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I have a 1988 ford Ranger, 4x4, 2.9L, extended cab, air conditioning, manual, five speed tranny. At first it had just the little alternator light flash very rarely. The alternator light then started to flash more and more, and eventually the truck started coughing/sputtering/stalling, whatever you want to call it. Maybe you would call it chugging. This would happen randomly, so I took it to the local dealership to have the truck looked at. Well typical Ford dealership mechanics, no codes, so nothing was wrong. Idiots. Changed rotor and cap, spark plugs and wires. At this point I changed the guts in the distributor. Stator, module, etc. Still had the problem. Went on to change the coil, then the ignition switch in the steering column, then the starter celanoid, then the module again. Keep in mind, I erplaced one component at a time and test drove it, to make sure I isolated the problem to one component. Same problem, and getting worse. The whole time, kept checking timing, looked great. Changed the clutch safety switch (the one that has to have the clutch engaged before it will turn over to start), and alternator. Still has problems. Went through all the wiring, no problems with shorts, bares wires, etc. Battery tested good. Checked Idle Air control, Throttle position sensor, and module. No problems. Changed manifold air pressure sensor. Checked vacuum. All were good. Changed electronic engine control, I call it the computer, located in kick panel on passenger side floor, in the cab. Same problems. Changed all the relays in the truck. Checked fuel pressure. Also, the whole time (from the start), the tachometer kept jumping around. Engine RPM's stayed the same, but the needle in the Tach would go nuts moving around. Unhooked the tach leads from gauge cluster. Also unhooked the tach leads in the ECP and module. Still problems. Changed battery cables. Changed fuel filter. Ran multiple cans of SEA Foam through truck. Knew the whole time that the problem was in the timing/ignition system from diagnosing the above problems. Finally got mad and let sit for a while. Came upon a guy who gave me all the wiring, components from a similar truck. Also all the time kept checking the truck for trouble codes, not a one. Also gave me the distributor, etc. Since I couldnt find the problem, and I knew the other guys truck ran fine (he rolled his) I just started trying things. Stuck in the new (used, new to me) distributor, and the truck has no problems. I dont know why this changed things, but I have a feeling the guts in the distributor may have been bad from the start. For anyone, I would recommend changing the module and guts of the distributor. This is expensive, but it may save you heartache and time. In my case, a lot of money from wasting $ on other things.
My ranger 88 w 2.9 just died on me i changed the coil because we realized
it had fuel pressur an no spark
changed ignition module and coil no luck,someone told me to pull distributor cap and check to see if rotor
is turning and not messed up if its not that than pull it out and change some electronic module on the bottom. what do u think about it?
92 Ranger 4 liter and standard. I have changed the plugs an cables. The truck turns over but doesn't want to catch. Thinking it may be a fuel issue. The last time it was driven it chugged lightly. I drove home and parked. A few hours later it wouldnt start.
Pull a off a plug wire, stick in a new plug, ground it and turn engine over. If it is not firing, it is probably(90% of the time) the ignition module. It is located on the outside of the distributor. It takes a special socket (available at a ford dealer) to remove it. Buy the module at a parts warehouse. Half of the price of the dealers module. The module goes out about every 50K. No fun to replace but you can do it yourself. Hang onto the socket. I keep mine in my gun safe.
Hi, I have a 88 Ranger v6 2.9l, seems to have no spark, changed coil, wires, cap, rotor, module, pulled disttibutor(2x)and reset, still no spark getting firustated, any ideas will be helpful
I am currently working on a similar problem 88 ranger 2.9L V6 4WD Auto.
after warming up truck dies and won't restart til later then repeats.I changed the module and it semmed better but after warming up again it dies again so the next thing to replace will be the pickup coil in the distributor. I don't haave a manual and can't see how to remove the pickup Anybody?
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