88 Ranger v6 2.9l fuel-inj

Truck battery died. Replaced it. Two days later, on the morning of a cold snap, the truck died shortly after starting. So I gave it some gas after starting and it started idling VERY rough. The more gas I’d give it, the rougher the idle became, like the timing was off. The engine died after a minute of this, and then would only start then die, like it was being choked off. I gave up for the evening. When I came back the next morning it started right up the first crank perfectly as if nothing ever happened. Since then, many times I’ll have to hold the gas pedal down to warm up (coughing and sputtering), and when it finally gets to a certain warmth, like magic it clicks over and runs smoothly and continues to be fine for the rest of the day as long as it doesn’t sit for more than an hour or so. When it goes into the immediate choke mode I can unplug the battery for a few minutes and when I try to start it after reconnecting, a couple of times it has run perfectly immediately and a couple times it has to run rough for a few minutes before it snaps out of it.

Currently the only code is 18, which says "Erratic IDM input to processor/SPOUT circuit grounded" I don't know what this means I should do.

Have replaced the battery, TPS and high pressure fuel pump under the seat. Pump shoots a healthy stream when pressurising the system.

Any help out there?

 

the SPOUT is for ignition timing. check the ignition related curcuits. hook a timing light up to it and when it is acting up, see what the timing is

 

Try a new Fuel Pump relay.

 

I'll use the timing light this evening and get back to you, Toreador.

Earl, your advice is very intriguing. Reading up on what symptoms can occur with a faulty relay sounds VERY much like what I'm experiencing. I'm getting the perfect humming noise of the fuel pump pressurizing when I turn the key on. I even disconnected the fuel line and the pump spewed a healthy amount of fuel 2-3 feet when booting up. Still think the relay could be faulty (maybe work intermittently)?

Thanks for your help, guys.

 

Changing the relay seemed to help a little.

As I'm remembering the history of what I've done with the truck over the last few weeks. A day or so before I changed the oil. I wanted to use up some oil I had laying around, which was 5w-30. The manual says 10w-30 is best for the temp ranges I start the truck in (read today). Could this be an issue?

 

No. Oil viscosity won't make it run crappy.

http://www.therangerstation.com/tech...unz_Korner.htm

"Currently the only code is 18, which says "Erratic IDM input to processor/SPOUT circuit grounded" I don't know what this means I should do."

Check the timing.

I suspect you may have an intermittent distibutor/ignition type of problem.

 

look up what the trouble code means online. maybe u could find some answers.