Hi All,

I have a 1993 Ranger, four cylinder with 2.3 liter engine and 160,000 miles on it. It's been on it's last leg for awhile, but yesterday as I was stopping at a light it died during deceleration. Since then it will crank, but will not start. Here is what I know:
1. I have spark at the plugs.
2. I get error code #542; "fuel pump secondary circuit failure."
3. There is no fuel pressure when engine is cranked.
4. Inertia switch is not popped.
5. When cranked I have power going to the fuel pump and from the pump to the gauge. I used one of those pen-style, light-up detectors at the pump harness.
6. I replaced the fuel pump, fuel filter, and fuel pump relay without any improvement, the thing still won't start.
7. I've seen other posts saying that you can hear the fuel pump when the key is in the 'on' position, but I don't hear anything...

Any suggestions? I have it on a sidestreet near work, so I'm about ready to call a donation center and have them haul it away if I can't get it figured ASAP.

thanks so much!

 

how long since you replaced the fuel filter in that ranger

now that modern fuel pumps at gas stations no longer use inline fuel filters , vehicular fuel filter replacement becomes more routine

 

I put in a new fuel filter yesterday, before that I can't say how long the other one was in there...

Last night I had a buddy work on it with me and here is what we determined:
1. The fuel pump is getting power when the key is in the 'On' position. We can in fact hear it.
2. We know gas is reaching the schraeder valve too because we were able to lightly release the pressure up there and gas was coming through. I'm beginning to suspect the pressure guage I borrowed from O'Reilly might be malfunctioning because it still reads zero, but clearly there is some pressure.
3. We spliced in an additional ground to the fuel pressure relay just to be safe.

After all this we towed it back to my place so I have a couple more days to figure it out. I'm stumped though. It must be something under the hood since we are getting gas up there, right?

 

have you checked for spark from the coil pack , also check to see if the coil pack is receiving power input

install some new spark plugs as well

check for voltage at the fuel injector connectors

i suspect the fuel pressure regulator valve has malfunctioned , ( the older rubber diaphragms were not meant to handle fuels with ethanol mixed in )

ethanol just eats older rubber for breakfast

 

Even though some fuel my have dribbled from the schraeder valve this does not mean there is sufficient pressure to the rail to start the truck. You'll need to get an accurate reading,

Have you checked the fuel pump ground circuit? Any resistance in this circuit can result in the pump running below specification or not at all.

Same goes if there is any resistance in the primary power supply such as the relay contacts, inertia switch/connector, connector on drivers side floor board (were wiring passes out of cab), at the fuel pump itself, or within the tank or pump itself.

 

iv had a same problom that it would keep dying on the Rode i did every thing you did found the problem on a blown fuse check both fusses boxes. idk if that will help
because there was a short in the dash were it was over lauding. but you can go to your ford dealer and ask them for each fuse descriptio to what there for. i had gevin up and took it to the smartest mechaninc i knew and he was haveing head acheas beacause it kept dying after 10 to hour of driving

 

I agree to getting an accurate fuel pressure gauge, and checking first for pressure at the fuel rail(s) that feed the injectors. Not sure for your engine what the pressure is supposed to be, but an accurate gauge is an absolute must to get this reading.

Your troubleshooting is on the right track if it's fuel related. You said you have spark; at the spark plugs? If so, don't throw any money at new plugs or a coil pack if the spark is good at the plugs. Be sure to check more than one plug.

For test purposes only, you could squirt a spray of starting fluid into the throttle body, then reconnect the hose, and see if it starts for a few seconds. This will verify spark, and tell you its fuel, but I'm thinking you already know this.

Are you certain that new fuel pump is "good"? These are a pain to get to (assuming yours is in the tank). Did you replace the filter "sock" in the tank? Were the lines from the fuel pump to the metal tubes of the pump assembly in good shape?

 

Are you sure timing belt is good