Hi, I put E85 gas (85 percent of ethanol and 15 percent of unleaded gas mixed) in my 1999 Ford Ranger 3.0 liter FFV and ran stronger, but engine check come on. Auto Zone store plugged in my truck with code scanner, it show 171 and 174 ( too lean bank one and too lean bank two) I know my engine is FFV and decal on the tailgate . what do I do? I forgot to mentain something about mpg that was dropped to 9.5 on E85. could it cause by bad DPFE sensor? or fuel sensor didn't working? help me!!!

 

take it through the dealers main window...

 

I'm not sure if 1999's use the "sensor' in the fuel line to detect E85 or not.

It's takes more E85 per unit of air to get proper combustion, so FFV's are SUPPOSED to have bigger injectors and the appropriate programming.

Look at your VIN code and make sure it's a "V" for the engine. If it's a "U", then you're not an FFV.

The problem may only be occuring at full-throttle driving. Could be you need a fuel filter. Because so much fuel flow is needed with E85, a clogged filter could result in fuel starvation at high RPM under load.

I'll think about it, but that's all I've got off the top of my head.

 

I already have my truck's fuel fitler replaced just one week before I first put E85 in it. and VIN number show "V" in eight charater.
John

 

Hmmm...its late and I'm tired from attending a wedding/reception all afternoon/evening so I'm not going to get to it tonight -- but I'll pull out the 1999 service manual and see what it says.

You can try resetting the PCM (undo the battery for 15 minutes and then reconnect it) and then drive it "gently" for awhile and see if it returns. Then if it doesn't, punch it a bunch and see.

Some of the older FFV designs had a sensor that was supposed to tell the truck what fuel was running. The newer design doesn't require it and adjusts easily from gasoline to E85 and any mixture in between -- allegedly anyway. I have an FFV and I've never tried E85.

I do understand that the mileage is supposed to suck on it, and the power be higher.

 

Thanks n3elz, Let me know when you find out something in the manual book later, I think when fuel sensor reading E85 came in the tank then fuel senser will send a signal to PCM, so PCM would control the fuel injector mixture to correct balance?

 

ehem ya bump

 

how much is E85 per gallon?

 

I have a silly question here. A friend of mine had a tarus that ran on the flex fuel and it had a button you had to push to select which type of fuel you were using. Do the rangers have this?

 

$20 cents less than unleaded gas.

 

My 1999 Ranger does not have any botton last time I checked up.

 

hmm... 20 cents?> ill stick to 87.

 

Yeah I'm 90% sure they have a sensor in the line. If that went bad that could be your problem. I couldn't see a DPFE sensor doing that though because it would cause problems with regular gas as well. Also I can't see E85 running stronger because it's only 80% as efficient as regular unleaded at best.

 

then where is fuel sensor located? if you know where? John

 

Sorry, I was out most of the day, and working on the final Centralia video tonight. I'll get out the CD and see what I can find -- that's IF your truck has it. BRB...

 

Okay, well, it shows up in the schematic like shown at the bottom.

It appears to detect some kind of vaporization of the fuel to know it's E85.

Fuse 13 in the engine compartment fuse box ("battery junction box") feeds it, so check that.

For some reason, the gas tank sender is different.

The manual is vague about location, but the connector diagram shows C309 (the ground connector for it) as being "under vehicle, near transmission". The manual omits the location of C311 (the main power signal connector for it) for some reason.

My guess is that is inline with the fuel line, running down the inside of the frame rail, in the vicinity of where the fuel filter is (on my truck at least) somewhere in the area of the transmission.

Sorry I can't be more specific. It should have 3 wires going into it, as shown in the diagram below (the sensor is shown on the right of the diagram).

 

That happened to mean. I went to jiffy lube and they put the obdII scanner on it and it read something like that and they cleaned the fuel injectors and intake out and it ran fine again.

 

The Flex Fuel Vaporized Sensor (what a name) should be below the driver's seat near the transmission crossmember. I heard once that this sensor operates by some sort of optics but I couldn't tell you how. Regardless of what the mechanism might be, it sends a square wave to the PCM that varies with ethanol content: higher percentage ethanol ==> higher frequency square wave. The PCM reads the frequency and adjusts the A/F ratio and spark advance for the alcohol percentage.

Later FFV Rangers don't have the sensor and use O2 sensor activity and a lambse shift to infer the fuel composition indirectly instead of measuring it with a sensor.

It is difficult to diagnose the FFVS on the earlier Rangers without a known alcohol content fuel and an oscilloscope or other means to measure frequency. If the sensor gets far enough out of spec, it can trigger it's own OBDII Diagnostic Trouble Code. About all you can do in the field is give it a visual inspection for possible damage and check the connections. Unfortunately, from what I understand, the FFVS has a fairly high failure rate and costs about $450.

Here's another thing I have heard but have no way to verify. If you have been using straight gasoline for a long time and have just recently switched to an ethanol blend, there's a possibility that the ethanol is cleaning out varnish and other contaminates from the fuel system. Apparently, these can quickly plug a fuel filter and cause a lean condition. It might be worth trying a replacement fuel filter before doing something more drastic like R&Ring the FFVS.

 

Good info! I heard those sensor were trouble, and I'm glad they eliminated in the design I have. I'd love to try E85 at least -- but I can't get it here yet (and maybe never).

 

Thanks for information. I believe it's very helpful... I'm going to check it out when weather is warm. my plan to check is Flex Fuel Vaporized Sensor and fuse. my mpg is back to 19 when I put 93 octane unleaded gas ( Casey's gas station offer 93 octane for same price as 86 octane unleaded, $2.07) in my Ranger and "engine check" never come on. but I still want to fix my FFV system.

 

To 2003 stealtheedge, did you ran on E85 gas? John

 

I discovered that number 13 fuse is ABS diode, hmm did I supposed to look at number 14 fuse insteaded of 13? the number 14 is a EEC diode, is that what you want to know? what was your thought number 13 fuse for? my book "Haynes repair manual" showing me. but I noticed that book does not know about FFV at all. I need a new book that know about FFV

 

P.S. when I pull the fuse out, how can I check it up? that fuse look like a small black box, it can't tell if it's burned inside?

 

Sorry, John, I don't have any other information here at work. What I know is basically on that diagram.

Is there anything tricky about the numbering that could have caused you to think it's the wrong one? It wouldn't be the first time I've found errors in the manuals though, lol.

 

Fuse 13 is in the underhood Battery Junction Box (AKA the Power Distribution Box in the owner's manual). It serves several engine control devices including the FFVS. You are looking for a small 15A blade type mini fuse, not a black box.





Maybe the confusion is caused by the fact that there is another reference #13 in that box. It is the trailer tow relay, not a fuse.

There is a fuse map in your 99 owner's manual that shows the location of fuse 13 or you can look it up online: http://www.genuineservice.com/default.asp?page=E4