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I have a '94 4.0 Ranger. I was told that the '94 & '95 year Rangers were nearly impossible to find an "affordable" code reader for and my only option is to get it to a service center at the tune of about $100+ to diagnose my issue with extremely rich condition once warmed up. Check engine light comes on & the engine dies. Turn key off, wait a few seconds and fires up and repeats the issue. My question: Is there an affordable reader for someone like me who may only use it 2 or 3 times in my life? At 60 yrs of age I don't need to start investing in high dollar tools I"ll never see pay for themselves. Thanks in advance for any input y'all may have.
That engine uses the EEC-IV computer, which doesn't require anything special to run self-tests. Here's a video that shows you how to run a test with just a paper clip:
He's demonstrating a Key-On, Engine-Running test. But you should first run the Key-On, Engine-Off test, which is activated the same way, but you just turn the key to the ON position without starting the engine. It will check basic sensor functions and display stored codes, and flash the out on the Check Engine light. You count the flashes to get the codes, and look them up on an EEC error codes table, which helps you get started on the diagnostics.