hi all,
i recently picked up a 93 ranger sport 4x4 with 2.3L engine and 5spd..

has run fine for the first 2 weeks of ownership but yesterday morning
started cutting out on the highway.

when i say cutting it is like all loss of power for a brief instant and then it right back without even losing any speed, I could watch tach drop from 2500 to 2k and then right back to 2500 again..

did it sporadically all the way home about 10 miles sometimes once in a mile other times 6-7 times in a mile

truck has 126k on it, and within last 26k miles PO replaced timing belt, coil packs, plugs, wires, ICM, and just before i picked it up from him a new EGR and fuel filter.

no check engine light

fast forward to this AM

wouldn't start at all, i can hear fuel pump spinning and she cranks and cranks but no start up.... played with multiple things including the ICM but found 2 of 3 heads rounded off so i cant remove it until i can get it in to my garage and dremel those suckers off..

went and bought a replacement ICM figured i could plug it in run a ground from the bottom left hand bolt hole so i could get it fired up and in to my garage.. plugged the new one in grounded it and it still wouldn't start

so i decided to replug the original ICM back in and grab my spark plug tester, remove number 3 plug wire on passengers side insert the tester and have my wife crank it over and wonder of wonder it fires up..

shut it down remove the tester and have her start it up again and it fires right back up so i let it warm up for 15 minutes.. grab my autoxray.. shut it down hook up the scan tool and run the KOEO scan.. gives me a passed 111 code... OK lets start it back up and run the KOER test.. wont start back up.. reinstall the spark plug tester to #3 wire and NOW it has no spark..

i am now at my wits end and any help you you guys can offer is appreciated as i just cant afford to throw parts at it especially this close to Christmas
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After the no spark condition showed up, did you try the spare ICM?

 

no because it wouldn't start with that one plugged in the first time also

so long as it is grounded at that bottom left hand mounting hole it doesnt have to actually be mounted to start the vehicle , correct?

by the way the replacment is a brand new unit from advance auto

 

I don't know which mounting hole has the ground, as I've never messed with one of these. My 95 has the ICM function inside the ECU (OBD-II).

There's only so many things that can cause a no spark condition. ICM, coil(s), crank sensor, and possibly a couple items I've forgotten to list.

 

figured i would follow up just in case anyone else runs in to this same situation

found after much searching on the web that the primary coil pack is the one on the passengers side spark plugs and the other coil pack only kicks in once the truck is actually running..

since the new ICM when swapped and grounded still didn't start the truck i figured i would go grab a coil pack from the junk yard because as i found also that it is common for them to go and work intermittently such as mine was doing..

i was able to grab 3 for $25 2 genuine motorcraft and one aftermarket which looked like it had just been replaced before the car hit the u-pull it

i removed the coil and while cleaning up the bottom of the new one my fried spotted this




makes sense since all of my problems started in extremely damp weather. long story short, the truck fired right up... for any that stumbles upon this thread.. before beating your head against the wall try swapping your coil packs from front to rear and see if your truck will start.. if so then you know you have a bad coil pack. if not then move on to the ICM..

 

Didn't see that one coming, since the coil packs were supposed to be fairly recent replacements. Of course, they may not have OEM quality, or installed incorrectly.
Glad you posted a followup with pics. Hopefully, this will keep it sorted for quite a while.

 

problem came back, looks like it was the fuel pump all along
even though i could hear it spinning away evidently it was weak
and would not hold pressure.

new pump installed yesterday and what looked to be the factory pump
that came out.. multiple starts today and it so far is good to go..