ok guys/girls been working on this thing for 2 weeks now.

heres the low down. 86 ranger 2.9L 5 speed. solid stock.

about 2 weeks ago i was driving up to my dads house which is about 5 miles away from me. half way there it cuts off while runing 55mph. just dies, no noise, no warning just dies. well i ease it off the road and left with little choice other than to hoof it. i was pretty ill it was hot and this is the first ford to put me walking... fast forward and hour and half (after getting to my dads house and barrowing his probe to drive back to my house) i stop by the truck just out of couriousity and low and behold it fires back up and runs like nothing happend. well infuriated by this i shut 'er down and lock her up. thinking to my self "the damn thing can sit for the night"! next day i go back and get 'er off the side of the road and drive back to the house like nothing ever happend. well it hasnt moved from the spot i parked it 2 weeks ago now because it wont fire. it just turns over but not fire. here is what i have done to it and where i stand.

replaced the tfi unit on the side of the dizzy (did this first thinking its the cause of the problem) - still no go

i know its getting fuel - the pumps hum like they should, have pressure at the rail and can smell raw unburnt fuel in the exhaust thus telling me i have a spark issue.

changed the cap and button-mainly did this b/c i had one on the shelf and figured it couldnt hurt.

swaped in a known good working coil pack-still no go

checked all relays along the passenger fender-no problems there.

checked all plugs and connecters. - lil dirty (outside) but tight and seems to be in good order.

while i had the cap off the dizzy i did notice i fine powdery rust coating on the stem that the button slides down on... makes wonder how moister is getting in there and if the "pick-up" is still working-and now it not wet now hasnt rained here in a long time.

and if anyone has a good diagram on the power routing of the fuel pumps i would be most gratfull. previous owner decided to wire them up his way. and they do work but i would rather have it back to fords way.

thanks for reading this long winded post. this 2.9l needs to last me for about 5 more yrs hopefully by then if all goes like i want a 5.0 or even better a 5.7 (347 stroker) will be under the hood.

 

Hi. You should get the factory book or cd. It really good at giving step by step trouble-shooting procedures. It will also show you how the fuel pump is supposed to be wired. If you're going to keep it that long you'll need the factory manual or cd. I got mine on ebay cheap.