Apologies for begging for information on my very first post but I just don't know who to ask.

If I shut my ranger off and re start it between aproxamately 30 seconds to 5 minutes it becomes very hard to start. All other times it starts just fine. This happens rather consistantly regardless of whether the engine is cold or hot. Also only gets 17 highway MPG.

When it happens it feels as if something is causing the engine to flood. Sometimes it will run for a few seconds and flood out and die; but if I wait a few minutes it starts up fine as if nothing was ever wrong.

 

Welcome to the forum

1995 Ford Ranger 4.0l OHV engine, just as a heads up, Rangers got a 4.0l SOHC engine is 2001, quite a different engine than your OHV, so googling "Ranger 4.0l" can get you mix results, lol

Fuel Pressure regulator(FPR) is on the engine, front passenger side of lower intake manifold, so behind and below alternator

FPR has a Fuel Line attached to it, its the OUT fuel line, sends gasoline back to the gas tank
And FPR has a smaller Vacuum line, that vacuum line is what you want to check

If FPRs diaphragm leaks extra fuel will be sucked into the engine, lowering MPG, thru that vacuum hose, so you are checking that vacuum line for gasoline, if found replace FPR


1995 Ranger runs with 30psi fuel pressure, when you shut off the engine the fuel pressure should HOLD above 15psi, for MONTHS.
If FPR is leaking then that pressure will push fuel up that vacuum line and into the engine when you shut it off, and Flood the engine as you suspected.

If it sits long enough then fuel will evaporate, so no longer flooded

All fuel injected engines have a "Clear Flooded Engine" routine
Key off
Press gas pedal down to the floor and hold it down all the way
Key on
Computer boots up and "sees" WOT(wide open throttle) from TPS sensor, and it also "sees" 0 RPMs on the engine
Computer sets Clear Flooded Engine routine, which means it shuts OFF fuel injectors but leaves Spark ON

Crank the engine
It should NOT start, it should NOT fire at all, unless there was fuel in there all ready

As soon as you release gas pedal, even while cranking, or if engine does fire and gets over 400RPMs then computer will exit Clear Flooded Engine and injectors will startup

Just FYI, I use this every time I start my high mile 4.0l, I get oil pumped thru the system for 5 seconds or so, then release the gas pedal for start up.

A leaking fuel injector can cause same symptom but.............engine would usually start up because only one area of the intake would be flooded out, so the other cylinders should start normally and the flooded cylinder would misfire until extra fuel was used up

 

Fuel pressure regulator appears to be on drivers side behind AC compressor. I took off vacuum line and no fuel leaked so I did the same thing with the engine running and not a trace of fuel.

I depressed the Shrader valve on the passengers side and plenty of fuel squirted out under pressure.

 

My 1994 4.0l OHV has it on the other side, odd

Well do the Clear Flooded Engine test and see if it is indeed flooded

 

Thanks. I will. It almost didn't start this evening. It sounded like it was choked out for around 20 seconds. At this point it usually dies but this time the RPM's came up instantly and it started running normally. It was like somebody flicked a switch and bam it started idling normally. I did try the flooded test earlier but forgot I was supposed to turn the key off first before flooring it. Will try and remember next time it happens.

 

Hi, Steve... I just fixed my hard warm start. I noticed on the OBD live data that my temp sensor was reporting -27F all the time. That tricked the computer into duming fuel ino the engine as if it was a cold start and always running rich mixture.

Replacing the coolant temp sensor (the two wire one) fixed it.

If you have access to a live data capable OBD reader, I'd check your reported coolant temp. If you don't have access to one, there are cheap ones available online. I used the $10 "Veepeak bluetooth OBD-II reader" from Amazon and a free android app called "Torque"

 

Hi Watson! When that happened was your temperature gauge on the dashboard still working? Mine is. Sounds like maybe there's a different gauge that sends temperature readings to the computer maybe?

RON D... Depressing the accelerator to the floor with the key off does not seem to help.

Also the problem is getting worse. Many times it almost starts but makes a dieseling noise and stalls out. Sounds like I should get one of those code readers before I start replacing part after part and hope to eventually get lucky.

 

RON D... Depressing the accelerator to the floor with the key off does not seem to help.

You crank(try to start) the engine while accelerator is at the floor so the air passing thru the engine can dry it out if flooded, then release the accelerator after a few seconds

 

Yeah. That's what I did and it had no effect. Tried it several times on several occasions. A few times when I released the accelerator it dieseled like it was flooded but it does the same sometimes if I just try and start it normally. Seems like if it's flooded that this should take care of it so I'm confused as to why it doesn't.

Key off. Depress pedal to floor. Crank engine. Engine doesn't fire no matter how long or short of time I try this. Let off pedal. Often engine will start sometimes and sometimes run very rough like it's dieseling and usually dies. The times It did start after dieseling it ran good instantly. Maybe it's electrical 'cause it seems to run right instantly. It's either good or bad. No in between like I'd expect from a flooded engine gradually recovering.

 

Sounds exactly like what mine was doing... your 95 may or may not not be ODB-II but in the Haynes, the wiring diagram for the 95 is the same as the 96... so I suspect if you have a the separate temp SENSOR (2 wire) and temp SENDER (1 wire) and you replace the 2 wire sensor your problem may go away... they're $10-20. Worth a try.

 

Then you have an answer, the engine is FOR SURE, 100% NOT Flooded, not even a little so abandon that direction


Next I would do the 50/50 test to see if no fuel is the issue or spark
Get a can of Quick Start, ether
Next no start, like when you get home in the driveway
Spray some ether into the engine
Crank it
If it starts and then dies no fuel is the isuue
If it doesn't start then spark is the issue
50/50

 

Seems like it has to be getting some spark. Otherwise why would it run like it was dieseling and flooded? Could it be a "coil" issue? This truck doesn't have a traditional coil or distributor like the old cars I used to work on have. Instead all the individual wires come out of an electrical component. What do they call that gizmo anyway? Could that part, whatever it is called, be responsible for sending a bad spark, either too weak or at the wrong time to the spark plugs? And would it tend to do that only after the engine has been shut off for a short time? I can't say it does it when the engine is hot because it always seems to start after the engine has been off a good 5 minutes, which isn't nearly enough time for it to cool down.

Also is it possible for my truck to be OBD-II even though it's a 1995? Sure would be nice if the computer could tell me something, even though it's not throwing a check engine light.

 

I just searched 1995 Ranger ignition on Ebay and found a picture. The part is called a coil pack and only costs 25 dollars on Ebay so I went ahead and ordered one. Even if it's not the issue I'm probably due for a new one so I think it's a safe bet.

 

If the part works it might be a safe bet to replace the wires too. I think I'll wait till the part comes and make sure it takes care of the problem first before I do that though...

 

1995 Ranger is OBD2, kind of.............it uses the new 104 wire EEC-V computer but Fords OBD2 wasn't complete in 1995 but most OBD2 readers can get codes from them


Sure Coil pack can be part of a tune up, like spark plugs and wires

Coil packs for a V6 has 3 coils inside, each coil sparks 2 cylinders at the same time, called a Waste Spark system
General failure mode is a misfire, one coil in the pack starts to go bad, but startup still works because 4 cylinders are fine

 

Thanks for the info about the 1995 being OBD-II compatible. I will download a program for my cell and learn how to use the blue tooth code reader I plugged in.

Are you saying hard starting is not the coil pack? It kinda seems like that would cause it to run bad all the time. Would a bad coil also give a check engine code?

The temperature sensor to the computer arrived today and changing it didn't make any difference. Whatever is causing it, the problem is getting worse. Today at the gas station it was really hard to start. It would knock and diesel for a while and then die out every time I gave it a little gas. I started it and left the throttle alone 3 or 4 more times and it kept dying. The last time it ran crappy for about a minute and then zap! It started running normally. Hoping the new coil pack will make a difference. Anything else I should try?

 

Turns outI was wrong about the engine flooding. A friend pressed the valve on the fuel rail while it wouldn't start and no fuel came out. THE PROBLEM IS DEFINITELY NOT ENOUGH OR NO FUEL when it refuses to start. My friend says it's definitely the fuel pump but I would like to make sure since it's kind of a big deal to replace it.

Anyone got a 2nd opinion or alternative suggestion to check out before I go ahead and replace the fuel pump?

 

"THE PROBLEM IS DEFINITELY NOT ENOUGH OR NO FUEL when it refuses to start......."????


There are 2 things that can cause no fuel pressure intermittently, the Fuel Pump Relay in the engine fuse box, and the Fuel pump itself

The fuel pump fuse wouldn't be intermittent
The Inertia switch wouldn't be intermittent

 

I noticed someone had placed a stick against the fuel pump relay and the back side of the housing and am wondering if it had anything to do with anything. Odds are one in a million that it just fell in there. Thinking maybe over time it got it's self wedged in a lot tighter.

I swapped the fuel pump relay with the AC relay and tried to make the truck not start. I did this like ten times and it started every time. I swapped the relays back and it still worked 4 or 5 times in a row. I reversed them back to original again and it still started several more times. If anything I suspect a bad connection under the fuse box. But how could that affect it not starting between 30 seconds and 5 minutes after turning it off?. I will wait a while and see if it keeps starting. It should have failed by now. Time will tell I guess whether it is a coincidence or what is going on. Maybe I should switch the relays back to their original positions. I may just do that if it continues to start every time or just buy another relay for my AC. Any insight would be appreciated.

 

Corroded connections are heat sensitive, the warmer they get the less voltage they pass
If you have a volt meter then after engine bay is warmed from driving turn engine off but turn key back on

Measure battery voltage FIRST, that tells you what voltage you need to see later on
Set meter at 20vDC
Say battery shows 12.5volts

Pull out fuel pump relay Ground meter to battery negative
Pull out fuel pump relay
Test each slot in relays base
TWO should show exactly 12.5volts<<< battery voltage

If one is lower then look for Fuel Pump Fuse, should be fuse 12 in engine fuse box, 20amp, pull it out

Retest slots, if lower voltage is still there then relays power from EEC relay is the problem
If lower voltage slot is now no volts then its the fuel pumps power fuse to relay wiring that's the problem

If volts tests at 12.5v on both slots then relay wiring is not the issue