Hi Everyone,

I'm having a rough go with my little 1990 Ranger Custom. Let me get into the signs and symptoms I'm finding, but first I'll give you a basic Idea of my issues. The Truck is having starting and dying issues. It has plenty of Gas. It is completely erratic when it dies. I'll be driving along and suddenly, as if turning the key off, it dies. No sputtering of the motor, no clicking or clacking or growling anywhere. Just a clean sounding turn off. The odd thing is, I'll leave it for a few hours, and the problem disappears. I can drive it for one to 30 minutes and then it can die again. Now it's sitting in my driveway I am rough on the truck, because its a work truck that I use to drive down to my job site. So, farm pasture, fields, woodland paths and tractor access roads. I checked to see if the pump plug was unplugged. But it's very plugged in. The entire fuel system is just less than a year old, and im very good friends with the old owner and he can't figure it out either. Could I be having ignition problems? There is a ticking in the engine compartment that isn't very noticeable, only noticeable when the hood is up and motor running, but that has always been there since I've had it. I heard that sometimes the safety switch on the firewall turns off the fuel system in case of accident. Could that have gotten agitated? I've been having this issue for a little while, after I drove it in the rain for an hour and half. It was pouring rain. I ran out of gas the day after (because my fuel gauge doesn't work) and I used a Jerry can filled with gas to get it to the gas station. I didn't sift the gas, but I don't see it having debris either. Could I have water in the system? I put injector cleaner in my tank and more gas to try and dilute the system but, that doesn't seem to have worked. Does any one have any insight to this issue? It would be very helpful, I kind of need my truck!

Cheers and thanks,

Zak

 

Tell us the engine size and somebody will try to help you with what to check next.

 

2.9 EFI 6 Cylinder, 5 speed manual transmission. 1990, single cab for ranger custom.

 

Do you have a CEL lit???? If so scan it for trouble codes & post All code Numbers.

If no CEL lit, or pending codes stored, have you determined whats going missing, it'll likely be fuel or spark. If the dash lights don't work, look to battery, battery cable, or battery to engine & or body ground problems, or maybe B+ to alternator, to under hood power distribution box problems, or maybe the computer power relay is acting out.
So, next time it acts out, check for fuel pressure & test for spark with your timing light to see whats going missing. Some preliminary trouble shooting thoughts for cosideration, let us know what you find & maybe we can think of ways to narrow down your trouble shoot some more.

 

My CEL lights up only when it decides to die. Other than that, it never stays on. I found that when I cycle my ignition a few times, as if to prime the tank, it fires off right away. If I hold the pedal for a while, it stays living mostly, with sometimes a small cut in throttle, but it continues right along. If I let it idle, it dies a whole bunch more frequently than when i give it throttle. My lights all work properly and I can hear the fuel pump engage when I switch it to the on position. But only for like two seconds. Should it be running full time? Could I have injector issues? I'll be working on it throughout the day. I'll try to update my findings as I go.

 

Maybe fuel filter?

 

What Pawpaw said. Obviously, you have to attack this when it's acting up. Since you're cutting out suddenly, it sounds to me like an electrical problem. Suspect a bad or corroded connection. Since cycling the key brings it back to life, maybe the ignition switch is defective.

The fuel pump will not normally continue running if the engine is not running.

 

Well it sounds like you may have more than one problem. If it won't idle unless you give it some throttle, look to an acting out IAC, as its responsible for maintaining idle speed as engine load changes.
Maybe remove it & positioning the little black plastic cap up, clean the IAC inside with a plastic safe spray cleaner, like CRC MAF or QD spray cleaner & see if it'll make a difference in the idle speed problem.

On it suddenly randomly dying, if the dash & warning lights are still lit, it isn't likely a battery or computer power feed problem, maybe the fuel pump, or spark going missing, or the computer is acting out.

Went through a similar sounding problem with my 94 Taurus last year, it turned out to be the computer. The engine would randomly suddenly die, but it would crank & start right back up & run like nothing had happened. I finally caught spark going missing when it stalled on the way to get it inspected & thats when I became certain it was the computer. SO, rig up your inductive timing light to monitor spark from the cab while your driving, a volt meter monitoring fuel pump voltage & or a fuel pressure gauge, so you can see it & monitor pressure from the cab & drive it until it stalls & see whats going missing. Let us know what you find.

 

Check the fuel pressure. It should hit 39-40PSI with one key-on-engine-off cycle and should be mid 30s while idling.

Other then that I'd suspect maybe a faulty TFI module, bad eec/fuel pump relay, or a failing computer.

 

Here's my take on this - it's probably off-track, but I'll give it a shot anyway...

I've seen this on older vehicles where an electronic part (usually the ignition module) would overheat and momentarily fail causing the engine to shut off like you described - once the module cooled down, the car could be started again. Chrysler had this issue with some of their modules in the 70's and 80's - When I bypassed the "Lean-Burn" system on an '89 Gran Fury I used to own, I installed a Mopar Performance "silver box" module and had to mount it in such a way as to make sure air flowed above and below the module to keep it cooled down.

Maybe you have a coil pack or something overheating causing your issue - I would think, though, that the CEL would stay lit in this case...

This is another reason why I'm thinking it's an ignition component - either a bad/arcing coil or coil pack. Have you checked the plug wires to see if their arcing against something?

I'm just brainstorming here...

 

I have a 1995 ford ranger 4x4 3.0 liter v6 automatic transmission. It just dies while driving. Sometimes it comes right back on, until recently it dies and I put it in neutral and it starts right back up. Other times it takes a few minutes. No cel on, no pending codes. Have changed the fuel pump relay, coil pack, plugs, wires, crankshaft position sensor, speed sensor to no avail!!! Please help!!!

 

Welcome to FTE.

Have you checked the battery cable post connections & battery to engine & body ground connections to make sure they're clean bright & tight????

If so, then look to a problem with things like the TRS, computer power relay, ignition switch & All of the things listed above in this thread & let us know how your trouble shoot goes.

 

All connections are bright and tight. Changed fuel pump yesterday just to make sure it wasn't a fuel pump problem. It died on me this morning. I'm at a loss, dont know what else to do!!

 

Good grief, please stop throwing parts at your problem & take the time to properly trouble shoot the problem, get a positive test result, Then replace the problem part.

So, when it stops running, whats going missing, spark or fuel???? Do all of the dash warning lights light up when it stalls????

 

Well I just got it out of the shop Saturday and was supposed to be fixed. But unfortunately wasn't. It died a minute ago dash lights all came on, couldn't hear the fuel pump coming on, and when I did hear it, it started up.