Ok guys new here but here is the story. My brother has a 94 ford ranger xlt which belonged to our mother. It has over 250,000 miles on the ole 3.0 but runs good until now. We replaced throttle cable due to old one being stretched over the years and he started telling me it was lacking power. Checked the cable to make sure junk yard replacement hadn't gone stretched as well, it was fine. So had it bring it to the house to change plugs, wires, cap, rotor and oil and filter. Dizzy Cap was all rusty inside bad and the rotor button was barely holding together. replaced all of this and found the breather tube from breather box to throttle body was garbage so ordered a replacement. Now it wont start. Plugs are gapped at .45 the wires are in the order of 1,4,2,5,3,6. I have a test light and I'm getting spark from coil and plug 1 and its orange. Any help would be awesome. Its a sentimental vehicle and would love to get it back running ASAP. I hope its not like my mustang and the PIP sensor has gone out in the distributor.

 

Orange(red/yellow) spark is very weak, white or blue is a good spark
You can hook spark plug and its wire directly to the coil and see what color spark you get, that can tell you if the high voltage is being lost thru cap and rotor

Do 50/50 test using Quick Start(ether) it can often be ignited by a weaker spark
50/50 test has been used since the late 1890's so time tested

50/50 test
Spray fuel into the engine and try to start it
If it starts, runs, and dies, then spark is "OK" and at the right time, but there is no fuel delivery from vehicles system, i.e. carb or fuel injection
If it doesn't start then spark system is the issue, or compression but on a 3.0l that would be a long shot

So do the test and go from there

 

Last night before the snow started I sprayed ether down the throttle body and it didn't sputter or even try to start. The plugs I pulled out looked ok. Number 2 looked really dirty the others where charred white. Just strange that changing oil and plugs and all that would cause something like this. Why I'm sorry confused. Gonna try spark tester on the rest of the plugs to see if I'm getting spark.

 

You are not getting "good spark", 50/50 test provided that info, so don't waste your time on individual spark plugs or wires, even if 5 spark plugs or wires were bad the 1 working cylinder would have fired

1994 3.0l Ranger has the TFI module mounted remotely, unlike the 2.9l
Usually its mount to engine side of Rad support, drivers side, under battery, has metal heat sink with fins
Unplug its wires and plug back in, you can have a look for corrosion
Also unplug and plug back in the wires at distributor and coil
This cleans the contacts

You have a CEL(check engine light) in a 1994 Ranger
It should come on with key on, that means computer has booted up
As soon as you activate starter motor and engine starts to turn, CEL should go OFF, that means computer is getting the timing signal(PIP) from the TFI module, TFI module gets it from the Hall effect sensor inside distributor
So if CEL goes off while cranking then distributor sensor is most likely OK


Just as a heads up, because you mentioned "snow" so I would assume its under 32degF where the Ranger is located
A spark, good or bad, can not ignite liquid gasoline, the Movie Guys take liberties with that fact, lol
A good spark can ignite gasoline VAPOR, the stuff you smell when its warmer out

For a good spark to ignite a cylinder it needs at least 30% gasoline vapor, this is why ALL gasoline engines need to be CHOKED when cold starting
If the cold gasoline is only 15% vapor then you need twice as much for cold start, that's what a choke plate was for on a carb, restricted air flow in so MORE gasoline was sucked from the Jets, so more vapor was available
With fuel injection the computer uses the ECT(engine coolant temp) sensor, with key on, to see the temp of the engine and so the temp of the gasoline at the injectors
It can then calculate how much extra fuel(Choke) to add to get a good Cold Start

Ether has a much lower vapor point than gasoline, you can smell it even at -20deg, lol
And its flammable so makes a good starting fluid for cold gasoline(or diesel) engines

 

I know the TFI because I had one in mustang as well. I will check that first. Plugs and plug wires and cap and rotor are brand new. The CEL does just that when I turn it over it comes on and the I turn over and it goes off. Mustang did same thing when PIP went bad in dizzy that's why I was looking at that.


Poor Cap
The cap was really nasty with what looked like rust on all the lead ends.

 

Ok replaced coil this morning and motor turns over but no start. I was going to pull the spout connector and see if that does anything at all. That should bypass the TFI module shouldn't it. If it starts then TFI issue I guess. I'm at wits end here on this one. Changing plugs and wires shouldn't have created this kind of issue I'm sure.

 

No, the SPOUT wire is for Spark Advance once engine is running, its not used on start up, TFI ignores it, but you can unplug it to see if their is a "glitch" in TFI that's allowing computer to effect start up spark timing
If you have, or can get, a Timing Light you can see if TFI is sparking #1 at 10 to 12deg BTDC while cranking, once started(above 400rpms) timing should go to 20 to 22deg BTDC(thats the SPOUT)

Its most likely a wiring issue near distributor that was disturbed by changing spark plugs and wires

With the new coil are you now getting a white/blue spark?

 

I only have a spark test light to test spark with. I have a timing light and can check the timing while its turning over? It won't start so seeing what actual time is will be hard to do without engine running. What wiring issue could be near distributor that could have been disturbed while changing so I can look. Thanks for info thus far.

 

What color is the spark now?

The 3 wires on the distributor

You can see timing with engine cranking, also can see if spark is steady while engine is cranking, not skipping a beat

 

I'm using an inline spark light and get steady light as it spins over. I plugged my OB1 reader in and got 116 and that's all I saw. I can hook up my timing light and spin it over and see the timing is at 10 BTDC.

 

116 (O,R) Engine Coolant (ECT) sensor out of range - ECT
Can't cause a no start

If spark is timed then engine should start with 50/50 test, simple as that
If not then spark is not good(weak) or not timed
OR you have lost ALL compression............extreme longshot

 

Ron thanks so much for your assistance on this area. Got it towed to garage and they got it started but it did need a distributor replacement after all of that. She is running like a new ride now with almost 250,000 miles.