My 95 Ranger starts and runs great. I do a lot of stop and goes, shutting the engine off then cranking it. As the day goes on, it will start, barely run, then stop. If I wait about 10 minutes, it starts right up and runs smoothly until I shut it off again. Then it wont start again. Its driving me nuts! Ideas?

 

Does your check engine light come on when it happens! I have a 98 ranger and I drove it 20 miles one day and when I shut it off. I came back out to go to town and it started up and died after about 30 seconds or so and it kept doing it and it turned out to be the mass air flow sensor! It might also be the oxygen sensor that controls air and fuel mixture!

 

Welcome to FTE!

Almost sounds like a bad fuel pressure regulator...

 

i dont think it would be the O2 sensor
correct me if im wrong but i dont believe the computer uses the O2 sensor untill the engine warms up and goes into a closed loop

-i mean the computer doesnt use the O2 sensor when starting only kicks in when the engine reaches normal operating temperature

 

Sounds like the old vapor lock, but I think a more likely culprit could be the crankshaft position sensor (CKP). Could be that it is failing intermittently as it degenerates. --If the CKP fails, it won't start.