My 93 ranger 2.3 has been down for a few weeks and really has been giving me a hard time..I have ano start condition.i confirmed the ICM was bad and I believe the crank sensor was bad as well.I replaced both.since I have the front of the engine tore down I also changed the timing belt.The truck still will not start, it wants to run, it almost fires but doesn’t. I have confirmed it is getting fire to the plugs a friend who was helping me said it was more of an orange spark,I believe it should be a more white/blue spark,it’s getting fuel as well.i have checked the ground coming from the battery.I have looked at the pickup on the harmonic it appears to be alright .really I have checked everything I can think of,grasping at straws now.Any ideas? The last time the truck ran it ran good, parked it in the driveway one evening, has Not run since.

 

You've been busy turning your own wrenches on this puppy. With the vintage & unknown miles & past maintenance history, lots of possibilities. So lets reconstruct the timeline info you've posted & think about this some more.

It ran "good" until shut down in the driveway one evening. So the last happening before it wouldn't start & run, was a Hot under hood Heat Soak, with a slow overnight cool down in MS, in July/August..

After that no start / no run event, you've determined the spark is wimpy, the ECM was bad & replaced it, the crank sensor was bad & replaced it & have changed the timing belt while the engine cover was off for some reason, so was it because the water pump was leaking, or was the timing belt due, or past due for replacement, or had it jumped timing???

If the computer & crank sensor were bad & it had wimpy spark & the timing belt needed replacement, or it had jumped timing, I'm not clear on how it could have been running "good" ???? Seems like a good bit of the failure & trouble shooting timeline & or findings is missing, out of place, or muddled up???

SO, in thinking about the failure mode/s some more, it might be helpful to know How & when it was determined the timing belt needed replacement, the computer & crank sensor were bad & how the spark was checked when it looked to be a wimpy orange, instead of a nice hot blue color you've correctly surmised it should be.

Have you scanned the ECM for trouble code clues, before & or after the trouble shoot / repair scenario began & if so, post All code Numbers & when in the timeline they were retrieved, as they can help focus a trouble shoot.

On the wimpy spark, have you used a timing light to make sure spark timing is right & that when replacing the timing belt that #1 piston was @ TDC & the belt & cam timing marks were properly aligned, so you now know Valve timing is right. If so, how does compression on All cylinders now measure up ???

On the wimpy spark, this era coil packs were known to crack underneath & arc unseen to ground, so you might consider trying a coil pack swap to see if spark color will improve. Most auto parts stores can bench check the coil pack for output at no cost.
Or, you could raise the coil pack used to start the engine & while your helper cranks the engine, you could consider performing a "wet down" test on the coil pack by spritzing it with a spray bottle of water, at night, while looking for a arcs & sparks light show. Spritz the plug wires & other coil pack with it installed in the start position too while your at it.

Some beginning thoughts for consideration. Help the forum determine When & How the failures were found, as that can help us better think through where you likely are in the trouble shoot & where best to look next, as you might have more than One problem mucking up the trouble shoot.

 

You might find these links helpful in trouble shooting your OBD-1, 93 2.3L systems. https://easyautodiagnostics.com/ford...-of-articles-1 & here Fuel Injection Technical Library » Tech Home & here https://troubleshootmyvehicle.com/fo...-of-articles-2

 

At my wits end . I have been all over easy auto diagnostics.cannot find the solution. I checked power to the ICM and CPS. all good, checked the shared ground wire. All was grounded, checked by multimeter. The output signals from the CPS to the ICM are at 9v while turning the engine by hand.i have a weak orange spark on the exhaust side and no spark on the intake side.both coils are new.what am I missing?

 

Ok, lets think about this some more. Your at your wits end over which problem ???

If its the wimpy spark, have you performed the tests suggested in post #2, or checked their primary & secondary resistance to see if they're in spec, or had them bench tested for output? Just because they're new doesn't automatically make em good, I've seen bad new parts right out of the box, so make these new parts prove themselves. Are these aftermarket or OEM coil packs?

If the new coil packs bench test & their primary & secondary resistances check out, make sure your battery is fully charged & use a smart charger to do that & monitor B+ voltage going into the coil pack primary as you crank the engine, so you know it isn't seeing a under load voltage drop going into the coil packs & causing a wimpy spark.

Remember only One coil pack is activated when starting the engine.

Again, why was the timing belt replaced?
.

 

Back working on this truck again .paw paw the timing belt was changed when I took off the front cover to access the CPS, I noticed the belt was cracked and worn all around , it was a may pop waiting to happen. Belt replacement went as follows. Crankshaft was turned to TDC of the compression stroke,confirmed compression by shoving a rag in the #1 intake spark plug hole. Made sure the mark on the crank was inline with the notch in the housing.Turned the cam till the diamond lined up with the two lines on the rear cover(my truck doesn’t have timing diamonds on the rear cover as some other years do) for S&G I lined the oil pump diamond with centerline of cam. Spins over as it should. Does not spin over freely or retarded. As I am writing this it just came to me that maybe it needs to be timed off the #1 exhaust and not the intake?
I am testing the coils at present time, I have found that when I take my meter and go from B+ to ground on the white and blue wire on the exhaust coil I get no 12v signal while cranking. Which I believe should happen? The exhaust coil is the one that starts the truck so I’ve not even looked at the intake coil .also if I am correct the 3 wire connector to the coil has a center B+wire and the two outer wires are signaling wires from the ICM?

 

The coil pack primary resistance isn't specified that I can find but it generally is around 1/2 = one half ohm or less. If its over 1 ohm there is something wrong. The secondary windings, measured between the spark towers on the paired windings is to be between 12K-15K = 12,000 - 15,000 ohms & both coil pack secondary winding resistance numbers should closely match.

Refer to the above links for the wiring pictorials pin outs of the electrical connectors & wiring color code.

The computer tells the ICM when to ground switch which coil pack primary winding so to have its electro-magnetic field induce a high voltage pulse in the secondary windings, that cause a good blue-hot spark across the spark plug gap. Any poor under load B+ voltage drop to the ignition system components, or engine, or ignition system to battery grounds, can cause a wimpy spark, as can internal coil pack electrical leakage, or spark plug wires with faulty insulation, so a number of places to put on the suspect list with a wimpy looking spark on this vintage vehicle.

Keep inspecting & testing for the culprit & it'll soon likely show itself.

 

Still fooling with this truck. Back checking wiring to the ICM.I ran across a blue/ yellow wire (DSI) that while hand turning the engine it produces only .5 volts.Not sure about this would this cause a no run situation or is this wire only used when the truck is running?

 

I'm not clear on what (DSI) refers to. Did you search your ignition system ICM color code to determine what the blue / yellow wire goes too???
Takes air, fuel, spark to make em run, along with proper ignition & valve timing & compression to make em run well, so whats going missing on the crank but no start ???