small-list-digest Saturday, December 5 1998 Volume 02 : Number 337



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Ford Truck Enthusiasts - Ranger, Explorer, Bronco 2 and Aerostar
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In this issue:

Re: FTE Small - 95 Ranger wants to die in 1st and 2nd gear (more)
FTE Small - Well, 99,013 miles and... (use to be "die in 1st and 2nd gear")
Re: FTE Small - Well, 99,013 miles and... (use to be "die in 1st and 2nd gear")

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Date: Fri, 4 Dec 1998 09:20:14 -0600 (EST)
From: Robert Fox
Subject: Re: FTE Small - 95 Ranger wants to die in 1st and 2nd gear (more)

I had a friend of mine that works for a Ford dealership test drive the
truck and we were able to get it to do the same thing. The check engine
light would flash on each time it happend, but the light wouldnt stay on.
We hooked it up to the computer and it came up empty. Both of us are
stumped. Him and another person said its not the tranny, but its more
like a really bad misfire. Dunno what to do now. I might swap the A & B
coil packs and see if that helps. If not, bad EEC maybe?

Robert Fox
fox ford ranger. com
www.ford ranger. com

On Thu, 3 Dec 1998, Tim Turner wrote:

> Big clue there.. any time that li'l engine light comes on it means
> there's something going on that the computer sees as totally wrong for
> the current operating conditions (like a intake temp of -40 and a water
> temp of +270 at idle... HUH? ) and it turns on the light 'while the
> fault is present' (pre-96 and depending on the fault involved). If you
> can pull the code(s) from the system you'll be well on the way to
> resolving your problem. Likely culprits are the throttle position
> sensor (TPS) or the MAP sensor (Manifold Absolute Pressure.. a fancy way
> of saying 'vacuum'), but without diagnosis or codes it's SWAG work.

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Date: Fri, 4 Dec 1998 20:53:06 -0600 (EST)
From: Robert Fox
Subject: FTE Small - Well, 99,013 miles and... (use to be "die in 1st and 2nd gear")

...my truck is towed for the first time, EVER! And it was pulled by a
(sobbing) Chebby. Well at least I know what the problem is with my truck.
:) Turns out its going to be the fuel pump. When I broke down I tried
and tried to get it to start again, but it would never start. So I called
a wrecker and waited; and waited.... ...and waited. While waiting I
noticed that the fuel pressure gauge on my fuel rail was at 20 pounds.
Normally when I turn the key, its at 30 pounds. As the fuel pressure
dropped all the way down to zero, I tried top crank it one more time. The
first thing I noticed was that I didn't hear the fuel pump. The second
thing was it wouldn't crank (duh!). And third, I had absolutely no fuel
pressure at all. (and yes, there is gas in tank. about 18 gallons) Okay,
maybe a bad relay. I swapped relays on it and same result. I checked the
fuel safety cut off reset switch, and it was fine. So that leaves 1) a
very, very bad clogged fuel filter, or 2) failed fuel pump.

How much money do fuel pumps run?

Robert Fox
fox ford ranger. com
www.ford ranger. com


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Date: Fri, 04 Dec 1998 22:58:42 -0500
From: Tim Turner
Subject: Re: FTE Small - Well, 99,013 miles and... (use to be "die in 1st and 2nd gear")

Robert Fox wrote:
>
> ...my truck is towed for the first time, EVER! And it was pulled by a
> (sobbing) Chebby.

You or the GM doing the sobbing? ;-) If the GM has heard about
Sleddog's truck I can understand why it was sobbing!

> maybe a bad relay. I swapped relays on it and same result. I checked the
> fuel safety cut off reset switch, and it was fine. So that leaves 1) a
> very, very bad clogged fuel filter, or 2) failed fuel pump.

Or 3) the computer itself.

The computer is what supplies the ground to the FP relay to turn it on;
it should send a signal to the relay for 2 seconds after key-on than
stop if it doesnt see the engine cranking or running. Take a test light
and go to the hot wire for the pump; see if it lights at key on
momentarily. If so then yes, drop the tank and change the pump.
(assuming it still wont crank at that point in time), if not then you
need to backtrack and find out why the pump isnt getting any juice
first.

Given the background about the 'engine' light flickering without a code
I wouldnt be surprised if the computer had gone awry but I hope I'm
wrong. (Strange.. 2 people I've responded to today with probable
computers bad and I really dont see but about 2 bad Ford computers per
year..
'shops' is higher but that's a topic for a whole different
list/day/place..>)

One other (remote) possibility would be the fuel pressure regulator on
the fuel rail being totally bad and letting all the fuel flow freely
back to the tank.

> How much money do fuel pumps run?

Assuming you buy it yourself $50-90 on the aftermarket. AVOID CHEAP
PUMPS!!! I've seen multiple failures from (brand-x cheapie) and it's
not something you really want to do again even if the part IS under
warranty. Change the fuel filter as well; often the scenario is as
follows:

1) Filter gets restricted, drivability goes to pot.. filter gets
changed.. runs great UNTIL..

2) Pump dies from having had to deliver 50-60 PSI to overcome the drop
across the filter and still maintain the 30 or so needed by the
injectors. (Hey.. work me double-time too long and I'm gonna quit too!)
:-)


One problem with a pump capable of 60-80 PSI.. it'll work until that
filter wouldnt pass a gnat's butthole before you REALLY know there's a
problem. (All you EFI owners take heed and change the filter once in a
while!) One small tip for the pick-up owners out there.. sometimes it's
easier to loosen and move the BED rather than drop the tank for fuel
pump/sending unit repairs. (Good excuse for installing a body lift at
the same time for those that like off-roading.)

Hope this helps you and others!

Tim Turner/Manic Mechanic
Custer Auto Repair
Wilmington NC
manic1 bellsouth.net

>
> Robert Fox
> fox ford ranger. com
> www.ford ranger. com
>
> == FTE: Uns*bscribe and posting info http://www.ford-trucks.com/faq.html
== FTE: Uns*bscribe and posting info http://www.ford-trucks.com/faq.html

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End of small-list-digest V2 #337
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