2011 Ford Ranger 4.0l no spark
 

Hello, I'm new here, sorry if someone has already found a similar problem as to what I'm fighting with on this truck. I've read through hours of posts, but haven't found any progress in all my testing.
I have a 2011 Ford Ranger 4.0L, 5 speed manual, 4x4 truck, under 94,000 miles. The truck had a timing chain guide failure and sat for about 1 year. I recently pulled the engine, put new head gaskets, replaced all the timing components, also used a timing tool set for reassembly.
The engine cranks but will not start. I have a scanner, no codes available. I see engine RPM, tested injector pulse with a noid light (injectors are firing, so I'm pretty sure the crank sensor is okay but tried 2 different new ones), I did a compression test on each bank at 175 PSI in the two cylinders I tested, also pulled the driver side valve cover and rechecked the cam timing with the tool.
I have 12 volts to the coil block, but I'm not seeing the ground signals from the PCM to the coil block in order to charge and trigger the coils to send spark to the plugs. I haven't been able to find a pin out for the PCM connectors but I did open and inspect the harness for any loose connections or broken grounds..
Anyone have any ideas as to what I am missing? I guess its possible the PCM has failed after sitting but I would like to be sure before replacing it.

Welcome to the forum

Have you tried 50/50 test?
Spraying fuel into the engine, only real way to confirm no spark, lol

After cranking pull any spark plug, if tip is wet, injectors are opening, now light the tip with a match, if it burns then its gasoline not water, lol, it matters

No fast Flashing THEFT light on the dash with key on, right?

With key on CEL(check engine light) should come on and stay on
Watch the CEL while cranking engine over, it should go OFF, that means it does indeed have a Crank sensor pulse, if it stay on then no Crank sensor pulse



These are the 2008 4.0l PCM wiring diagrams, 2011 will be the same

Can only post 2 diagrams in each post

Thanks RonD. Yes the plugs were wet with fuel when I pulled them to do the compression test. I checked the fuel pressure with a gauge then tested the injector pulse with a noid test light. I have a Matco scanner I can see that the PATS is not the issue. I see engine RPM and PATS fueling disable change once the engine cranks. I appreciate the wiring diagrams. I will check the PCM grounds.
I have read quite a few posts with similar issues (too bad no one seems to post their final solutions, so I will try to see this through), and I tried a test light on the coil connector. I have constant battery when cranking, but it seems like there are no ground signals from the PCM, the light doesn't flash during engine cranking.

The ICM(ignition control module) is in the PCM from 1995 and up in Rangers, and has been very reliable, there have been cases of one of the coil packs grounds losing pulse from ICM(PCM), causing steady misfire, but all 3 losing the ground pulse would be unique, possible, but unique

But the PCM is really the only place to go if there is no ground pulse at the coil pack, all 3 wires being damaged is a long shot

I tested all the grounds from the PCM, thanks again RonD for the pinouts. I sent the truck to a Ford dealer. The PCM is showing no sync between the Crank and Cam sensors. Everything I've read said there is no sync reading for the cam until the engine starts. Unfortunately there is no numeric value reading from the cam sensor. just a crank and cam sync, yes or no. Ford says the crank and cam correlation is the problem. So I'm going to triple check the timing again and hope that I missed something and it is out of time somewhere. Does anyone have any pics of crank location and cam sensor lobe visible through the cam sensor hole in the valve cover?

The CEL(check engine light) should come on with Key On
Then CEL should go OFF when starter motor is active, engine turning, that means PCM is getting a timing pulse from Crank Sensor(CKP), so will start spark first and then 1 second later fuel injectors

Cam sensor is used to fine tune injectors and sometimes spark(BTDC), in most years, Crank sensor is the main one for timing
The crank sensor only tells PCM when each cylinder is at TDC, but not if its on compression stroke or exhaust stroke
Cam sensor tells PCM if a cylinder is on compression stroke or exhaust stroke, so to do a good sequential fuel injection system that is good info to have, lol
But not required, as a PCM can do a balance test to see when #1 is on compression or exhaust stroke, and that sets up all the other cylinders positions, that was used pre-cam sensor, so pre-1995

Because of the issues with 4.0l SOHC timing chains, Ford could have added software that will not allow start up if Crank and Cam sensors do not "sync", to prevent engine damage, i.e. pistons and valves hitting each other

To check if they are out of sync I would do a compression test, on 2 cylinders, one on drivers side and one on passenger side, expected is 160+ PSI

Crank sensor uses a tone ring, just behind crank pulley, looks like a gear, with teeth, and it will have 1 missing "tooth" that denotes #1 TDC to PCM
I think the Cam sensor in forward part of drivers side valve cover just has 1 "tooth" that it "sees" when #1 is on compression stroke, so you would have to rotate the engine a fair bit, up to two full turns of crank shaft, to see that "tooth" pass by


Picture here: https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.ran...db8f68964d.jpg

I think that's driver side head and cam, to the left next to the end cam bearing cap is the single "tooth" that cam sensor sees, also used for timing cams I think

I looked at the cam pic, when I zero the crank (according to the timing pointer on the crank sensor aligned with the mark on the balancer) that cam sensor lobe is visible in the sensor mount window of the valve cover. Its pointing up (like the pic) just off of the center line of the cam. Which is where I thought it was supposed to be when timing the engine. So my next step is to pull the valve covers again and verify the cam timing. I'm hoping it is somehow 180 deg. off.
According to a Ford dealer, there is no spark because the cam and crank show out of sync. Even though I have injector pulse.
I did a compression test on a single cylinder on each bank, both were 175 psi. I have engine RPM and Injector pulse(confirmed with a noid light). Its just frustrating that Ford could have allowed a scan tool access to the cam position data, based on the sensor reading. The PCM could easily show an "out of time position" simply by showing the cam degrees + or - compared to the crank position. The part where it has no OBD codes is also surprising to me.

With 175psi on compression test the cam is not out of time with the crank
Cam can't be 180deg off and still get good compression
A Distributor can be 180deg off, but not Cams

Cam rotates 180deg for every 360deg rotation of crank
So a cam rotates at 1/2 the RPMs of crank, so it is, by application, 180deg out 1/2 the time, i.e. every other RPM of crank

If cam was not in sync with the crank then compression would be low, that's a mechanical function
The cam timing gears are "friction fit" on the 4.0l SOHC, no key ways to line them up and hold them in place, so a gear could slip, and that would cause "out of sync" but compression should also go down with valves out of time with pistons on that one bank

So I am not sure what Ford diagnosed as far as crank and cam sensors not being in sync with 175psi compression, that would be an electrical issue

Thank you for your help. That is my concern about the diagnosis. Its hard to trust what the dealer is telling me. I don't believe the dealer will be honest about the timing if I allow them to check it further. I'm sure no matter what, they will justify the cost of taking it apart somehow. I talked with a tech this morning that was looking at it with his Ford IDS software. It basically is a flow chart. If you have this. Yes=go to step blah No=go to step blah blah. Since the PCM doesn't show an actual cam position like the crank does. Its hard to tell what the PCM doesn't like.
I plan to pull the driver side valve cover and verify the timing marks again.

There are P00xx codes for Cam timing, seen here: https://www.obd-codes.com/p00-codes

It doesn't have specific connection to Cam sensor but does denote if Cam pulses are advanced or retarded in relation to crank sensor, i.e P0018
4.0l SOHC does just have the one Cam sensor on Bank 2

The PCM doesn't display any trouble codes at all. The dealership technician stated he has never worked on a 4.0l sohc before. The only thing he sees on his scan tool, is cam to crank sync=no. He basically said every other Ford vehicle he's worked on has cam and crank sync=yes. So that is his determination, regardless of putting the engine at TDC and looking at the cam position compared to the sensor or doing a compression test. Truthfully its not that much work to pull the valve covers and verify the timing. Like you said since the cams aren't pinned or keyed, I can put the engine at TDC, pull the valve covers, remove the roller followers, than the cams can be adjusted if there is something mis-aligned. Since all the timing components are new, the engine doesn't need to be removed again nor the front cover removed. I'm planning to get it back from the dealer and replace the cam sensor, verify the sensor wiring to the PCM and hope I find something wrong.
Thanks again for all the help.

That is an odd one, really can't have "no sync" UNLESS there is a trouble code for cam sensor or crank sensor

I would look at the crank sensor and it's tone ring/wheel, if possible while engine is turning over, so no wobble is seen
Crank sensor generates RPM but there is no sync with RPM, just the spinning

This was the old style with tone wheel actually cast as part of the pulley: https://www.therangerstation.com/tec...-synchro-4.JPG

Then there are these: https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/q28AA...m~B/s-l400.jpg
The tone wheel is "press fit" onto the pulley so could be possible for it to shift position, unlikely but your whole situation is "unlikely", lol

At TDC the key way on crank should be at 12:00, and the gap(missing tooth) on tone wheel should be 10deg from crank sensor or right on crank sensor, can't remember which, but close to crank sensor

2011 Ford Ranger 4.0l no spark
 

We just tried the theory of the no sync/timing issue. We connected the IDS to known good 2011 Ranger 4.0 SOHC. It reads no sync until it starts, then it changes to sync. We unplugged the coil so that it would not start and it read no sync while we cranked and cranked. We reconnected the coil and unplugged the cam sensor and it still started right up, but then it continued to read no sync.

We got ours running. I have posted a detailed description my dwidhalm thread. The short version is the new crank sprocket is slightly thinner than the original which allowed the balancer and crank position tone wheel to move closer to the engine block. That caused slight noise in the open window that signals TDC to the computer so that it can fire spark. To test this we pulled the balancer forward slightly. It fired right up (slightly flooded). Of course we couldn't leave it that way. Our options were to shim the balancer, modify the crank sensor, disassemble and replace with a stock sprocket, or modify the tone wheel. We carefully removed part of the nub in the open window on the tone wheel and we were good to go. I hope this helps, Doug

When I did the cam timing chain system rebuild, I saw the new cam sprocket had a different offset than the old one. I reused the old one and sent the new one back. I suspect the new one was for an engine with the balance shaft. The correct crankshaft sprocket should be available, but I don't know what that part number is.

I never had a problem when I restarted the engine after the cam timing chain system rebuild.

Our gears looked identical. The original gear has a ford number 2L2E-6306-BA and the replacement has a number ISO 2L2E-6306-BA. There is no visible difference in the offset when putting them on a flat surface and inspecting them. The only difference is when you measure the thickness of the center of the sprocket. The replacement sprocket is .005" thinner.:smile:

What was the problem?
 

I have a 2011 4.0, did the timing chains and have the same issue exactly. Ran every test you did. It turns over but won't start. Everything in me tells me that it's firing on the exhaust stroke and is 180 degrees out of time. I read through your entire conversation and was hoping for a answer. Hopefully your still in this group and be able to help me. Everything looks perfect, timing tool worked great and everything lined up, torqued to spec and double checked. I have fire and per the noid injectors work. All senors are sensoring. I'm at a loss.. Is your truck running now??

The fix is posted on this thread on 11-19-21 but if you have any questions you can call me at 509-480-1223. Doug

Thanks Doug
 

I see the fix. Harmonic balancer In too far.. Thank you for responding..
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