I purchased a used '97 Ranger manual a few months ago. The engine light came on about a week after I bought it, and I took it to the dealership, they said I needed a new computer. They replaced the computer and my truck is running very sluggishly, barely has any power and the exhaust was making loud noises. I took it back and they had to replace the catyllitic(sp) converter and the rest of the exhaust system. They replaced that, and i still have the same problems. We found a hole in the exhaust so they are replacing it again for about hte 3rd time. I decided to have a mechanic friend run a computer on my truck. Two error codes came up P1124 - TP Sens out of self test range, and P1101 - MAF sens out of self test range. I believe this is the problem to my truck being very sluggish, and it gets very jumpy around 65mph and has a hard time keeping speed. I told the dealership about it, and they said since hte engine light didn't come on then there isn't a problem, so they won't do anything. I believe i never needed a new computer in the first place. Could someone tell me about these error codes and what needs to be done? Thanks

 

...Welcome to Ford Truck Enthusiasts! Please read the Guidelines, it will help you to navigate through and understand this site.
Stick around someone will be by shortly to answer your question.
We are happy you have chosen the best source for Fords!

Enjoy FTE....and
JOIN CLUB FTE -SUPPORT THE FORUMS!
…..See you on the boards.

 

My experience with the service departments at dealerships has been that if the vehicle if more than 5 or six years old, they aren't much use to you. Also, if the problem involves any troublshooting on an older vehicle, you may want to look around for a local independent shop. Reason for this is that most folks with 7 year and older vehicles with higher miles, do not take their vehicle to the dealer for service. They go to the less expensive independent. Consequently, the dealer has less experience correcting these problems that they do with newer vehicles.

I recently had a problem with the suspension on my 96 Explorer and the dealer service writer and tech both had a deer in the headlights look when I was explaining the problem (which is a common problem to the vehicle as they get older). They had not seen any in for the problem (so they said) and thus had no idea what the problem was (even though I told them waht the problem was and how to fix it). I took it to a local idenpendent that had seen the problem before and had corrected it on four or five other Explorers. He ended up fixing mine as well.

I had a wiring harness chaffing issue with my daughter's Ranger about a year ago. Dealer had it for over a week and replaced some parts to no avail. Local independent found the problem and fixed it in less than three hours. In my opinion, many (not necessarily all) dealerships lack the troubleshooting skills required to work on the older vehicles. That said, they are very good at replacing parts.

My advice, find a good and trusted local independent shop that others (whose opions you respect) recommend to you and take it there. You may want to visit with three or four until you are comfortable that one of them has some clue as to what they are doing. Sorry I can't give you problem specific advise only my general observations.

Also, if you intend to keep the vehicle for a while, you may want to invest in a code reader for it. They cost about $100.00 at Walmart and comes with the code definitions. I did this recently for my daughter's Ranger and probably saved a couple of hunderd bucks. Code told me what was reading bad. Went to the dealer to check on the part. Dealer said they have it in stock and they sell a bunch of them ($65.00). Went back home and took a second look and noticed that the vacuum lines to the part were badly worn. Ct off the bad section of hose and put them back on the part that was flagged - Check Engine light has been off for a month. These code readers are good for most cars built between 96 and 2003.

Good luck with it. Hopefully someone smarter than me will be by shortly to help. For now, You may want to check the parts that were flagged to make certain that all electrical and vacuum connections are good.

 

A bad MAF sensor and/or a bad TPS sensor (or a problem with their circuits) can cause the symptoms you describe.

Although the MAF and TPS work together to meter air flow into the engine, there is really nothing that their electrical circuits have in common (except that they both provide signal feedback to the PCM). So you are going to have to check each component and its circuit. Your Haynes or Chilton's Repair Manual has some rudimentary tests you can perform on the MAF, and you can do some simple testing of the TPS as well: Testing Your TPS Sensor

You should clean the MAF sensor, aside from failing outright it can get dirty and cause issues too: Cleaning Your MAF Sensor

You also ought to consider changing the fuel filter, and try and get a fuel pressure test done.

Good luck.

 

To the sage advice from Rockledge, I'd only add, also check your air filter, if you havn't already done so!!!!