I sure hope someone in here can help, and by the looks of the posts I've read, the knowledge is unprecedented. I've been piddling with vehicles for a number of years, but never got too involved with ECUs/injection. The time has come. The vehicle in question actually belongs to a friend. He has helped me immensely through the years so I am really trying to help him out, but have completely hit a brick wall and was hoping to find someone in here who might know what to do or where to turn.

So when you first crank it up, if you get going within a couple minutes, it takes off fine. The problem is after it has been running a few minutes and you happen to come to a stop (red light), he has to put it to the floor to get it to move and it only creeps along until something gets happy and then it runs normal. Once he gets up to cruising speed, it runs fine. I first thought transmission problem, but I recall something about they will go into "low power mode" or something if there is a problem. Anyway, he said he always knows when it is about to happen cuz the check engine light starts flashing (which is pretty much all the time now), then he knows he is in for a LONG takeoff (so bad, the cars behind him are constantly honking). I had a friend put it on a scanner and he monitored it. Said it was going in and out of closed loop for whatever reason. That makes a little sense cuz it is my understanding that when you first crank it, it stays in open loop for a bit. I had him test the theory. When getting ready to leave a red light, I had him kill it and crank it right back up. Said it worked perfect! I assume that was because it was in its open loop state?
There are a couple things that puzzle me greatly.
1. We changed the plugs and wires and found there are about 3 different firing orders floating around the internet. That blows my mind! How can that be? We tried all three. One of them wouldn't even crank the thing. The other two work fine. I don't understand how you can completely change something like 4 wires around and it run the same, but it did.
2. The thing seems to idle much higher than I would think they would want it to, but that may be completely normal on those things.
I am at a complete loss.
Thank you in advance

 

Welcome to the forum

2004 Ranger 3.0l Vulcan engine, 2WD
Assume automatic???

Rangers used the 3.0l Vulcan engine from 1991 to 2008, with distributor from 1991 thru 1994, then no distributor, instead a crank sensor and cam sensor 1995-2008

Don't let computers and sensor throw you, a gas engine is still a gas engine, self powered air pump
Needs 3 things to run
Spark, at the right time
Fuel, in the right mix with air
Compression, above 120psi

Flashing CEL(check engine light) means "engine damage may occur", this is usually caused by a heavy misfire which dumps raw fuel into the exhaust system
So you want to back off the throttle if CEL starts to Flash

Firing order for 3.0l with distributor: 1-4-2-5-3-6
V6 engines are balanced with 3 matched pairs of pistons, 2 pistons are at TDC at the same time, firing order of any engine tells you the matched pairs
For 6 cylinder put first 3 cylinders above 2nd 3 cylinders
1-4-2-
5-3-6

Match pairs are 1/5, 4/3, 2/6, 1 and 5 are at TDC at the same time, one on compression stroke the other on exhaust stroke

This is important for COIL PACK wiring
Coil pack only has THREE coils inside, NOT Six
This is called a Waste Spark system, first spark system ever used, and still used today
Coil pack will be wired like this
1 2 3
5 6 4
or
3 2 1
4 6 5
or
3 4
2 6
1 5

1 and 5 share the same coil, both spark plugs fire at the same time
As do 2 and 6, and 3 and 4

One side will be 1 2 3
Then just match 5 6 4 to that

You/he will HAVE TO do a compression test, 2004-2006 3.0l Ranger had a TSB because of recessed exhaust Valve seats
Ford got a bad batch of seats and they could shift which caused loss of compression and the misfires
TSB here: https://therangerstation.com/ford_ra..._05-26-3.shtml

If you don't do a compression test first then you will waste alot of time and money on non-fixes if its a compression issue

Open loop just means O2 sensors are not hot enough yet, so computer(PCM) is using air/fuel mix tables in its memory for fuel injectors
Closed loop means O2 sensors are giving the PCM feedback so it can adjust the air/fuel mix on the fly

Engine temp is important for open and closed loop, if thermostat sticks open then engine is running too cool for closed loop
If MAF(mass air flow) sensor is dirty PCM may go back into open loop because it doesn't "trust" the Air Flow data coming from the MAF sensor
The ODB codes are helpful here, they can tell you why PCM is doing what its doing
These codes are not in English, although they do "look like" english, lol
They are binary codes
i.e. Lean code does NOT mean engine is running Lean, it means PCMs calculation for injector OPEN TIME is off by +20%, Rich code would be -20%
Nothing to do with engines actual operational status at that time

If a sensor is mentioned in an English translation of a code it usually means that sensor is WORKING or it couldn't report the problem.................so don't shoot the messenger


I would revisit Firing order on coil pack
Then remove all spark plugs and do a compression test, 2004 3.0l Vulcan engine should be at 160-170psi in each cylinder

 

Excellent information. Thank you very much!
Yes, automatic.
I will revisit the coil pack.
I will most definitely do the compression check as well.
However, in both these scenarios, what would make killing it and restarting it work fine? I would think if firing order is wrong or low compression, it wouldn't care if it was in open or closed loop. Just my confusion kicking back in. I will do these and report back.

Thank you again.

 

He could ultimately have a PCM(computer issue), getting current codes would be helpful, codes are also a "sanity check" for the PCM, do they make sense for the symptoms

Because its a 2004 3.0l compression has to be taken off the table first, well for pretty much any engine with misfires it should be first thing, lol, but because of the 2004-2006 TSB it just a more likely issue

Rebooting PCM, key off and on, causes PCM to use air/fuel tables for a few minutes instead of relying on sensors, these are Richer mixes to be "on the safe side" so could get lower compression cylinder working temporarily, if engine was already warmed up.

And on the coil pack it doesn't matter which "side" 1 is on or 5 as long as they are on the same coil
5 2 3
1 6 4

Inside its the same coil they are hooked to so placement in that respect doesn't matter
The 2 spark plugs are wired in Series, so if you should pull out say the #1 wire from coil pack(or spark plug) while engine is running it can disable #5 spark plug as well
So not the same as the old days where you could ID the cylinder that was missing by pulling spark plug wires on distributor
Just a heads up


If you will be owning vehicles made after 1995 then an ODB Bluetooth reader is a good investment, $20-$40
They plug into the OBD port, get power from it, and then you can see the data on any smart phone or tablet with Bluetooth, APPS are free or you can pay $5 if you need more advanced information.
With these you can see codes of course but also Live Data while engine is running and while driving
Can be very helpful with diagnostics

By Law any vehicle sold in the US or Canada from 1996 on had to used standard OBD compliant software, so not a Ford thing or even a "made in the USA" thing
If you get one get an 'extension' cable with it, saves you from having to pull off a cover panel in some vehicles that have smaller openings or off center OBD port


The 2004 Ranger got the HEC(hybrid electronic cluster) a computer controlled dash
Good read here on that: http://www.carlogic.org/bg/data/Ford...ler%20mode.pdf

Some codes can be seen but not engine codes, B codes, body codes, P codes are Power train, engine and transmission codes

 

I actually just recently purchased an HP tuner. I'm still going through the training material and learning all its features, but that is what I'll be scanning and monitoring PIDs with. Just trying which one the 18,000 paths to take.
He will not be back in town until Friday night, but I just wanted to have a checklist of things to try/check when he gets back. I'm just glad to have someone with some direction because the info floating out and about isn't too informative.
Thank you again.

 

Don't over think it
No matter what "they" add to the outside, its still just a self powered air pump
spark
fuel
compression

when a cylinder misfires one(or more) of those is missing, thats as simple and as complicated as it gets

A $20 vacuum gauge is still one of the better tools to have, when you have a "pump" thats not working as it should you test the pressure, in this case vacuum pressure can tell you alot

 

So now I have an update.The check engine light was on. According to my HP Tuners Scanner the code was P0306. I pulled all the plugs and did a compression check. The lowest was 150 and the highest (cylinder 6) was 170. Since the code refers to cylinder 6, and it had the highest compression, I continued troubleshooting.
Firing order was correct.
I put the plug in a different hole. No difference (side note: all plugs were installed brand new a month ago. They all still look brand new except 6 which is pretty black)
I swapped plug wires with a different one. No difference
Per your test posted elsewhere, I swapped #2 and #6 wires at the coil. No difference
Per your test posted elsewhere, I unplugged coil and turned it over several times. Pulled #5 and #6 plugs to compare. Neither were wet, which I found odd, but the engine was still pretty warm so I thought maybe the fuel on the plug(s) may have evaporated while I was removing it. Since they were the same, I moved on.
I then began to look at the injector which is new, by the way. We changed that a few weeks back trying to get rid of the code.
I noticed this time that the plug for the injector was not OEM. Both wires were black and were SOLIDLY spliced onto the factory wires. I had no doubts about the splices, but I thought maybe the metri pack end might have a problem. I got a new one and put it on.
I put everything back together and cleared the code. The light did not come back on (and still hasn’t).
So we took it for a drive. Seemed to do well until about 5 minutes into the drive. The light began to flash. At any time the light flashes, if you give it any throttle, it does the stumbling with zero power thing. It seems that if you get on and off the throttle, it helps it clear up, but that may be my imagination. Again, this always seems to happen when coming out of a dead stop, but will occasionally do it while driving at speed but that is rare.
I came back and hooked the laptop back up to it. It showed no codes. I’m guessing that is because the light wasn’t staying on? I did notice there was a PID I was monitoring called Fuel System #1 Status (SAE). When it was running right, that PID would read CL-Normal and when it would mess up and the light would flash, it would read OL-Fault. I can only assume the CL/OL is open loop/closed loop. If you sat and watched it for a bit you would notice the light would flash and then go away, then come back, etc. So I got to paying attention to that. I opened the TPS to 20% and kept it there. The Fuel System Status would go to CL-Normal for exactly 15 seconds, then go to OL-Fault for 30 seconds and then back, etc… Maybe the timing would be different at a different TPS%, but that was at 20%. The flashing check engine light corresponded with the OL-Fault. The problem is I don’t what that OL-Fault even means nor do I know if it is the cause or effect of something else. Unfortunately, I can’t read the PCM piece that tells me what takes in and out of closed loop. (email has been sent to HP Tuners for that)
Somewhere in the middle of all this, I did a driving test with the fuel pressure gauge hooked up. It maintained 65psi the whole time, even when it was “messing up”.
I also cleaned the MAF with MAF cleaner as well as cleaned the throttle body.
The check engine light never did come back on steady and stay on. However, I show DTC of P0306 (pending).
All I know to do now is get a gallon of gas and a match, but it has no become a personal challenge. I’m hoping someone else in here finds it a challenge as well because I’m running out of ideas. Maybe new PCM?
Thanks in advance for any ideas!

 

So now I have an update.The check engine light was on. According to my HP Tuners Scanner the code was P0306. I pulled all the plugs and did a compression check. The lowest was 150 and the highest (cylinder 6) was 170. Since the code refers to cylinder 6, and it had the highest compression, I continued troubleshooting.
Firing order was correct
I put the plug in a different hole. No difference (side note: all plugs were installed brand new a month ago. They all still look brand new except 6 which is pretty black)
I swapped plug wires with a different one. No difference
Per your test posted elsewhere, I swapped #2 and #6 wires at the coil. No difference
Per your test posted elsewhere, I unplugged coil and turned it over several times. Pulled #5 and #6 plugs to compare. Neither were wet, which I found odd, but the engine was still pretty warm so I thought maybe the fuel on the plug(s) may have evaporated while I was removing it. Since they were the same, I moved on.
I then began to look at the injector which is new, by the way. We changed that a few weeks back trying to get rid of the code.
I noticed this time that the plug for the injector was not OEM. Both wires were black and were SOLIDLY spliced onto the factory wires. I had no doubts about the splices, but I thought maybe the metri pack end might have a problem. I got a new one and put it on.
I put everything back together and cleared the code. The light did not come back on (and still hasn’t).
So we took it for a drive. Seemed to do well until about 5 minutes into the drive. The light began to flash. At any time the light flashes, if you give it any throttle, it does the stumbling with zero power thing. It seems that if you get on and off the throttle, it helps it clear up, but that may be my imagination. Again, this always seems to happen when coming out of a dead stop, but will occasionally do it while driving at speed but that is rare.
I came back and hooked the laptop back up to it. It showed no codes. I’m guessing that is because the light wasn’t staying on? I did notice there was a PID I was monitoring called Fuel System #1 Status (SAE). When it was running right, that PID would read CL-Normal and when it would mess up and the light would flash, it would read OL-Fault. I can only assume the CL/OL is open loop/closed loop. If you sat and watched it for a bit you would notice the light would flash and then go away, then come back, etc. So I got to paying attention to that. I opened the TPS to 20% and kept it there. The Fuel System Status would go to CL-Normal for exactly 15 seconds, then go to OL-Fault for 30 seconds and then back, etc… Maybe the timing would be different at a different TPS%, but that was at 20%. The flashing check engine light corresponded with the OL-Fault. The problem is I don’t what that OL-Fault even means nor do I know if it is the cause or effect of something else. Unfortunately, I can’t read the PCM piece that tells me what takes in and out of closed loop. (email has been sent to HP Tuners for that)
Somewhere in the middle of all this, I did a driving test with the fuel pressure gauge hooked up. It maintained 65psi the whole time, even when it was “messing up”.
I also cleaned the MAF with MAF cleaner as well as cleaned the throttle body.
The check engine light never did come back on steady and stay on. However, I show DTC of P0306 (pending).
All I know to do now is get a gallon of gas and a match, but it has no become a personal challenge. I’m hoping someone else in here finds it a challenge as well because I’m running out of ideas. Maybe new PCM?
Thanks in advance for any ideas!

 

So now I have an update.

The check engine light was on. According to my HP Tuners Scanner the code was P0306. I pulled all the plugs and did a compression check. The lowest was 150 and the highest (cylinder 6) was 170. Since the code refers to cylinder 6, and it had the highest compression, I continued troubleshooting.
Firing order was correct
I put the plug in a different hole. No difference (side note: all plugs were installed brand new a month ago. They all still look brand new except 6 which is pretty black)
I swapped plug wires with a different one. No difference
Per your test posted elsewhere, I swapped #2 and #6 wires at the coil. No difference
Per your test posted elsewhere, I unplugged coil and turned it over several times. Pulled #5 and #6 plugs to compare. Neither were wet, which I found odd, but the engine was still pretty warm so I thought maybe the fuel on the plug(s) may have evaporated while I was removing it. Since they were the same, I moved on.
I then began to look at the injector which is new, by the way. We changed that a few weeks back trying to get rid of the code.
I noticed this time that the plug for the injector was not OEM. Both wires were black and were SOLIDLY spliced onto the factory wires. I had no doubts about the splices, but I thought maybe the metri pack end might have a problem. I got a new one and put it on.
I put everything back together and cleared the code. The light did not come back on (and still hasn’t).
So we took it for a drive. Seemed to do well until about 5 minutes into the drive. The light began to flash. At any time the light flashes, if you give it any throttle, it does the stumbling with zero power thing. It seems that if you get on and off the throttle, it helps it clear up, but that may be my imagination. Again, this always seems to happen when coming out of a dead stop, but will occasionally do it while driving at speed but that is rare.
I came back and hooked the laptop back up to it. It showed no codes. I’m guessing that is because the light wasn’t staying on? I did notice there was a PID I was monitoring called Fuel System #1 Status (SAE). When it was running right, that PID would read CL-Normal and when it would mess up and the light would flash, it would read OL-Fault. I can only assume the CL/OL is open loop/closed loop. If you sat and watched it for a bit you would notice the light would flash and then go away, then come back, etc. So I got to paying attention to that. I opened the TPS to 20% and kept it there. The Fuel System Status would go to CL-Normal for exactly 15 seconds, then go to OL-Fault for 30 seconds and then back, etc… Maybe the timing would be different at a different TPS%, but that was at 20%. The flashing check engine light corresponded with the OL-Fault. The problem is I don’t what that OL-Fault even means nor do I know if it is the cause or effect of something else. Unfortunately, I can’t read the PCM piece that tells me what takes in and out of closed loop. (email has been sent to HP Tuners for that)
Somewhere in the middle of all this, I did a driving test with the fuel pressure gauge hooked up. It maintained 65psi the whole time, even when it was “messing up”.
I also cleaned the MAF with MAF cleaner as well as cleaned the throttle body.
The check engine light never did come back on steady and stay on. However, I show DTC of P0306 (pending).
All I know to do now is get a gallon of gas and a match, but it has no become a personal challenge. I’m hoping someone else in here finds it a challenge as well because I’m running out of ideas. Maybe new PCM?
Thanks in advance for any ideas.

 

There is the monologue.

 

So now I have an update.

The check engine light was on. According to my HP Tuners Scanner the code was P0306. I pulled all the plugs and did a compression check. The lowest was 150 and the highest (cylinder 6) was 170. Since the code refers to cylinder 6, and it had the highest compression, I continued troubleshooting.
Firing order was correct
I put the plug in a different hole. No difference (side note: all plugs were installed brand new a month ago. They all still look brand new except 6 which is pretty black)
I swapped plug wires with a different one. No difference
Per your test posted elsewhere, I swapped #2 and #6 wires at the coil. No difference
Per your test posted elsewhere, I unplugged coil and turned it over several times. Pulled #5 and #6 plugs to compare. Neither were wet, which I found odd, but the engine was still pretty warm so I thought maybe the fuel on the plug(s) may have evaporated while I was removing it. Since they were the same, I moved on.
I then began to look at the injector which is new, by the way. We changed that a few weeks back trying to get rid of the code.
I noticed this time that the plug for the injector was not OEM. Both wires were black and were SOLIDLY spliced onto the factory wires. I had no doubts about the splices, but I thought maybe the metri pack end might have a problem. I got a new one and put it on.
I put everything back together and cleared the code. The light did not come back on (and still hasn’t).
So we took it for a drive. Seemed to do well until about 5 minutes into the drive. The light began to flash. At any time the light flashes, if you give it any throttle, it does the stumbling with zero power thing. It seems that if you get on and off the throttle, it helps it clear up, but that may be my imagination. Again, this always seems to happen when coming out of a dead stop, but will occasionally do it while driving at speed but that is rare.
I came back and hooked the laptop back up to it. It showed no codes. I’m guessing that is because the light wasn’t staying on? I did notice there was a PID I was monitoring called Fuel System #1 Status (SAE). When it was running right, that PID would read CL-Normal and when it would mess up and the light would flash, it would read OL-Fault. I can only assume the CL/OL is open loop/closed loop. If you sat and watched it for a bit you would notice the light would flash and then go away, then come back, etc. So I got to paying attention to that. I opened the TPS to 20% and kept it there. The Fuel System Status would go to CL-Normal for exactly 15 seconds, then go to OL-Fault for 30 seconds and then back, etc… Maybe the timing would be different at a different TPS%, but that was at 20%. The flashing check engine light corresponded with the OL-Fault. The problem is I don’t what that OL-Fault even means nor do I know if it is the cause or effect of something else. Unfortunately, I can’t read the PCM piece that tells me what takes in and out of closed loop. (email has been sent to HP Tuners for that)
Somewhere in the middle of all this, I did a driving test with the fuel pressure gauge hooked up. It maintained 65psi the whole time, even when it was “messing up”.
I also cleaned the MAF with MAF cleaner as well as cleaned the throttle body.
The check engine light never did come back on steady and stay on. However, I show DTC of P0306 (pending).
All I know to do now is get a gallon of gas and a match, but it has no become a personal challenge. I’m hoping someone else in here finds it a challenge as well because I’m running out of ideas. Maybe new PCM?
Thanks in advance for any ideas!

 

So now I have an update.

The check engine light was on. According to my HP Tuners Scanner the code was P0306. I pulled all the plugs and did a compression check. The lowest was 150 and the highest (cylinder 6) was 170. Since the code refers to cylinder 6, and it had the highest compression, I continued troubleshooting.
Firing order was correct
I put the plug in a different hole. No difference (side note: all plugs were installed brand new a month ago. They all still look brand new except 6 which is pretty black)
I swapped plug wires with a different one. No difference
Per your test posted elsewhere, I swapped #2 and #6 wires at the coil. No difference
Per your test posted elsewhere, I unplugged coil and turned it over several times. Pulled #5 and #6 plugs to compare. Neither were wet, which I found odd, but the engine was still pretty warm so I thought maybe the fuel on the plug(s) may have evaporated while I was removing it. Since they were the same, I moved on.
I then began to look at the injector which is new, by the way. We changed that a few weeks back trying to get rid of the code.
I noticed this time that the plug for the injector was not OEM. Both wires were black and were SOLIDLY spliced onto the factory wires. I had no doubts about the splices, but I thought maybe the metri pack end might have a problem. I got a new one and put it on.
I put everything back together and cleared the code. The light did not come back on (and still hasn’t).
So we took it for a drive. Seemed to do well until about 5 minutes into the drive. The light began to flash. At any time the light flashes, if you give it any throttle, it does the stumbling with zero power thing. It seems that if you get on and off the throttle, it helps it clear up, but that may be my imagination. Again, this always seems to happen when coming out of a dead stop, but will occasionally do it while driving at speed but that is rare.
I came back and hooked the laptop back up to it. It showed no codes. I’m guessing that is because the light wasn’t staying on? I did notice there was a PID I was monitoring called Fuel System #1 Status (SAE). When it was running right, that PID would read CL-Normal and when it would mess up and the light would flash, it would read OL-Fault. I can only assume the CL/OL is open loop/closed loop. If you sat and watched it for a bit you would notice the light would flash and then go away, then come back, etc. So I got to paying attention to that. I opened the TPS to 20% and kept it there. The Fuel System Status would go to CL-Normal for exactly 15 seconds, then go to OL-Fault for 30 seconds and then back, etc… Maybe the timing would be different at a different TPS%, but that was at 20%. The flashing check engine light corresponded with the OL-Fault. The problem is I don’t what that OL-Fault even means nor do I know if it is the cause or effect of something else. Unfortunately, I can’t read the PCM piece that tells me what takes in and out of closed loop. (email has been sent to HP Tuners for that)
Somewhere in the middle of all this, I did a driving test with the fuel pressure gauge hooked up. It maintained 65psi the whole time, even when it was “messing up”.
I also cleaned the MAF with MAF cleaner as well as cleaned the throttle body.
The check engine light never did come back on steady and stay on. However, I show DTC of P0306 (pending).
All I know to do now is get a gallon of gas and a match, but it has no become a personal challenge. I’m hoping someone else in here finds it a challenge as well because I’m running out of ideas. Maybe new PCM?
Thanks in advance for any ideas!