85 Ranger 2.3L codes 21,23,24 sensors “out of range” and 41 states lean condition which I have been dealing with(replaced TPS). What exactly does “out of range” mean?

 

It means the calibration on the sensor is off. Never heard of this on a car that old but the new ones have to be retaught idle when the sensor is replaced. Are you sure its an 85?

 

A sensor out of range mean there may be a voltage issue due to a faulty sensor, bad connection, or wiring issue.

 

K I'll give you an Idea what I've been going thru. It's starving for gas when cruising but fine on hills and acceleration. I've checked the TPS before but with a digital meter and couldn't find any problem ( it hunts so you can't really tell what's going on) Later I checked it again but with a analog meter and found a hiccup in the range of motion. I replaced the TPS and that's when these other problems arose.
Yes it's an 85 Ranger 2.3L 4cyl EFI

 

Code 21 is engine coolant temp sensor and 24 is intake air temp sensor, check voltage on both.

 

yeah its not getting a correct reading from somewhere. Unfortunately being an 85 its OBD1 or maybe even some older technology very primitive from a troubleshooting standpoint i wonder if you have a fuel pressure regulation issue and the new sensor being more accurate made that problem worse? Im no expert on pre OBD2 cars since most of what i see is 96 and newer. I honestly don't know how much of the timing and fuel is computer controlled. Just to make sure its an 85 engine in it right? never been replaced?

 

Well northshoreranger said 21and 24 are coolant temp and intake air temp. Again not sure with the 85 but the coolant temp sensor will put the new ones in a safe mode because of emissions also known as limp home mode to keep you from damaging anything. Again not sure if thats the case on an 85 but may try replacing or at least checking the thermostat thats the usual cause of the temp sensor error and may help you narrow down other problems.

 

The 21,23,24 codes only came to lite since I replaced the TPS. All original

 

The code 23 is a tps code. Code 41 is also a heated O-2 sensor code.

 

Heated o2 will cause those symptoms i blew that fuse when tweaking my tune for the manual. You can check the fuse and also the sensors themselves should have resistance of a few ohms don't remember exact but there is a thread on it here. If you get 0 or infinite resistance the heater is bad in the sensor. Mine ran rough for a few weeks before i found it and eventually started belching black smoke. I believe its a 20 amp fuse should be listed in the manual the 2.3 didn't change much over the years

 

By the schematics available to me, it doesn't show a fuse for that.

 

HMM wonder if they put it on a circuit with something else that year mine has several 02's due to the flex fuel and five cats but if you only have one or two that seems more likely its tied in with something else have you checked the other fuses to be sure none are blown?

 

The diagrams show that their all ECM connected

 

Gotcha well you can still check resistance on the sensors i just got like a 5 dollar Volt meter from harbor freight pretty useful tool.

 

Gotcha??????????????

 

Gotcha as in i understand what your saying. If you only have one or two sensors they may very well be wired on another circuit and to volt test the sensors themselves is probably the only other option unless its a problem in the computer itself or the wiring. Sorry for the confusion.

 

I have the HF Tool meter which is digital but there's a drawback when checking the pots.
They hunt to much so you have to use an analog meter to find flaws in the movement.
BTW I was taking the gotcha as in you were trying to trip me up.

 

Yeah i see what you mean sorry about that! But usually its the heater itself that causes the code not so much the sensor there should be four wires coming off of the sensor 2 (black in color) i believe you can test those first to make sure the heater is functioning but yeah I'm not sure to test the sensor itself you'd probably need a scanner that displays live data and then look up the acceptable range from the service manual to make sure they work. Also are you having any speedometer issues i know the fuel maps are sometimes determined by vehicle speed so it might also be something goofy in the speed sensor.