So I have 2 different questoins, they are both on different subjects in regards to rangers.

First question: When I have my heater on and turned to vent and floor, I notice that when im sitting there idling at a light it seems that my truck drops rpms and I see the volt meter drop. Im also hearing a very loud clicking noise. From what ive seen, its the disc on the compressor that is making the loud click when it stops and starts spinning. Im wondering if this is normal or if this is something I should have checked?

2. About 2 months ago I put in new spark plugs and wires. After changing them, the truck seemed alot peppier and better on acceleration as well as starting up. However, ive noticed a pretty big drop in my gas mileage. I was getting roughly 17-18 mpg on the old Bosch platinum +4s plugs, and now im getting like 15 mpgs. I mostly do all city driving. Even on the highway my mileage has suffered, it seems to get about 20-21, where as it was usually 21 or a little higher.. Any ideas?

 

1. This is normal. The clicking and idle drop is the AC compressor kicking on and off. For some reason Ford runs the compressor on every setting except when you have it on face vents only.

2. It could be anything causing the mileage drop. Did you change them yourself? If you did then did you set the gap correctly?

 

Hmm okay so seeing the volt meter drop is normal too I take it for when it kicks on and off too huh?

I did change them myself. and im pretty sure we gapped them right, it says on the engine sticker you can gap them between 0.42 - 0.46 we did about 0.44. Heres the thing though, after I did it I changed job locations. I am closer to my house, but I go through alot more lights. So I dont know if that is enough to play a huge factor into the drop..?

 

I'm not sure if that's a real voltage meter. Mine never moves.

It might. I drive mostly freeway during the week to work and my gas will last but I can easily burn through a tank in one weekend when I drive all street.

 

Stop and go traffic will affect the fuel mileage so you'll have to live with that. The lower fuel mileage on the highway shouldn't happen.

The heater/ventilation switch is mostly the same on all the Rangers. The airconditioner comp don't run on all the positions. Your owners manual will tell you which ones have air and which don't. It's hard to remember which ones and I think Ford could have come up with a better idea as their moto is supposed to infer.

I mostly use the positions on the right side of OFF. The first one to the right is A/C, the next one is without A/C, the next is deff. without A/C, the next is deff. with A/C.

Look it up in your book.

 

Ah okay, well thats good to know that this happends on all rangers, cause I was getting considered that it might be taking a dump on me. Which would be no fun to replace..

 

put a switch on the purple wire, control it yourself, the compressor that is

 

What does the purple wire mod do?

 

It lets you control when the compressor comes on so its not on when you don't need it.

 

My selector switch has positions for that function, don't your's?

The reason the compressor turns on and off during use is it builds head pressure and then shuts off so the head pressure don't get critical and blow the hoses. Under full throttle the comp. shuts off so all hp goes to acceleration.

If you read your owners manual it will explain what each position does and which ones have the comp. running and which don't.

When in doubt read your owners manual or by the Ford shop manual.

The very first thing I did when I bought my new/used Ranger was to buy a Factory Ford Ranger Shop Manual off fleebay. It's the best money you will spend on your truck. It goes into great detail and is about 1 1/2" thick.

 

nvm your in Ca they done change there gas do u even know what snow looks like? lol

 

are you still running bosch platinum +4s? you aren't supposed to regap those...

 

mine moves when the winch is being used.. it drops to below where it sits when the truck is off and when i used to have my amp and sub hooked up it would drop when it was on.. but it's just an idiot gauge, nothing more

 

I did notice that my gauge is lower than when I first bought the truck 2 years ago.

 

swap out the Boush for Motorcraft with the right gap...

i have a digital volt meter and when my compressor comes on there is 0 difference in the voltage on my display.

 

so is mine but its probably a combination of mud/texas heat/humidity/ and the winch hasn't helped much..

living up here i have noticed its gone back up a little bit

 

No Im running the motorcrafts, gapped at 0.44, if not its definately between 0.42 and 0.46

 

Hi there. Did you change the 02 sensors? One up close to the engine compartment on the exhaust and another back sort of under the passenger seat..!!

 

Does this qualify for the longest amount of time between posts on a RF thread? Holy thread bump Batman!

 

Well, ya'll just have to forgive me as a "newbe" to the forum. After I sent the post it came to mind to look at the date of the original post!! My bad.But it was a good question!?

 

It's all good. Newbs bump old threads all the time.

 

A newby here as well. I had the problem mentioned in question #1 of this original post
and found that a low refrigerant level was causing the A/C cycling and the RPM drops
while at the stoplight. Gave it a shot of refrigerant and it never happened again.