1. Home
  2. Ford Trucks
  3. 2000 Ford Ranger -- Starts up then dies...HELP ME SOLVE THIS PUZZLE!!

2000 Ford Ranger -- Starts up then dies...HELP ME SOLVE THIS PUZZLE!!

My 2000 Ford Ranger with 62k miles starts up if I let it sit for a while, then it starts to sound real mufflie after about a minute at which point it bogs down and dies. Then, it usually won't start again or does just for 10-15 seconds. At this point, it just cranks over, and sounds like those street cars that have a "high-performance" muffler replacement.

The week before this happened, I sensed a little less power output. The day before, it really gave me trouble at moderate engine rpm. It felt like it was missing or something. I don't know.

It's been very mild here lately, but it was cold and so I put gasline antifreeze in the tank and changed the fuel filter. I also changed the two ignition coils. The secondary resistance of both coils were lower than spec., and the sparks were drizzlie brown. Changing the coils did not fix the problem. This 4 cylinder has 8 spark plugs and two coils. One plug fires during the compression stroke and the other during the exhaust stroke (why the exhaust stroke I don't know). The first night it gave me this trouble, I looked under the hood when it was dark in an attempt to see any arcing sparks from the wires to block. I saw none.

Also, I measured the fuel rail pressure and it remained at 64-68 psi even when the engine began to bog down and stall, so I believe the fuel system is good because this is within spec.

I tightened as many bolts as possible to stop any possible intake air leaks, but could not reach intake manifold-to-block bolts. I assume, that the oxygen sensor would pick up a lean condition, and report it by turning on the check engine light if this were the case. Am I correct?

Since the check engine light is not on, I also assume that the crank postion sensor is still good. I had a VW where the crank postion sensor failed intermittently, and the OBDII system set the check engine light, so I scanned it to find the problem. I assume the Ranger's OBDII would pick up any intermittent sensors causing this, so I kind of rule out any intermittent sensor problems.

The next test I plan to do is an engine compression test to check for a blown head gasket or leaking valve.

I also checked resistance from engine to ground and it was less than

0.5 ohm. That seems okay to me.

Timing belt visually looks okay. If it were the timing belt, when I come back the next day, I believe it would not start up and run for a full minute before bogging down and dying again. So, I rule the timing belt out.

If I let it sit overnight, it will start back up and run for about a full minute then die. If it is intermittent, then it should be a sensor and the OBDII should give me a check engine light. If it were the head gasket, a leaky valve, or intake manifold type air leak, then it should not make any difference whether I let it sit overnight or not. Why does it go for about a minute before conking out of fuel pressure does not drop at the rail?

I am not familiar with throttle position sensor, MAP sensor and some of the others, but I assume that the engine will automatically go into its default settings when one of these fails -- and also trip the check engine light.

Can or should I clean out/test the fuel injectors? Any other/better ideas?

Thanks in advance for any help

Mike

Reply to
RepairJunkie
Loading thread data ...

stroke

sparks

This happened very recently with my 93? Ford Ranger. It took me a while to figure it out until it hit me that I didnt have any oil. It did everything you described. Engine slowed within 4-5 min, then died. Then I changed the oil and it sparked back to life. Hope this helps.

Reply to
skyhigh4077

On Mon, 05 Mar 2007 07:28:42 +0000, skyhigh4077 rearranged some electrons to form:

You ran it for 5 minutes without any oil? It's probably not going to last much longer.

Reply to
David M

Thank you Skyhigh and everybody else for your input.

Could it be that your oil was overfilled and caused the crank to churn through it? High windage will rob you of horsepower -- that's for sure. I don't know if it will make the engine stall though.

Thanks for the input.

I am getting DTC P0443, which is "Evaporative Emission Control System

- Purge Control Valve Circuit." My scanner calls it "Purge Valve C Fault." I don't have any data on how to test the solenoid though. It reads zero ohms (a dead short), and when I apply battery voltage to it, I don't hear or feel it do anything. I suspect this is the problem, but I tried removing it, plugging the three hoses and disconnecting the connector so that it would appear as an open to the PCM (the computer). I still get the same engine bogging down and stalling problem from the 1600-2200 rpm range. This was an attempt to fool the PCM so that it would operate and prove to me that the Purge Control Valve/Solenoid is in fact the problem. I am going to order a good manual/CD before spending $50 on a new valve. I am interested in feedback if anybody has any ideas.

Additionally, I did verify that the TPS, MAF, and Engine Temperature Sensors seem to be working properly. TPS has a steadily changing resistance value through it's entire range. The scanner also shows a steady change corresponding to gas pedal position for this sensor. MAF changes values incrementally on the scanner until the engine stalls. Again, I don't have any data on how to test the MAF. It has

4 wires, so I think it forms some kind of a bridge circuit, which means you can't just look for an open because the wire sensor will be in parallel with the rest of the circuit. I believe I have to know what kind of value I am looking for. I guess it's time to shell out some bucks and get a good manual.

Also, the DTC comes up on the scanner, but my check engine light has not come on yet.

Thank God I have two vehicles. Mike

Reply to
RepairJunkie

quoted text -

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! THE PROBLEM HAS BEEN SOLVED !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

ANYBODY WHO HAS READ THIS FAR DESERVES TO KNOW THE REAL SOLUTION.... EVENTUALLY I DOVE IN AND STARTED PLAYING WITH ALL THE ELECTRONICS AND FINALLY FOUND THAT IT WAS NOT THE ELECTRONICS AT ALL. I LET SOMEONE BORROW MY TRUCK AND THEY HIT SOME ROAD DEBREE THAT SMASHED THE FIRST PART OF THE CATALYTIC CONVERTER WHICH -- OVER ABOUT EIGHT WEEKS -- PLUGGED THE SECOND PART OF THE CONVERTER. THE PLUGGED CONVERTER CREATED BACKPRESSURE. STICK A POTATOE IN YOUR EXHAUST PIPE NEARLY PLUGGING IT, AND YOUR ENGINE WILL BOG DOWN AT RPMS.... THANKS ALL FOR THE HELP.

Reply to
RepairJunkie

MotorsForum website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.