1992 2.3L Ranger low power Manual Trans.

infomad · Mar 22, 2009

I have only had the truck a couple of weeks and I haven't put 100 miles on it yet.
Anyway, I am having a problem of low power.
I was driving and the engine suddenly started sounding and acting like I was in too high a gear. After a minute or two it went back to normal and the truck ran just fine.
It happened again this weekend. Same as before, lost power then it came back. Finally it lost it again and it never came back and now it idles rough.

The guy I bought it from had just put on new coil packs. I suppose to fix the problem that I am having.
Anyway, I found a plug wire that was sparking/burning up. So I replaced all the plug wires and plugs. But it didn't help.
So I bought the Haynes Repair Manual and was looking over the firing order.
The left side coil pack plug wires were plugged up wrong. So I changed it to match. But the truck ran just as bad. My friend told me to reset the computer for it to adjust to the new firing order... I have never heard of that so I have no idea what is wrong. If anyone has any ideas it would be great.

Also the haynes manual has the coil packs plug wires different than what is shown on this site, which is confusing.

Beanmachine7000 · Mar 23, 2009

Well, only thing I can tell you is to try both... I know the firing order is 1-3-4-2, try both ways (the Haynes way, and Tech Library way) though, it seems to me the Tech Library seems correct from what I remember of my DP 2.3l... Resetting the computer won't do jack crap, firing order is determined mechanically (by the crankshaft)...

ILLEGALCONCEPTS · Mar 23, 2009

The ICM can be giving you problem too. It'll give the same symptoms you described. The coils packs probably tested out bad and that's why he changed those..........did he change both?

My Haynes manual has the plug/coil pack listed different then that of the truck's sticker. I went with the book at first and was having a non-related issue when I discovered this. I tried both ways and it made no difference.

James

Bryan22 · Mar 23, 2009

could be he put in a cheap coil pack and it's allready going south. try testing the coils.

Sevensecondsuv · Mar 24, 2009

Or it's the DIS module (the gray, flat, electronic thing with 6 wires coming out each end bolted to the front of the lower intake manifold). If it's not that then check all the wiring AND grounds for the computer, DIS module and coils. Old trucks have corroded, broken, chaffed wires that can really give you a hard time and are worth looking at first.

infomad · Mar 24, 2009

It'll give the same symptoms you described. The coils packs probably tested out bad and that's why he changed those..........did he change both?

I called the guy I bought the truck from and he told me what he had done.

Yeah, he did change both. He never got the truck legal. He bought it and was told that the coil packs might be bad. He changed them but never got the truck legal. Then sold it to me a couple of months later.

I havent had time to work on it since the week end. I will give everything a go this coming weekend and see if it fixes the problem.

infomad · Aug 18, 2010

I know it has been over a year since I posted this problem. But I do long haul trucking and I am never home to work on this thing.
But I have some time off for the next 2 weeks and want to get this thing fixed for my brother to use.

On further inspection of the coil packs today I noticed that the plug that hooks to the back coil pack is loose. It can actually wiggle around a pretty good bit.
Could this be the problem? I pulled it off while the truck was running and there was no difference in the engine sounds.

steve63 · Aug 18, 2010

very well could be,any wiring thats loose cant be good.

BRUTUS_T_HOG · Aug 18, 2010

infomad said:
I have only had the truck a couple of weeks and I haven't put 100 miles on it yet.
Anyway, I am having a problem of low power.
I was driving and the engine suddenly started sounding and acting like I was in too high a gear. After a minute or two it went back to normal and the truck ran just fine.
It happened again this weekend. Same as before, lost power then it came back. Finally it lost it again and it never came back and now it idles rough.

The guy I bought it from had just put on new coil packs. I suppose to fix the problem that I am having.
Anyway, I found a plug wire that was sparking/burning up. So I replaced all the plug wires and plugs. But it didn't help.
So I bought the Haynes Repair Manual and was looking over the firing order.
The left side coil pack plug wires were plugged up wrong. So I changed it to match. But the truck ran just as bad. My friend told me to reset the computer for it to adjust to the new firing order... I have never heard of that so I have no idea what is wrong. If anyone has any ideas it would be great.

Also the haynes manual has the coil packs plug wires different than what is shown on this site, which is confusing.

so it was running fine with a bad firing order? not likely even if it was on the left coil.

wipe the dirt off the coil and there should be numbers on the top to tell you where the wires go.

my guess is the DIS (ignition) module, the easiest way to check this is to unplug the SPOUT shorting bar near the intake manifold.. probably behind the alternator. its a small 2 wire plug that will be taped to the harness and the wires a yellow/green.

here is a general picture, they all look like this

if its not there then it will be to the right of the radiator.

infomad · Aug 20, 2010

Thank you for the help.
It is the clip or plug coming off the coil pack. I taped it up to hold it tight and the problem stopped. Now I just need to find a replacement.

This isn't a picture of my engine just one I google'd. It is the back plug on mine that is broken. I tried to find this on a couple of automotive part websites. What are these plug types called?

Uploaded with ImageShack.us

feellnfroggy · Aug 20, 2010

THe plug that goes into the back of the coil has a grey rubber spacer to keep the plug centered, when you unplug it the spacer slips off and stays in there which prevents it from pluggin back in correctly, pull out hte spacer slip it back over hte plug and plug it back in secure, maybe use a smidge of dielectric grease. NOT MUCH AT ALL. Unplug the spout plug, turn the truck on it will run at 10* BTDC. plug it back in the timing will set itself. It migh tneed a timing belt.

tbirdsps · Aug 24, 2010

As long as you are off consider checking the fuel pressure. When mine had the exact same symtom the fuel pump fixed it. Make sure you get the pump nice and hot. Mine ran like yours after about 15 minutes running with the a/c on.

1992 2.3L Ranger low power Manual Trans.

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