2004 Ranger 4.0 Codes P0320 and P2195
 

So, I bought a 2004 Ford Ranger 4.0 XLT 4x4 off of a guy wanting to get rid of it, because it had a misfire on Cylinder 5, as he was told by some mechanic. They said they replaced all the spark plugs, wires, and the coil pack, and ran a compression test, that came up good on all cylinders but number 5.

When I got the truck, all the spark plugs were only in 1 or 2 threads, wires 1-2-3 were going to the wrong cylinders, and only the drivers side plugs looked new. The truck would start, but immediately die if I didn't hold the throttle open. So, I replaced all the spark plugs, fixed the wires. and started her up. The truck started much better, but would still die after a minute and ran really rough, and now it's throwing codes P0320 and P2195.

I have no idea where to start, as I'm used to working on my baby, the 7.3 Powerstroke. Does anyone have any advice as to where to start?

Post code definitions with the codes

P0320 Ignition/Distributor Engine Speed Input Circuit Malfunction
P2195 Bank 1 sensor 1 O2 sensor Lean not switching

P0320 means the Crank sensor and Cam sensor do not match one another so computer is confused
Crank sensor is a main engine sensor, engine will not start until it starts to generate AC Volts from its tone wheel spinning past it, i.e. starter motor cranking engine
Have a look at it, and its wiring connector
Behind the crank pulley you will see what looks like a gear, thats the tone wheel for the crank sensor, cranks sensor should be visible at about 10:00 position next to the tone wheel, make sure sensor is tight, and tone wheel is free of mud
Pulley looks like this: https://www.explorerforum.com/forums...per-jpg.57892/

You can see the "fins" behind the pulley, thats the tone wheel, it will have a missing "fin", a gap, and that tells computer when #1 is at TDC(top dead center) as crank spins, this is for spark and fuel injector timing.
The "fins or teeth" spinning past cause the Crank sensor to generate its own AC Voltage, a sine wave, with a "blip", the "blip" signifies TDC

Cam sensor has similar setup but it is on the top of the drivers side valve cover and measures cam rotation which is twice as fast as crank rotation so is more precise, CAM sensor is mainly used for better fuel economy, because computer can time fuel injector opening to intake valve opening, so less fuel is lost coating the inside of the intake manifold.

After making sure Crank Sensor looks OK and its wires seem fine, then replace CAM sensor, under $30
BUT..............you have a 4.0l SOHC engine, and from 1997 to 2003 they had problems with their long timing chains getting loose, so engine had to be pulled out to replace the chains, guides and tensioners to the newer design
2004 should have the newer design.............should have, because the cam sensor is reading the over head cam on drivers side only, that cam could be out of time because of timing chain issue, which would also cause the rough running, along with the P0320 code

Since YOU haven't done a compression test I would do one FIRST
Remove all spark plugs first and then test each cylinder writing down the results
4.0l SOHC should run above 170psi, 165-175 would be expected

If cylinders 4, 5 and 6 are lower than 1, 2 and 3 then drivers side cam has slipped time

P2195 Bank 1 sensor 1 O2 sensor Lean not switching
Bank 1 is passenger side of engine
O2 Sensor 1 is the O2 sensor closest to the engine on that side
Once an O2 sensor is above 600degF it will start to generate its own DC Voltage, .1v to .9volt, so not alot, lol.
.1 volt is high oxygen levels in exhaust, so Lean burn in the cylinders
.9volt is low oxygen levels so Rich burn in the cylinders on that bank

Not switching Lean means this O2 is showing .1v at the computer end of the wire all the time, even if computer adds more fuel to cylinders 1, 2 and 3, O2 sensor voltage is not changing(switching)
Could be wiring issue, check the wires near exhaust pipes
A vacuum leak ONLY effecting this one bank could be the problem, so it would have to be on the Lower Intake manifiold
An exhaust manifold leak sucks in air(oxygen) so could also cause this, exhaust leak would have to be between head and O2 sensor, after O2 sensor wouldn't effect this sensor
You can swap this O2 sensor out with either of the other O2 sensors and see if the problem stays with Bank 1 sensor 1 or it changes to the new location of that sensor.

Thanks so much for your reply, definitely a lot of useful information in there.

I haven't been able to look at it yet, been busy with work, but I forgot to mention a few things. First, I haven't actually done a compression test, but cylinder 5 definitely has some type of compression, and second, it seemed like cylinder 5 had a weak spark compared to the other two. Do you know if they fire in pairs, or seperately? If so, I want to check its match and see if it is weak too.

Thanks for your help! I'll post here if I get any results!

Ranger 4.0l engines all used Waste spark so do fire in Pairs
2 Spark plugs are wired to one coil in the coil pack, in Series
Coil "+" ----(wire)-----spark plug------(head/block)--------spark plug-----(wire)-----Coil "-"

Assuming + to - travel, the voltage travels from Coil "+" thru the wire to the spark plug and jumps the Gap from Center to Tip(normal spark), then thru the head/block metal to the other spark plug and jumps the Gap from Tip to Center(reverse spark), up the wire and back to the Coil "-"
And that completes the circuit.

We are accustom to thinking "-" is Ground, and head and block are Grounds............so WTF, but in this case the coils "-" is not connected to Battery "-", same as the 20,000+ volt "+" is not connected to Battery "+", its an isolated circuit, just using "+" and "-" as references symbols
But higher voltage does want to travel to lower voltage, like lightning, so when dealing with this type of higher voltage it can "jump the gap" anywhere along the line if there is an opportunity, "path of least resistance", i.e. poor/cracked insulation on wire, crack in spark plug, crack in the coil..................

Coil pack shows you the Pairs
3 4
2 6
1 5

So 1 and 5 spark at the same time, as do 2 and 6, and 3 and 4, you can reverse the spark plug wires on the coil pack and engine should run the same.
Which can be done every 6 months or so equalize wear on the spark plugs, on one side spark plug Tips will wear down, on the other side the Center will wear down, reversing the wires equalizes this wear
Technically there is no Weaker side spark, voltage should be the same to "jump the gap" on either side

Static compression(starter motor turning the engine) is higher than running compression.
Usual difference is 50% less when running at idle(only a little air coming in), which is why lower static results in one cylinder can be the reason for a misfire at idle, when you open the throttle(let in more air) compression jumps to about 80% of static level and misfire can go away temporarily.
If its a compression issue.

Thanks for your awesome response, again! I haven't done much to the Ranger yet, was busy working on the old 7.3, but I did test the coil pack and check the spark on cylinder 1. It was weak, like cylinder 5, so I figured I would test the coil pack.

The primary reading on all 4 pins was .6 Ohms and the secondary reading on all 3 was around 11.25k Ohms, which from what I understand is about what they are supposed to be. I'm starting to think it could be the PCM, but I haven't checked anything that I haven't mentioned yet.

So, that's where I'm at right now. I'm planning on doing a lot more testing this weekend, so I'll keep you posted

P0230
 

I have 2004 with the 4.0, and got this code. The engine just stopped on the way home. It ended up being the harmonic balancer went bad and wore into the crankshaft sensor. Had to use the starter method to get the pulley bolt out, the impact wrench would not break it loose.