PawPaw: i´m home and made a few more checks, may be good info to finding the problem.

First I got 12.6 volts in thwe battery when vehicle is off. When I start it I get 14.5 to 14.6 volts. That sounds good.

Then I went ahead and tried my timing light on all plug wires. On the left side the intake side I had spark on all cylinders. Then I went to the right side, exhaust side and I only have spark on the 2 and 3 plug wires. the 1 and 4 have no spark. and if I recall correct they are fired at the same time and from the same coil side. and the secondary side ( exhaust side) is the side I replaced the coil on . so with the new coil and old coil it is the same.

Hope that puts a new light on the problem.

And thanks for the thoughts of my service time. Served 22 years in the ARMY-

 

After you replaced the exhaust side coil pack, did you also replace the plug wires, or did you reuse the old plug wires???
Whatever was used, have you checked their end to end continuity/resistance??? They should measure something like 2K ohms/inch of length, 30K ohms max, no matter the length.

Yes we have a waste spark ignition system, in which two plugs share the secondary high voltage winding.
When one plug is being fired on its power stroke, it's companion plug in another cylinder is being fired on its exhaust stroke/ie waste spark. Half of the plugs get a reverse polarity spark, that goes from the ground side wire to the center electrode, the other half get a normal polarity spark, that emits from the center electrode to the side wire.

These waste spark ignition systems work their components Twice as hard as the old standard one coil ignition systems, as the waste spark system fires its plugs on Every rotation of the crank shaft, so our coil packs, plug wires & spark plugs are fired twice as often & thus need to be designed to hold up to this double work load.
So the specified Motorcraft plugs & wires are recommended, as they're of good quality, designed for the double work load & the plugs are designed for the proper heat range of our engines.

The new specified fine wire center electrode plugs, with platinum pad side wire design are highly recommended, as the fine wire center electrode are easier to fire, its iridium enhanced fine wire construction spark gap erodes much slower, so the spark gap stays in spec longer, if we initially set it to the Min side of spec.
I'm running these plugs in All of my family fleet & enjoy quicker year round starts.

So check those two cyl plug wires end to end continuity & let us know what you find.

Good feedback on the battery/alternator check. Sounds like they're doing their thing, so we can take them off the suspect list.

 

I will check the wires later. But I did put new wires and plugs in the ranger. Motorcraft Plainum fine wire plugs I installed and checked the gap to ,44.
Plugs and wires were given to me from the previous owner. He said he couldn´t change the plugs ( get them out) or wires. I look at the brand name of the wires but know the box says it for the ranger and mazda. Came with 8 wires in the set.

 

Ok, new plug wires, so they're likely ok, but I'd check them because of Murphys Law is still alive & well, don't ask how I know this!!!! lol

Anyway if the plug wire continuity checks out, I suppose its time to move the ICM, or coil pack ground switching drivers for those two coils, high up on the suspect list.

 

OK, checked wires
right side #1 was 19.67 k ohms
right side #4 was 10.43 k ohms
are the readings ok?

all the old wires i checked too. all were between 3.5 and 10 .0 k ohms

The plugs i installed were
motorcraft sp-432
agsf32fm
fine wire platinum

plug wires were from
B&B
says dual plug
for ranger 94-
140 2.3 l

I can send you pics of the plugs i pulled out of the 1 and 4 right side. they didn´t looked ok and not fouled up.

 

what is the
? coil pack ground switching drivers ?

is that some kind of ground or a sensor?

 

right side #1




right side #4

 

The computer ground switches the coil packs through solid state switches/drivers, to make spark. So if they're not functional, plugs won't fire.

If other plugs in the coil pack are working, then the crank sensor must be working, so even though it hasn't been tested, after thinking about your timing light tests, it's probably ok.

So, as surmised above, that sorta leaves you looking at the ICM & coil pack ground switching drivers.
On this forum, ICM's have a higher failure rate than computers, so belong higher up on your suspect list.
All that said & without a handy bench test source for the ICM, it would seem the only other option right now would be to find a substitute like ICM from a friends vehicle, or salvage yard to try & see if it'll clear the problem/s.
Gotta admit though, the above thoughts don't answer why at 1500 rpm the CEL goes out/the computer thinks the problem has cleared!!!!
EDIT: When you were checking with your timing light, would those plugs fire if you raised the rpm to 1500 & the CEL turned off???

 

Those plugs don't look to have been in service very long & the deposits look normal but they aren't the specified fine wire or double platinum plugs. They look to be plain copper core nickel electrode plugs????

 

You can read here that your not the only one to have this code on a 94 2.3L. https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...-224-help.html

 

OK PawPaw. I checked the spark at high rpm´s with the CEL still off. It doesn`t spark. I rechecked the 2-3 plugs and they spark fine.
We dont have a junk yard and I don´t know anyone who has a 2.3l eng here where O could swap the ICM and see if she works. So I guess I shop for one at RockAuto. But what one ? they run from 70 to 170...
I will try to get a test light and see if ißm getting power to the one cable on the coil pack. if no power it is the ICM.
Bad being over here where I can´t run over to the parts store and pickup a part..

The plugs I pulled out were not the right ones, I put the ones In I mentioned in a thread a few msg back. They are the right ones i put in.
The plugs i installed were
motorcraft sp-432
agsf32fm
fine wire platinum

 

On the spark plugs, we can run any design we like as long as they're the correct heat range, it's just the old copper core nickel electrode, or single platinum, or double platinum plugs spark gap wont stay in spec as long because they can't take the heat, so spark gap erodes faster on them. It also takes more energy from the coil to fire them, so you'll likely notice quicker starts like I have with the iridium enhanced fine wire plugs that can take the heat, fire easier at lower voltage & produce a hotter spark kernel, which gets us going quicker, especially in winter when battery voltage is at its lowest.
So you did good imo opting for the fine wire plugs. Will be interesting to hear if you notice any difference with them after getting things squared away.

Anyway back to the ICM. Another thought crossed my mind after reviewing the above P0224 link I posted & that is, since this problem sorta smacks of a temperature problem, in that it takes the computer a while to think it detects a problem before turning the CEL on & seeing as how we think it might be the ICM & that puppy is known to be heat sensitive & needs a good heat sink compound to help it stay cool, maybe remove & tidy up its heat sink area & apply a fresh coating of a good quality heat sink compound like GE, DowCorning, Permatex/Loctite product & see if it'll make any difference.
If you don't have any, look in a computer store, or repair shop, they usually stock it. Or order it from the place you get the ICM from if you decide to replace it.

If no joy reworking the heat sink compound & you come to the conclusion its ICM replacement time, consider using online discount codes from the place you want to order from, maybe even from a USA auto parts store like Advance Auto. Go to online discount/promo code sites like Advance Auto Parts Coupons: 30% Off Promo Code & look up the store you want to buy from & see if they offer any discount codes. I can usually save 30-50% if I catch things right. Motorcraft or BWD parts are recommended as they've been reported as being reliable by forum members.
Keep us posted on how it goes.

 

Morning PawPaw
I just ordered an ICM for my ranger. With shipping to my military mail box a whopping 170 bucks. I went the more expensive one, from MotorKraft . will take a week or say better two weeks to get here. Is their anything special i need to watch out for when I put the new one on ? I will make sure where it mounts it clean. So lets hope this solves the problem.

 

Take your time removing the ICM mounting fasteners, so as not to break them off if they're bound up from corrosion. If they are, bound up, make some rust buster by mixing 50/50 tranny fluid & acetone (wifes nail polish remover) & let it soak in after running the engine to warm things up.

Also come by & use a good quality heat sink compound as mentioned, on its mounting surface, to help keep it cool & happy.

In the meantime while waiting for the new ICM delivery, you might consider loosening/removing the fasteners on the old ICM & removing it, cleaning & reapplying a fresh layer of heat sink compound to it & see if it'll make any difference in what's taking place with spark going missing on those two cylinders. That could give you a clue on if heat is causing the old ICM to act out & what to expect in replacing the new ICM & if it'll make any difference in spark generation on those two cylinders.

I just looked up the Advance Auto/Carquest price for the BWD ICM & it's $149.99, but with a RetailMeNot 30% TRT30 online discount code, it could have been had for about $105. BWD is BorgWarnerDivision, they make OEM parts for the big three, so their parts have been graded as reliable by forum members that have used them, in case you want & have time to change your mind on the order.

We'll keep our fingers & toes crossed that the ICM will fix the problem.
I'd probably have tried a couple more things, like the ICM heat sink replacement test on the old ICM & if no joy, maybe a computer ground switching driver continuity test with the LED tester, before tossing the $170 chunk of my gold at the problem for a Motorcraft replacement ICM but it was your call, will be interesting to hear how it goes.

 

What a saga. Long-distance, no less. I think I would have tried swapping the coils, as if 2 plugs are firing, and 2 are not, either the coil or the signal is failing.
The coil that runs the plugs on the intake manifold side of the engine are not used all the time, while the exhaust manifold side are used 100%.
I have read to make sure the coils are installed using all fasteners, as they have more than one ground point, and won't fire if one ground is missing.
The code you have indicates failure of the primary side of the ignition. That is the power or signal sent to the coil(s) to make them fire. If a coil was bad(i.e. not firing) I wonder if it could be pulling too much amperage or not enough?
The delay in lighting the warning lamp, and its resetting after key off, lead me to wonder about the system going into closed loop, and trying to use the intake set of plugs after a bit of warm-up. I d not know the specific conditions for the second set to be called into action, but it sort of makes sense.
If you are truly not seeing spark on #1 & #4 plugs on the exhaust side, the engine should be running poorly. A timing light that senses the HV to the plug when clamped onto a plug wire would make monitoring plug action possible. Even an old in-line neon timing light will show plugs firing, or not.
tom