91 Ranger Crank, no Start, no Spark - Again...
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 28 ก.ย. 2024
- Let's fix this 1991 Ford Ranger with a 2.3L that cranks but won't start and has no spark.
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I don’t think there’s a more realistic, practical, and down to earth repair channel on TH-cam. Thanks for sharing, Wes, we love you!
Seriously
Don't feel bad. I saw a similar problem on a medium-sized CNC mill. One loose power connection screw (there were six) caused all sorts of faults in the machine.
It took a very experienced electrician all day to trace the problem. A fix is a win. 👍
Yup sh!t like this happens all the time. Mysterious are the ways of the electron.
Had an E-stop button switch do that to a CNC years ago. All the panicked hand-smashing of the E-stop all those years loosened the connections just enough that the machine would not alarm out but would jump/shift its position. Causing all kinds of inaccuracies. Everyone was saying the control was no good! The boards are bad! The power from the electric Co. is bad! ETC. NOPE! A loose wire at the E-stop was all it was. That same machine still makes good parts from me tightening a screw 20 some odd years ago. Nutty huh?
We had a NC wire wrap machine in the factory that would trip out with a limit switch fault. Problem was, it was never near a limit switch when it tripped out. We ended up building a latch to capture the state of all the limit switches when it tripped to figure out which one was intermittent. The latch told us it hit all the limits at the same time. Loose terminal on the power feed to the limit switches.
Don't be too hard on yourself Wes! You found something most of us would never even know how to look for. I'm still amazed at your diagnosing skills.
Honesty is always the bedrock of integrity that's why we keep coming back. Keep doing what you're doing please.
Yupp
Wes I am glad you are part of a special group who looks to maintain these older vehicles and not give up on them. Granted the computer controlled vehicle is here to stay, there are still not many people who can and will take the time like you and the special class of mechanic you belong to.
Wes you never fail to amaze me with your methodical electrical diagnosis! I have a buddy that I grew up with who is a professional Mechanic like you. I always call on him to fix the electrical gremlins that I run into. He in turn has me do all his welding projects. If you know, you know! LOL!
When I used to work for a Ford Dealer I had a rash of (NEW) vehicles with bad crimps from the factory causing many different problems.
Obviously something was nagging at you to check again before firing the parts cannon, and that's what matters for a customer - making sure of the diagnostic where possible.
Your electrical troubleshooting skills are phenomenal!
I wish I was closer to you to take my vehicles to you, you are one in a million! Bravo Wes!
Towed it in, drove it out, but let's not forget that you saved the customer a chunk of money!
Dude hats off to you most mechanics would have given up half way through! I wish I had someone like you where I live. I have a 91 and a 94 and I love then both.
Wes, your strive and attitude on these old machines to me is what makes these videos unique. Do not give up on them.
Oh yes, Ford's great idea for dual ignition systems that have 8 plugs on a 4 cylinder. And one would think the addition of the second ignition system would yield extra power...not in this universe. You seriously have to understand how to pull out in traffic if you want to survive such a blend into traffic move without a hospital visit or worst! Love your diagnostic efforts every time. I say you have the absolute best vehicle problem-solving channel on UT... Thumps Up!
Aircraft run dual spark plugs, and have done so for decades. For light aircraft, it is a FAA requirement
More spark doesn't equate to more power, I mean what are you going to do ignite the A/F even harder or twice? I think it's an emissions thing but I know nothing about that
Ford wants to build more EV's which I think is a terrible idea becuase every Ford that has been in my family since the 1960's has had some kind of electrical problems straigjht from the factory!
@@Hjerte_Verke Don't know how it works but Nissan built a 2ltr 4cyl twin spark fuel injected in the eighties & they were fantastic would do 200kph easy & reguarly.(I had one).
it wasnt for more power it was to burn the fuel left over in the exhaust for emissions standards.
You stepped away instead of firing the parts cannon. That is something to be proud of. Not many do that.
Enough editing skills to make it look like you know what you’re doing? Wes, this is textbook diagnostic work. You are a awesome technician!!! This is the kind of fix that makes a man legendary. I’ve seen too many “technicians” just aim and fire the old parts cannon.
Great old truck. The stick shift is why it is still on the road.
The old Ranger was one of Fords best vesicles ever made in fact still many around (the small Chevy and Dodge trucks of that era not so much all rotted away or quit running.....new Rangers well remains to be seen.Wes is a wizard at repair of all kinds think how much he will know by time he gets gray hair and a few wrinkles.
Simply difficult, the most aggravating problems.
Great job Wes, another happy customer blissfully unaware of the headache.
Thanks for sharing
I appreciate Wes' transparency and thoughtfulness, both with the repairs and the videos.
It does make me wonder however, how many PCMs have been replaced over the years just due to faulty connectors, where the problem was actually fixed just by virtue of removing and reinstalling things. Of course integrated circuits and printed boards are not infallible, but I think too many folks assume they are at fault just because they don't take the time to understand them.
For it being early 90s stuff, you still did great!
Great video Wess. A man that can miss diagnose something then is man enough to ad mit it. That's just good ole honesty. That why I love watching you chanel . Keep coming. .
Don't be hard on yourself. You told the story like it happened. You were on the right track
from the get-go. This happens to doctors. Lawyers and such that they end up not knowing how or why the outcome was good , thats all that counts in the end. Sometimes, it's better to be lucky than good.
Yep, when I talk about replacing 8 spark plugs on my four cylinder truck, people look at me like I'm nuts. I loved that little truck. I still wish I'd kept it. Good save on a 32 year old truck. I almost bought one just like that. It probably sounds stupid, but that red dashboard was so close to the same as that on my '82 Escort, and that car had been such a piece of junk, that I chose the blue one because I couldn't stand the reminder. That Escort forced me to learn mechanic skills. I couldn't afford to pay for all the work it continually needed.
3 days in a row. with all the crap going on in the world, there is a glimmer of hope. Thanks Wes. another good one. I'm getting used to this.
Yeah, plenty of crap.
It's always the Ground----- except when it's not. Damn Ford ignition module with its special bolts.
Got to have the tool.
Wes videos 3 days in a row. Life is good
That's a nice little truck. I'm glad you don't have to eat a PCM.
WES, kudos to U ! Myself, worked in electronics field 37 years. Disliked it working on intermittent problems. But, my company frowned on "to much time on diagnostics!", it was just plug in a new mod to get it up and running! Thing was, it seemed they always found time for you to FIX it in the worst weather conditions in the winter!
Sometimes you get those what the heck and still get it fixed... Dont ask, just appreciate it got fixed. 50+ years, yeah its all good Wes. You did good.
3 days in a row Wes movies.... and it's not even my birthday!!😁 thanks Wes!! keep them coming.
Bad terminals are a nightmare Les, good video, very interesting diagnosis
I had one of those little trucks years ago. It was an awesome truck. I do miss it. Great catch there Wes. Stay safe my friend.
Said it before, love it when Wess gets out a single line.
Sometimes you have to walk away and come back later. Fresh ideas does it every time.
Bypassing those connectors for 40+ years.
great video Wes,thanks for taking the time to record it and sharing it with us 👏👏👏👍👍👍
Bad connector... I don't know how many times I've made a dead car start again by unplugging a connector and plugging it back in. Good thing you found it before ordering the ECU!
Great video, we just need more videos. Thanks for all you do
Watch Wes Work, the ONLY channel where you get daily crank/no start videos!
Don’t get too used to it. I’m burning through my backlog.
I think you did ok a mechanic admits he was wrong and still fixes it. Great job 👍
5:02
The parts are made in Malaysia. Proud to see it there.
Lol I truly enjoy watching you work Wes 👍
When something like that happens to me, I always feel like I'm going to see it back again. Bad part is I usually do!
i remember those three chromed screws holding the fake 4 wd switch image cap on those aluminum wheel rangers. they came with the plastic inserts my ranger never left me stranded
Sometimes we get off track...ya still fixed it which is what is important. My OCD would not have let me get rid of the connector. I'd have put a weatherpack/metripak in it just to annoy the Ford guys...and I have a ready stash in the shop. 🤣
The old Ford ... Still kicking
I've also run into some confusing wiring problems on older Fords. On a friend of mine's truck I had no fire at the plugs. Each individual component seemed to test good. Finally I just took apart and cleaned every connection in the system. That did it and he said it had never run better. A couple of other times I had crank no start and tested it with an extra ground cable from battery to engine block. That fixed both of them and I don't really remember what pointed me in that direction. Maybe the cable was getting hot while cranking. Those were a Mustang and a van.
We love the daily videos thank you ….. you continued to post 🙏 hopefully 🤞
those mysteries, all vehicles manufactures have them
Another video? Shoot busy busy. Keep up the great videos. From one Wes to another thanks again! Cheers from WA
As Eric O says “don’t touch anything before you use the scanner on it” I had an old Ford van that only worked if you gave the wiring harness a good shaking once or twice a month. I never did find out where it was or what prezactly it was. but that always fixed it for a while,and it never conked out while driving…
We all go off the rails now and again Wes. Sadly nobody is perfect 100% of the time. The good thing is you caught the mistake before you ordered a pcm. So we'll call it a win!
You probably had an earth AND a power problem, Wes. Fixed is fixed!
Boy it really sucks that simple connectors like that can stop a car from running.Time alone is the enemy here.Great job wes!...Nothing about this old ranger can stop you!
like a gift that keeps giving
Good job Wes no idea how you fixed it but you did so a win in my books lol think age has a lot to do with the truck as well everything gets a bit crusty causing all sorts of mind boggling moments haha take care mate great vid as always 👍🔧🔧🔧👌❤️
Typicall of old wiring on all vehicles ! I used to have this problem with Golf Course equipment !!! 😇😇😇
Well my 91 used to do the same thing that you have going on here Wes and I will say that I i bypassed the connector as i had the similar burntb terminal and i was convinced that it was getting water in ut and causing the random no starts sometimes for hoyrs sometimes for days and it started and ra for a while and then did the same thing again. Ended up being the pcm and an unknown issue with the dual spark bs. Idr how we did it but somehow we figured out whitch of is the primary coil and disconnected the secondary one and that stopped the short from killing the ecm again. Truck never ran right before I bought it but I needed a vehicle and my buddy gave ut to me dirt cheap cause he was done playing with it had more problems than you can think of but it ran most if the time and for the 150$ i payed i dtove it for over a year before I sold it so wasn't a bad deal
Every time I back probe a connector I wonder if the probe is making the connection. Bad data can be worse than no data.
Ground issue turned into a burnt power wire interesting well atleast its running now
In a 91 The Pcm Should be basically a Grounding Box @Watch Wes Work
What the heck😂😂😂. My 2000 is not starting also. You just gave me another idea to check for this before I buy a PCM. 😂😂
I just love the ford design you explain fantastic ford ranger.ask why they show up in washington and cries for money figure out.thank wes video.
Excellent video Wes :) my girlfriend 1994 Ford Ranger had issues on and found the Battery ground pigtail in fender was corrosion need clean then saw her Plug melt bad like that you fix and rewire job too need done too! But computer was okay!
could have also been the plug fitting into the pcm, you know a million times more than i ever will mate
Good to see you Sir
Good video Wes. Thanks for sharing.
Now that 4wheeler is a deduction, well played.
Got to love bad pin fitment issues
I see the yard is cleaned up.
you should always check the extra ground on any ford at the battery area, its the small jumper wire, also the transmission ground, had a tempo years ago that would randomly die, and restart just fine, it was that ground wire, fixed with a large extra ground from block to radiator core support.
This you said, "There's your problem, lady" three times. And then, "I don't know what the problem is, but I fixed it. "
Twice the ignition, half the reliability. Nothing but issues out of my old ranger. When the truck ran, it ran great and rode surprisingly nice and had good power. When it ran... which was seemingly dependent upon the weather.
Glad you got the spark plugs fixed on this Ranger
Good morning Wes. Always great videos. 60107 says hi.
Ha! So I had a 94 do this exact thing. Same exact wire and everything. Ran a new wire from the pcm to the dus and crank sensor. Found new pins and re pinned it. It worked for about 3 months and went back to doing it. That same ground runs to the crank sensor and once I replace the sensor it fixed my issue.
Funnier part is I pretty sure I commented the same thing on the last video as well. Mine didn't lose spark completely. It would kill on half of each coil. Fun part is one coil the wasted spark would be the one kept alive so it would run on two cylinders and then load the exhaust with fuel and when the waste spark would happen it would back fire and puke out a partially melted catalytic converter.
Ouch!
The content lately has been awesome!
That connector was pretty clean. I was surprised that you didn't attempt to revive it by cleaning the tarnished pin with CRC or Deoxit and a brass wire wheel. I watch some pinball repair videos now and then (joes classic vg). Those connectors are bigger, but they carry amps, the principal is the same. He cleans the pin with sandpaper and the female barrel with barrel brushes; he says some people even use brasso.
Well, I'm still impressed with your skills.
I guess that truck thinking that you both have a romantic relationship and keeps coming back to see you smiles.
I just encountered something similar on a 93 caprice engine swap. They installed an LT1 engine 96 or 97... and a Painless harness. Such junk. The problem was the grounds to the chassis were inadequate for the setup. Only would start up and run in the crank position. Once you release the key, the engine would shut off. While using a scope, I verified crank & cam, and then scope it while running (holding in crank position) then release the key. I'd lose spark 1st, but signal would stay. lol
The answer was there were too many loads on the grounds available when in the run position. There are many accessories cut off in the crank position in order to allow all the current to go to the starter. Once out of the crank position and in run, the ignition switch connects all the accessories. Here 1 fuse removed allowed the grounds to be sufficient for the loads that remained. I have to trace exactly what leg of the accessories was too much, but I'll figure that out this week. I'm definitely trying to get a case study out of it.
I'm only halfway through the video... looking forward to seeing where you're going. Side note. I've dealt plenty with this vintage of ranger.. 2.3ltr. There are 2 coil packs, 1 for initial starting and the other runs the rest of the time. Dumbest design ever. Had to do head gaskets a few times, and the timing belt -which is also pretty basic but a bugger to get aligned. Every one I ever did, the marks were ALWAYS in the middle of 2 positions. Hope you guess which side to choose otherwise you have to break it down again. Crank sensors were somewhat common along with that stupid ignition module. I'm just glad I no longer see those. lol
That's pretty tricky!
Tow in, drive out, win win.
The power pin melted and was bleeding some current to the neighbour ground. This messes up the ground because now the voltage difference (with respect to your reference +V) is closer. This is why it couldn't source much current when quiescent. And it would get worse when more current was asked to flow through it -- such as when turning on the ignition -- which led to a completely "missing" ground because ground was now even closer to +V.
h having problems with my 04 Ranger I'm going to try this out tomorrow. Thank you for a different idea
Just touching the connector to back probe it could have caused it to make contact. That is all. At first I figured that you had just made the ground and therefore it was running, but alas, it was the power! I say good catch and only a keen eye would catch it and not start down the trail of chasing a bad ground.
That's a nice little beater truck there. My first car in high school was an 88 long bed standard cab ranger. 2.3, 2wd, five speed. I miss that truck. She committed suicide by fire, unfortunately. 😢
Mine tried to by popping a spark plug in half but luckily I was in it when it happened and was able to pull over n pop the hood and throw some snow on it 😅
love these videos and especially your candor.
Now you can teach the boss how to drive a standard. Happy thought 😂
"Pretty POSITIVE it was a GROUND issue…"
Yes, that's the reason why they did that. Two spark plugs per cylinder burn more fuel than only one of them, Wes.
Such things you do like this triple uploading and then you run out of content next Saturday...:) . Excellent like always.
Don't you just love those issues that disappear.
Great video! I would check the fuse box and see if it has the correct amperage fuses because a fuse should have blown before that pin would turn black when too hot when transferring power.
You mentioned a bad ground. That's what I was thinking before you said it. You know it's usually the simplest of them that's the problem. What could go wrong with the EEC 4? What's that an acronym of? Electronic Engine Control, 4th edition. I don't know what version they're using today. Perhaps the 4 has another meaning than the version of it.
Can't wait for that tractor video. I have one just like it.
The main thing is you found the problem and fixed it.
The pin was black because it was arcing. It was so close but not touching
I had one just like it same year but mine was tan good running till the rear end broke big boom and it would notroll anymore lol so i junked it too bad best running truck i ever had
Great content.....Keep it up.
I'm betting it was damage caused by the ignition component you replaced the year before, that'd explain why both the power and grounds were damaged, likely due to higher than normal amperage on that specific circuit