the drivers side is a lil tricky) and its still idleing very rough, but there is a big difference in the amount of power the truck is making. It accelerates much better and even lets me shift into second at a lower speed then i was ever able to previous this incident.
All of the leads on the wires that connected to spark plugs were covered in a battery acid corrosion type powder, and almost every single wire i pulled off left behind the actual metal connector to the spark plug which really made things a pain in the rear.

What should be my next move guys?

 

I'd test the coils, it's easy, but be careful. I did in the following way.
1. with engine off, loosen the plug wires at the coils so they are just laying over each protrusion.
2. get a pair of insulated pliers, because with the engine running you can lift one at a time. If you use your fingers and touch any part of the vehicle you'll get a jolt that will not hurt you but when you jump THATS when you get hurt.
3. start the truck
4. Using the insulated pliers, Lift the plug wire (for the number 1 cylinder) slightly and look to see if you see a spark between the wire and the coil. (you only want to lift it enough so you can see the spark. The spark will typically "jump" 1/2" also you will hear the clicking noise as the spark jumps. If the truck is still running smoothly, let this plug wire back to it's original spot and lift the #1 wire from the other coil and again look for the spark and lister for the click. If the truck is still running smoothly list both wires so they're not making contact with the coil. Now the engine should run rough because you're only running on 3 cylinders.
5. lay the wires back and the truck should be running smooth again.
6. So in the above, if you started the truck the first time and it was running smooth, and you lifted the coil from the front coil and it started running rough and then pulled the same wire from the back coil and no change (still rough) then the back coil has a problem.
7. You want to repeat this for all 4 cylinders.
Like I mentioned prior to this, on my truck, when the back coil failed the Check engine light stayed on all the time about 5-10 seconds after starting the engine.
If you do this to all 4 cylinders and don't find a problem with any of the coils, I'd look to fuel related (filter?) But it just dawned on me, did you look at any spark plugs? If the wires were bad, (which they were) the plugs could be fouled and dirty.
I know I'm long winded just trying to be thorough.
Good luck, I'll be back tomorrow.

 

if he found white corrosion on every connector
then the coil has been damaged to the point he will have to replace them

( when a coil has been fully charged ,, it has to be fully dis-charged ,, to allow a fresh charge to build up again.

your coil was not being allowed to full discharg
use baking soda + water solution to clean out the connectors and then blow out the residue

also use die-electric grease on the connectors before u insert them in the coil
this will prevent any more corrosion to form

oh! and change the spark plugs ,, sounds like they are about to kick the bucket