I own a 1990 Ford Ranger with a 2.9L engine. Upon a cold start the engine will not idle up properly. It surges and takes a while to warm up. If I drive before it is completely warmed up, it continues to surge until it does warm up. Once it is warmed up it runs great. Timing is right on. Recently checked the plugs, wires, and timing. Has anyone else encountered a problem like this? Any help would be greatly appreciated.
On Thu, 25 Aug 2005 02:25:49 +0000, ? rearranged some electrons to form:
Have you checked it for any codes? Autozone will scan it for free, or you can do it yourself with a meter or a 12V test light.
Maybe the coolant temp. sensor is bad.
I have not checked it for any codes yet. I will check the coolant temp sensor. Would the coolant temp still show properly if the coolant temp sensor is bad. I replaced it about a year ago, it was causing the temp guage to show the wrong temp. Could it also be a problem with the TPS? I had a friend tell me he had a similar problem with his TPS. I am going to check with the mulitmeter tomorrow.
I don't think Autozone will scan an old EECIV system. Is the CEL on? The EEC temp sensor and the temp gauge sender are different. I too would guess temp sensor first, but it could be a number of things.
On Thu, 25 Aug 2005 03:43:20 +0000, ? rearranged some electrons to form:
check engine lamp
Since it's OBD-I you can scan it yourself with a meter.
Idle air control valve most of the time. It is mounted on the intake, 2 bolts and a gasket. Easy change most of the time.
Turns out the intake air temperature sensor and the idle air control sensor were bad. Easy fix, but cost me around $70 for parts. Both of these sensors looked like they had come with the truck. Idles up great and purrs like a kitten now. Not bad for the old ranger with 127K miles. Thanks for everybody's help.
It sounds like a problem similar to one I had on my 1987 2.9L Ranger. Everyone said it was probably a sensor or bad fuel injectors - the computers seldom go bad. After spending a couple of hundred dollars on sensors, including a complete distributor with module, I installed a computer from a
1988 2.9L Bronco II.It fixed the problem, although I need to buy the right computer for the vehicle.
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