So I have a 1986 ford ranger, manual and 4x4, I bought it almost last year and the guy said it had spark issues and timing, so I brought it home and started to adjust the timing, it had a little spark because It backfired, so I left it for a day or two and came back to turn the Distributor 180 degrees and it would crank hard but no fire, so started to replace things such as the ignition coil, the starter relay, spark plugs and spark plug wires, the ignition module, and at one point I got a very faint spark but after I cranked it over it disappeared, I tested to see if power was power from the coil to the distributor cap and there was, so I bought a new distributor and checked again to see if power was going to the distributor from the coil and there was nothing, I tried to see how much power was going to the coil with a volt meter but I was clueless on how to use it, I believe there was 2 volts going to the green wire but none on the red wires, I don’t know what to check next.

if you have any ideas I will gladly take any advise

 

Welcome to the forum

Coil has 2 wire terminals, a + and a -

+ should have 12volts with key on, and in 1986 that should be a Red/light green striped wire
- should have a dark green/yellow stripe wire

Test the + wire with key on using battery negative or engine metal as the ground, should see battery volts(12.3-12.8volts)
Also test it while cranking engine over, should still be above 9volts
There are TWO separate 12volt wires for the Coil + , so it can have 12v key on but LOSE that with key is turned to START

Same red/green wire is on spark module, should also have battery voltage, key on and in START

The backfiring could mean you don't have spark when cranking but as soon as you release the key Coil and TFI module get 12v again so you get 1 or 2 sparks

If you jump the starter relay(solenoid) to crank the engine that that takes the TWO wire off the table as long as coil has 12v with key on

You have a TFI spark system in a 1986 Ranger

You can pull spark plug in #1 and put a compression gauge, or your finger, into the hole
Then use a socket wrench to turn the engine clockwise until you start to get pressure in #1
Then keep turning until timing mark is at 0deg
Pull up distributor cap and rotor should be pointed at #1 spark plug wire, if not adjust distributor or rotor