Need help with an OBD II CODE
Post Fiend
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 9,748
Likes: 16
From: Connecticut
Welcome to FTE! Your truck must be a 3.0L FFV.
P0176 = Flexible Fuel (FF) Sensor Circuit Malfunction
Possible causes:
l Open or short in FF sensor VPWR circuit
l Open in battery ground to FF sensor circuit
l Open in FF sensor signal circuit
l Short to ground in FF sensor signal circuit
l Fuel contamination
l Short to VPWR in FF sensor battery ground circuit
l Short to VPWR in FF sensor signal circuit
l Fuel separation
l Damaged FF sensor
l Damaged PCM
See also,
https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/s...threadid=29546
P0176 = Flexible Fuel (FF) Sensor Circuit Malfunction
Possible causes:
l Open or short in FF sensor VPWR circuit
l Open in battery ground to FF sensor circuit
l Open in FF sensor signal circuit
l Short to ground in FF sensor signal circuit
l Fuel contamination
l Short to VPWR in FF sensor battery ground circuit
l Short to VPWR in FF sensor signal circuit
l Fuel separation
l Damaged FF sensor
l Damaged PCM
See also,
https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/s...threadid=29546
Post Fiend
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 9,748
Likes: 16
From: Connecticut
Originally Posted by Ranger8539
Guess piece of black tape over Check Engine Light... What happens if I just unplug it.?
I'm just hypothesizing here, though, so don't go relying on what I'm saying without reading or hearing more on the subject.
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Post Fiend
Joined: Dec 2001
Posts: 10,562
Likes: 4
From: South Jersey
A DTC is set when the signal falls outside the minimum or maximum range so the PCM is expecting a signal, no signal = CEL and a fault mode.
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New User
Joined: Jun 2004
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Same Problem
DO NOT unplug that sensor. I had the same exact problem with my truck and unplugging the sensor causes the truck to stall at random.
I found this out a couple weeks ago when my 1999 Ranger XLT decided to stalled on me (and about every mile or so thereafter). When I diagnosed it, the code P0176 came up so I decided to do some investigating. It turns out that the flex fuel sensor is mounted directly underneath your driver's seat in the left frame rail. This sensor connects to a wire harness that mounts to the frame rail on a plastic bracket. Somehow something must have kicked up and hit mine because the bracket was broken causing the connector for the flex fuel sensor to become disconnected. Long story short, I plugged it back in and the truck ran fine for a week. 3 days ago though, the MIL light came back on...flex fuel sensor malfunction. I figure that the intermittent connection of the loose cable caused the sensor to fail after all. This is normal for any electronic device, try unplugging and plugging in a computer very rapidly for about a minute and you will see what I mean. Now that the faulty sensor is actually plugged in my truck runs fine BUT the MIL light is driving me nuts. I am working on a way to replace this sensor without paying the $454.00 list (that's rediculous). A simple microcontroller should do the trick for MUCH cheaper if I generate a fixed frequency. A friend of mine provided me with the proper frequency table so the plan is to fix it at a good one and go about my business. Hope this helps...good luck.
I found this out a couple weeks ago when my 1999 Ranger XLT decided to stalled on me (and about every mile or so thereafter). When I diagnosed it, the code P0176 came up so I decided to do some investigating. It turns out that the flex fuel sensor is mounted directly underneath your driver's seat in the left frame rail. This sensor connects to a wire harness that mounts to the frame rail on a plastic bracket. Somehow something must have kicked up and hit mine because the bracket was broken causing the connector for the flex fuel sensor to become disconnected. Long story short, I plugged it back in and the truck ran fine for a week. 3 days ago though, the MIL light came back on...flex fuel sensor malfunction. I figure that the intermittent connection of the loose cable caused the sensor to fail after all. This is normal for any electronic device, try unplugging and plugging in a computer very rapidly for about a minute and you will see what I mean. Now that the faulty sensor is actually plugged in my truck runs fine BUT the MIL light is driving me nuts. I am working on a way to replace this sensor without paying the $454.00 list (that's rediculous). A simple microcontroller should do the trick for MUCH cheaper if I generate a fixed frequency. A friend of mine provided me with the proper frequency table so the plan is to fix it at a good one and go about my business. Hope this helps...good luck.
Post Fiend
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 9,748
Likes: 16
From: Connecticut
Originally Posted by BiG_AnT
DO NOT unplug that sensor. I had the same exact problem with my truck and unplugging the sensor causes the truck to stall at random.
I found this out a couple weeks ago when my 1999 Ranger XLT decided to stalled on me (and about every mile or so thereafter). When I diagnosed it, the code P0176 came up so I decided to do some investigating. It turns out that the flex fuel sensor is mounted directly underneath your driver's seat in the left frame rail. This sensor connects to a wire harness that mounts to the frame rail on a plastic bracket. Somehow something must have kicked up and hit mine because the bracket was broken causing the connector for the flex fuel sensor to become disconnected. Long story short, I plugged it back in and the truck ran fine for a week. 3 days ago though, the MIL light came back on...flex fuel sensor malfunction. I figure that the intermittent connection of the loose cable caused the sensor to fail after all. This is normal for any electronic device, try unplugging and plugging in a computer very rapidly for about a minute and you will see what I mean. Now that the faulty sensor is actually plugged in my truck runs fine BUT the MIL light is driving me nuts. I am working on a way to replace this sensor without paying the $454.00 list (that's rediculous). A simple microcontroller should do the trick for MUCH cheaper if I generate a fixed frequency. A friend of mine provided me with the proper frequency table so the plan is to fix it at a good one and go about my business. Hope this helps...good luck.
I found this out a couple weeks ago when my 1999 Ranger XLT decided to stalled on me (and about every mile or so thereafter). When I diagnosed it, the code P0176 came up so I decided to do some investigating. It turns out that the flex fuel sensor is mounted directly underneath your driver's seat in the left frame rail. This sensor connects to a wire harness that mounts to the frame rail on a plastic bracket. Somehow something must have kicked up and hit mine because the bracket was broken causing the connector for the flex fuel sensor to become disconnected. Long story short, I plugged it back in and the truck ran fine for a week. 3 days ago though, the MIL light came back on...flex fuel sensor malfunction. I figure that the intermittent connection of the loose cable caused the sensor to fail after all. This is normal for any electronic device, try unplugging and plugging in a computer very rapidly for about a minute and you will see what I mean. Now that the faulty sensor is actually plugged in my truck runs fine BUT the MIL light is driving me nuts. I am working on a way to replace this sensor without paying the $454.00 list (that's rediculous). A simple microcontroller should do the trick for MUCH cheaper if I generate a fixed frequency. A friend of mine provided me with the proper frequency table so the plan is to fix it at a good one and go about my business. Hope this helps...good luck.
Let us know how the microcontroller mod works out.
New User
Joined: Nov 2010
Posts: 2
Likes: 0
2000 ranger
i have a 2000 ranger 4x4 3.0 automatic it started showin the code po176. i crawwed under the truck and on the driverside under the seat is a 14 prong connector. i unplugged it and it was full of water, i cleaned and dried it put it back together and sealed around the connecter with silicone so it wouldnt get wet again and it fixed my problem, try this it may work all u need is a 10 mm socket to get the connector apart. good luck!!