Hello everybody,
let me start off with I know next to nothing about this Rangers history. I purchased it last week for next to nothing. it had a miss since I got it. so far I have done the normal tune up such as, plugs, wires, fuel filter, air filter. also because of unknown history I went on ahead and did a timing belt. before anybody ask yes I did the timing belt correctly arrows to arrows diamonds to diamonds and #1 at top dead center. I also did a head gasket due to the fact that I had white smoke pouring out of it. (turned out the headgasket was good and heads were fine also.) anyways I got it all together and still missing. it is throwing a code for #1 cylinder. spark looks great. I tested the ohms on all the injectors when I had them out for the head gasket and they were all 14.7 to 14.8 ohms. while it is running I can unplug the #1 fuel injector and nothing changes same for the spark plugs on #1. I cleaned the IAC and the mass air flow meter also. fuel pressuer at idle is steady at 30 psi and goes to 40 psi with vacume hose off. noid light shows injector pulse also. sorry for the long post just trying to give all the information. does anybody have any ideas on what could be going on? please help I am totally lost....

 

A gasoline engine cylinder needs 3 things to fire

1. Spark, at the right time
2. Fuel, in the right mix with air
3. Compression, above 120psi to heat and vaporize the fuel enough for a spark to ignite it.

If a cylinder misfires then it is missing at least 1 of those 3 things, it is that simple, and that hard, lol.

Now compression either IS or IS NOT good, outside of an odd valve issue it can't be intermittent, like spark or fuel can be

So compression should be your first stop
Test all 4 cylinders so you can get an average
Testing one is useless, 2 well in a pinch you could do just two

Fuel is easy to test for, unplug coil packs, so NO SPARK
Crank engine a couple of times
Pull out #1 spark plug
It should be WET with fuel

Spark is harder to test, and on the 2.3l dual spark plug engine you should be aware of something

ONLY THE PASSENGER SIDE SPARK PLUGS WORK WHEN CRANKING THE ENGINE WITH STARTER MOTOR!!!!!!

Yes, only the exhaust side spark plugs are sparking for startup, when engine RPMs reach 400 then driver side(intake side) spark plugs will start up.

So if you hard a bad coil pack for exhaust side..................., but swap coil packs and that is off the table.

Both spark plugs fire at the same time, there is no alternating, BOTH fire.
So spark misfire would mean BOTH coil packs would have to go bad the same way, because same coil also sparks #4 cylinder, so very big long shot on that.

Spark plug coated with oil would also cause misfires

 

ok got the compression test done today and came up with 130 on number 1, 135 on number 2, 132 on number 3, and 140 on number 4. a little oil in the cylinders and it goes up to 155 to 160 on all 4. still getting a bad miss and no power.

 

ok new development in the case of the missing fire today update is as follows. the exhaust side #1 coil is firing intermittently. knowing it's a obd2 system and the ice is integrated into the ecu, I am guessing the next step is to replace the coil pack. correct?

 

Compression meter is off, or timing belt is, unless you tested with spark plugs in and have a weak battery :)

1996 2.3l should be above 160psi with no oil, 175+ with oil added
So rings are a little weak, with that 25psi jump

Yes, you can swap out a coil pack, but #1 and #4 spark plugs use the same coil in the pack, each coil pack only has 2 coils inside, i.e. 3 wires connected, 1 for 12volts and 1 each to ground and unground the 2 coils inside.
So when computer sparks #1, #4 sparks as well, and visa versa

You can just reverse #1 and #4 spark plugs wires on the coil pack, if #4 starts to miss then yes replace the coil pack, they can fail in that manner

But the other coil pack should also be sparking #1(and #4) and either spark plug can cause ignition


Anyway you found out that all cylinders have similar compression which is good

 

ok sounds good, I will try that. was thinking the compression may have been low due to no oil on cylinder walls after headgasket replacement but going to check after a run to be sure. also found a bad pcv valve that was stuck open. replaced that aswell. thank you for the advice, it is appreciated.

 

well it's not the coil. swapped it with a friend's known good coil and it still does the same thing... could it be the cam position sensor going out? maybe ecu?

 

I'll just toss this out there. If the plugs themselves are no good, then no matter how good the coil is, the spark will be weak or not there. Wouldn't hurt to try a few spark plugs. They're cheap as dirt.

Or, if you'd rather not just throw plugs at it, use a spark plug gauge to see if they're still within spec. it should be somewhere under the hood on a sticker. Usually on the core support or hood itself.

 

Any misfire leaves signs of why it misfired on spark plug tip

What do the spark plugs in #1 look like compared to #2?

Unplug both coils and crank engine over
Pull out #1 and #2 spark plug both should be equally wet with fuel, if #1 is dry or drier then you have an injector issue.


Just as a heads up, sensors rarely fail, rarely is not never, but 90% of replaced sensors by DIYers were working fine.
50% were working fine when replaced by professional mechanics, lol, but alot of that is just bill padding.
For some reason people think they can skip all the basics and just start swapping out sensors, lol, doesn't work that way.

Vehicle Computers hardly ever fail, so far down on the list that I would replace the ashtray before computer to fix a misfire, about the same likelyhood it would work, lol.

That being said disconnecting the battery and pulling the connector off the computer to have look at the pins is not a bad idea, you can get water intrusion or corrosion, then reconnect and try it out to see if engine runs better.

Cam sensor only helps with sequential fuel injection, not spark, and it is a monitored system so would set a code if there was a problem.

 

ok thank you both for the advice, I will try that and update with what I find. the plugs I am using are ngk plugs. and wires are new (actually second set first ones the metal terminal came off the inside off the boot and stayed on the plugs.)

 

There's a problem right there. Ford engines shouldn't use NGK plugs. Motorcraft (or autolite, same thing) or bust.

 

I'll pick up some in the morning when I get off work. went with ngk because they had those in Stock and they always ran good for me lol. was thinking it may be the tps causing some of the issues but need to test it when I get home. it runs the exact same if the tps is plugged in or not. not sure if that makes a difference or not but I'm shooting in the dark a little bit. although I'm not a old guy per say I was raised old school with cars. my world was carbs and dizzy until this thing so all this underhood wizardry has me a bit confounded.

 

There are days where I wish my truck had a nice carb and one of those nice chrome air cleaners sitting there on top of the engine, but at the same time, I just love the data I get with OBDII software. Without that, I'd probably still be without antilock brakes, and a little yellow light mocking me.

You'll find the Ranger (and explorer) are very forgiving when it comes to computers. Even though it uses them, they're not nearly as complicated to troubleshoot as, for example, a BMW or a (god forbid) Mercedes. Computer for the front suspension, rear suspension, audio system, the lighting system, the engine, transmission, ABS computer, and I'm sure I've missed at least 3, but I digress.

I highly recommend getting some good scanning software for your Ranger, and it's actually very cheap. I got my setup for less than 15 bucks, no joke.

You'll want a piece of software (which is free for windows) called Forscan. It's a piece of freeware developed by a third party which lets you look at damn near everything any ford Vehicle can tell you. Live data, trouble codes, the ability to erase trouble codes, self tests that can be performed, etc.

To use it though, you'll also need a USB to OBDII cable. Mine is an ELM327 from china. It may come with software, but ditch that. Forscan will see it all by itself and start doing it's thing. Having that may help you figure out your misfire, and any other issues you may have in the future. Seriously, it's worth it.

 

I'll have to give that a try when we get a computer. been without one now for the past 4 years lol. I have been thinking of getting one that syncs with Bluetooth on my phone though just for the live data information. wife has been wanting a laptop maybe I can sneak this in as a reason for getting one.

 

Tip: Grab one during black friday, cyber monday, or other mega-sale. And, also as a tip, staples and bestbuy are priced fairly high compared to other stores. If you're going to get a computer of any kind, that is the time to do it, especially if you're wanting something brand new.

 

ok #1 plug looks dark like it was running a little rich, plug 2 looks like it was firing and in stoich still white but getting almost a mocha color, plugs 3&4 look like they were rich as all get out but still firing. tps tested great.

 

Hmm, sounds like not all the fuel is being burned. I would swap out all the plugs for some motorcraft plugs. Whether it's copper, platinum, double platinum etc shouldn't make a difference, but I believe double platinum is what it came with.
I personally don't believe the NGKs are burning efficiently.

 

yea that's what I was thinking, I picked up some autolites on way home from work this morning to replace them but didn't have a chance to install yet. will get them in tomorrow when I get off work.seems a bit odd that #2 is the only one burning properly though. have not been able to get a code from it lately either aside from a power-stearing pressure switch code. (no power steering or ac) thank yall for the help so far! hoping to get this figured out soon, starting to go broke haha.

 

was looking at a scanguage 2 this morning also. supposedly it let's you monitor live data but no idea how it actually performs. reviews seem good thus far for it. still looking for a good Bluetooth one that I can link my phone to without a subscription.

 

Check out bluedrive if you want bluetooth. Chrisfix uses it on his youtube channel (popular internet mechanic) and he seems to like it.

 

will do, I have been looking at that one and according to the reviews seems to be fairly good. Thank you.

 

You're welcome.

 

ok I got out today and was able to I think narrow down the cause of my issue. I actually got it to idle decently for about 5 min. but if you Rev the truck up and then let it drop back down it will almost stall. also it takes a few seconds for the rims to pick up. fro. idle to about 2500. so my thoughts are leaning towards possibly the cat starting to clog up, or bad 02 sensors (don't know if they have ever been changed or not. I did apparently have a fairly bad exhaust leak at the collector (I can't hear very well due to a accident, a buddy pointed it out for me) got all the exhaust leaks fixed now. please inform me on what yall thoughts are as to it being the cat or 02 sensors.
thanks!

 

As far as I know, a catalytic converter won't cause a misfire. The o2 sensors might cause a poor fuel/air ratio, but I personally doubt it would solely cause the misfire. Maybe contribute.

 

ok was able to get out today and hook up the new scan tool. so far everything looks good except for fuel trip staying around 20 from what I can tell 02 sensors are acting like they should. I did replace the IAC and that helped a lot with the idle but still having a issue. I can rev it up to around 2k and when it drops down it sounds and feels like it will stall and acts like it's missing. then idle will come back to normal after a min or 2. during this time I have noticed that the timing is running almost 30° advanced at idle after rev so I am wondering if this has something to do with it. any ideas?