Woodtroll
New Member
- Joined
- Aug 4, 2008
- Messages
- 25
- Reaction score
- 0
- Points
- 0
- Vehicle Year
- 1986
- Make / Model
- Ford
- Transmission
- Automatic
Good morning everyone,
My father called me last night to say that his 2004 Ranger, 2.3L engine would not start. He said it cranked over but would not fire. The only other problems this truck has had was a misfire about 6 months ago, which was corrected by a new coil (wires and plugs were changed at that time also).
I looked at it this morning, starting off by cranking it just to see for myself. It cranked fine, stumbled some as if it was trying to fire but never would catch, and I noticed immediately the smell of raw gas from the exhaust pipe. It acted flooded, but injected vehicles are not supposed to flood, so...
No "check engine" light was on, and no codes at all showed on my Actron code scanner. The truck has a half tank of fuel in it, was last filled about a week and a half ago, and was last started about four days ago. It is kept in a garage, currently at about 45 degrees F. It ran fine up until the failure to start last night. I can hear the fuel pump running, and the two plug wires I pulled and checked were firing. I installed the wires back, held the pedal to the floor, cranked it over, and after a few seconds it fired and ran! On the second restart it started a little reluctantly, but multiple times after that it seemed to start fine.
We let it set for an hour or so, went out to try it again, and it would not start again. After I pushed the fuel pedal in just slightly, it fired and ran fine. I repeated this a couple more times while the engine was still cold; no start without touching the pedal, but would start if I cracked the pedal just a little bit. Once started the engine would idle high (1000-1100 rpm or so) for just a few seconds, then idle down as it should when warm.
I'm puzzled by no code, but I'm wondering if the IAC is bad, causing a no-air "flooding" condition if the fuel pedal is not depressed to crack open the throttle plate. That would explain the strong smell of raw gas at first. But, it seems like the IAC is controlling the idle briefly right after the engine starts, but it doesn't seem to be keeping the idle up as long as it should. Would the IAC throw a code if it were not working correctly?
My other suspicion is the TPS, but again without a code I am not sure. My Actron scanner is one of the better models and will read data from the engine; is there a way to check the AIC and TPS function once I do get it running?
Any experience or advice would be most appreciated. Merry Christmas to you all!
Regan
My father called me last night to say that his 2004 Ranger, 2.3L engine would not start. He said it cranked over but would not fire. The only other problems this truck has had was a misfire about 6 months ago, which was corrected by a new coil (wires and plugs were changed at that time also).
I looked at it this morning, starting off by cranking it just to see for myself. It cranked fine, stumbled some as if it was trying to fire but never would catch, and I noticed immediately the smell of raw gas from the exhaust pipe. It acted flooded, but injected vehicles are not supposed to flood, so...
No "check engine" light was on, and no codes at all showed on my Actron code scanner. The truck has a half tank of fuel in it, was last filled about a week and a half ago, and was last started about four days ago. It is kept in a garage, currently at about 45 degrees F. It ran fine up until the failure to start last night. I can hear the fuel pump running, and the two plug wires I pulled and checked were firing. I installed the wires back, held the pedal to the floor, cranked it over, and after a few seconds it fired and ran! On the second restart it started a little reluctantly, but multiple times after that it seemed to start fine.
We let it set for an hour or so, went out to try it again, and it would not start again. After I pushed the fuel pedal in just slightly, it fired and ran fine. I repeated this a couple more times while the engine was still cold; no start without touching the pedal, but would start if I cracked the pedal just a little bit. Once started the engine would idle high (1000-1100 rpm or so) for just a few seconds, then idle down as it should when warm.
I'm puzzled by no code, but I'm wondering if the IAC is bad, causing a no-air "flooding" condition if the fuel pedal is not depressed to crack open the throttle plate. That would explain the strong smell of raw gas at first. But, it seems like the IAC is controlling the idle briefly right after the engine starts, but it doesn't seem to be keeping the idle up as long as it should. Would the IAC throw a code if it were not working correctly?
My other suspicion is the TPS, but again without a code I am not sure. My Actron scanner is one of the better models and will read data from the engine; is there a way to check the AIC and TPS function once I do get it running?
Any experience or advice would be most appreciated. Merry Christmas to you all!
Regan