95 Ranger with bad skip, running on 5 cylinders
 

Why is it not using the number one cylinder? What should I look for?

have you pulled that spark plug to check for proper firing

pull the spark plug out , reattach the spark plug wire and ground it to the engine block

have a friend or brother crank the engine to see if the spark plug wire has failed

the ignition coil is probably failing

Yes ^^^ +1

4.0l's eat spark plugs, get Motorcraft, or in a pinch Autolite spark plugs, and the Double Platinum models because of the Waste Spark system Ford uses.

actually i have to correct you ron

ford switched to regular copper plugs because of the problems the double platinum plugs were causing to the ignition coils ,

the factory coils were not powerful enough to fire 2 double platinum plugs properly

Haven't read about that??
Do you have any links that I could read?


The original waste spark plugs were changed years ago to single platinum tips on one bank and platinum centers on the other bank, assuming V6 or V8, so there was even erosion
Without that you get this: https://www.ranger-forums.com/4-0l-o...0-sohc-119625/
Post #11

Platinum coating actually reduces the required voltage from a coil, but because of that they are usually gapped slightly wider, lol, so use the same voltage but have better spark.
So would like to read about the coil issue with platinum.

not the link you were asking for ,, but relevant info anyway

Ford Mustang Motorcraft OEM Spark Plugs SP412 (06-10 V6) - Free Shipping

the same SP412 copper plugs are referenced by ford for the 4.0l rangers dating back to 2004

as noted by my nearby ford dealership

still trying to find that link

google lately is being a *itc* in regards to searching , you have to be very letter specific in your searches

Wrong link?
It is an ad for copper motorcraft spark plugs, no mention of coil issues?

Copper is better but doesn't last as long as platinum.
If I was running a racing engine I wouldn't even consider platinum, longevity isn't the point, and for over 10:1 compression copper is better, but again, you need to change them more often.

And there are some cars and trucks that I only want to change the spark plugs on ONE TIME, lol.
Remove motor mount, jack up the engine or cut holes in the inner fender, WTF, who designed this layout, lol.

the link was for everyone reading it to understand

the 4.0L v6 engines were also installed in the mustangs / explorers / mountaineers up to 2011

i was reading that report from a retired ford engineer , but then arthur was hit with a voltage surge and fried my computers monitor power supply

so i could not save the link to a alternate email address

what he said was during the 2004/2005 model years , ford got slapped by the u.s government , because the 4.0l v6 engines were not meeting the updated emissions laws

the engineer knew the platinum plugs were to blame , he also knew that the factory coil was not powerful enough to fire 2 platinum plugs at the same time

so ford decided to rectify the issue by switching the engines over to copper plugs to lower emssions

but i am having difficulty locating his statements from his personal blog

google lately is very strict when it comes searching certain items

your wording must be exact

but i found this from another forum and he is supposedly a electrical enthusiast

engine heat affects a coils output

EDIS is a FORD brand name as far as I know, and the part number given is FORD p/n. Donor vehicle FORD ESCORT early 90´s
The spark energy increases exponentially over coil charging time, and my GUESS is that the difference between 3 and 4 ms is marginal ( < 10%)
But I hav no facilities to actually measure the spark energy, this would need a set up that I do not have. Ws meters on HV pulse train is way beyond my instrumentation budget.

There is a point in keeping charging time down since it keeps the primary coil tempereture temperature increase lower.
As the coil heats up , the resistance increases ( + 20 %from 20 to 75 C!) which furter adds to losses in the coil.

And to round it off, the needed coil charging time will also be dependent on the spark energy actually discharged , and this is quite likely to
change with pressure and temperature in the cylinder as well as with the A/F ratio.

When I have the opportunity I will hook up a complete EDIS 4 system and scope the factory dwell