Hi all! Am Proud owner of 95 ranger PU 4x4 . Love the truck and never had any serious problems until recently in Boston 55 miles from home when I shut down the truck asking for directions. A few minutes later the truck won't start Grrrr. Turns over ok, battery is new, new alternator. It seems like the truck was flooded. Luckily i discovered that flooring the gas while cranking started her up slowly at first but she got going. I have one error code for quite a while having to do with the camshaft position sensor but never posed any problems. Any one with similar problem after the vehicle is warmed up and unable to start? My research so far is pointing to fuel pump relay and replacing the Cam positioner. Any advise is greatly appreciated. Thanks

 

the fuel pump relay is a common problem. I carry a spare and just swap out when/if I have this problem. If it happens again and you dont have a spare, pull the relay let it cool off then reinstall should start right up. Relays are pretty cheap around $6 so I would just replace it and go from there.

 

Thanks for that Hank, I plan to try that and let ya know.

 

With your saying it acts out AFTER it's warmed up, like it's flooded & having to floor the go pedal to get it started, makes me want to suspect a fuel delivery problem.

Maybe begin with a fuel pressure test.

Maybe dirty/leaking fuel injectors, or even a clogged fuel filter, or if you have the fuel pressure regulator on the fuel rail, pull it's vacuum line & check it for signs of fuel. If you find fuel in the vacuum line, the regulators diagphragm is bad, deprssurise the system & replace the regulator.

If all ofte above comes to naught,
do you have a CEL lit, if so have you scanned the computer for trouble codes, if so post ALL of the code numbers found & the sequence in which they were pulled.

Did this problem come about slowly over time, or suddenly, after some event????

 

Went to Autozone purchased $10. and replaced fuel pump relay. I protested to the attendent that I might not be able to start truck if I shut it down. The attendent said only way to test. I was right after the code test I couldn't start the truck even by flooring the gas. Opened hood to check if anything would jump out at me. Sure enough the hard to see pcv valve was sticking out of the crankcase. I cleaned and reinstalled pcv snugly. The truck started up like there never was any problems. Whew what a relief but this time I was close to home not 50 miles away in Boston. I still have some problems accordiing to the obd codes but driveability and starting doesn't seem a problem now. Time will tell

Here are the error codes for everyone's information:
p0118
(maybe wiring or faulty ect sensor)
p1151
(possible vacuum leak)
p1131
misfire on bank 1 (Dunno anything about this)
p0340
(cam sensor might be defective)
p0125
(ect sensor might be defective, the power control module verifies proper operating temperature)

See ya thanks for the input will check in later.

 

OK, good feedback & to hear the warm hard start problem was an easy fix. You need to raise the hood & have a look around more often!!!! lol

Seems you may have some other sensor, ect, issues that need looking into.

Be sure to check out the "Tech Info" thread atop this forum, for trouble shooting & testing any suspect sensors.

After re-inserting the PCV valve, I'd pull the B- cable to wipe the computers KAM, so it can begin to rebuild the fuel trim tables without that gosh awful disconnected PCV valve vacuum leak. That might help driveability some more & take care of the vacuum leak code.

EDIT: I show the P1131 & P1151 as O2 sensor lean codes, anyway the disconnected PCV valve might be the cause of them.

If you've driven it that way for a while, you might want to do an oil & filter change, as the engine has been inhaling unfilered air.

I'd also address the engine coolant temp question, as it's likely running rich now, if the ECT is telling the engine it's colder than it really is!!!!
After you get that fixed, reset the computer again.

Not real clear on how you determined the engine is at proper operating temp, if you suspect the ECT sensor is bad, as the computer uses this sensors PID to present it's temp for a scantool????

The ECT might be why you have the P0125 insuffiient coolant temp for closed loop fuel control code, OR maybe you have a stuck open thermostat, thats not letting the engine warm enough to go into open loop. What does your dash engine temp gauge indicate???? If it's showing the engine never warms up, suspect the thermostat. If it shows normal tamp & the upper radiator hose is too hot to hold when the engine should be at operating temp, then suspect the computers ECT sensor, or it's wiring.

Not sure what to think about the cam sensor code yet, we need some more clues/symptoms, to form up a guess on it.

More thoughts for pondering, let us know how it goes.

 

B- cable to wipe the computers KAM??? Could you tell me where this b cable is?

Not real clear on how you determined the engine is at proper operating temp- The obd report indicated the power control module is at proper operating temp.

Gauges show normal coolant temp

Yes good advice will change oil soon

Also plan to get obd meter. I'm curious what code errors would show up now after fixing the pvc problem.

Do you think I should replace cmp sensor? Is there a test
to check it? I will research don't wanna replace a good sensor.

Thanks pawpaw for help. Check back later

 

B- = Battery minus cable.

If you remove the B- battery cable from the battery post & leave a door open, or turn the parking lights on, or step on the brake pedal, or something like that, so it'll apply some electrical load to the system, it'll wipe/discharge the capacitors in the computer & erase the Keep Alive Memory, in which the corrupt fuel trim data is stored.

All this so the computer can begin to build/relearn new fuel trim tables without the vacuum leak that the disconnected PCV valve was causing.

OK, so the engine temp gauge is showing a normal warm operating temp.

That suggests that the engines really is warm.

If you don't have a means of checking the coolant temp directly, but the heater is putting out really hot air with the temp setting on max, or as I suggested earlier, at operating temp, the upper radiator hose is so hot you can't hold it, then the thermostat is likely ok & the engne really is at the proper operating temp.

If so, we then have to ask why you have the P0125 trouble code(Coolant temp not high enough to enter closed loop operation), in which the computer thinks the engine hasn't warmed up enough for it to go into closed loop operation????

The computer gets it's engine temp info from it's own temp sending uunit.

Faulty engine temp input will cause the computer to keep the air/fuel mixture richer than normal, as it thinks the engine is still cold, sorta like a choke sticking on a carb equipped engine. It'll hurt mpg & may cause diveability problems.

Anyway, as I said the computer gets it's engine operating temp PID from it's own seperate engine coolant temp sensor, & it's Not the one operating the engine temp gauge on the dash.

So if the engine really is fully warming up, the P0125 code would suggest a problem with the computers engine temp sending unit, or maybe a problem with it's wiring, giving a corrupt engine temp PID to the
computer. so you need to find out what's going on there.

I'm still not completely clear on what you mean when you say "The OBD report indicated the Power Control Module is at operating temp". I don't believe there is a computer temp sensor, or PID for the PCM, to show it's operating temperature & if it did, that doesn't have anything to do with engine temp, or the P0125 code.

So are you saying when the codes were pulled, that the computers engine coolant temp sensor was monitored & it indicated that the engine was at normal operating temp????

Either the computers engine coolant temp sensor or wiring, or PID to the computer is bad, or corrupt somehow, or the engine really isn't fully warming up.

So again, look through the "Tech Info" thread, for trouble shooting & test info, or do a "Search" for the test you want to do, as there are numerous threads with good info & links in them.