icm 94 2.3l

[craig]

this is a new module, from napa, it seems it is sending no signal to waste side coil pk right side 2,3 plugs, that is the right side wire to the plug for the coil pk. that indicates bad icm right? I had put a wire to ground from icm left top hole, no screw hole in engine this is ground, right? my make shift ground for icm goes to neg battery. used dialectric grease on icm back to mount would other ground other than battery be better? thanks and greetings all.

 

[Mark_88]

If the engine is running and you are not getting waste spark that is not good...but if the engine is not running you won't get waste spark...it doesn't fire on that side until after running...

 

[craig]

engine runs, code 223, 224 memory. checked with my timing light, 2,3 wires on waste side are not firing. checked plug in front of coil pack, right wire is not showing any thing from icm this is switching signal? other side of coil pack is ok. napa says the guarantee is 5 yrs on this icm. what would make it fail? should white heatsink paste be used or dialectric grease? thanks for any imput

 

[Mark_88]

OK...if the engine is running and you tested with timing light then the problem could be the coil or the wires feeding the coil.

Did you try just swapping the coil packs or testing the coils?

The codes are in the Tech Articles section if you ever need them and can't find them otherwise...

http://www.therangerstation.com/tech_library/3digitcodes.shtml

There is also a page of 2digit codes if needed.

223 (M) Dual Plug (DPI), SPOUT or IDM circuit fault - Ignition Systems
224 (M) Failure in ignition coil primary circuit - Ignition Systems


Anyway...did you remove the spout connector at any time because that is what the 223 code is about but it could also be the coil pack is bad...or you just have a problem with the wire harness or connectors.

 

[craig]

what is the spout connector and where is it? there is no signal going to the right side wire of icm connector to the coil pk as described in easy diagnostics of how to check icm/coil pk ford ranger. what is better on back of icm, spark plug grease or dialectric (icu) cream? thanks

 

[Mark_88]

The spout (spark out) connector is a plug that should be on the on the driver side inner fender. There should be a group of 3 connectors that join the engine bay harness to the engine harness.

Near that group is the SPOUT jumper plug on the connector with 2 pink wires.

If that plug is missing your timing will not be correct and if you are checking the timing that jumper needs to be removed to set base timing.

 

[craig]

a correction! the coil pk not firing is intake side, 2,3. swapped out icm, put heat sink cream on the back this time. Still no spark on 2,3 intake side. no trigger signal to the coil pk for that side. Continuity good on that wire from bottom icm connector. Does this seem like a crank position sensor? truck runs now, but misses. the crank pos sensor was replaced recently, has not shown problems until now. Any ideas? Will check codes tomorrow. No cel now.

 

[tomw]

You are aware the intake side plugs are not expected to fire 100% of the time and are controlled into action off-idle, right?
Misfire at idle would be in the control of the exhaust side plugs, as the intakes are on vaycay until the engine is moving at road speed.
tom

 

[craig]

2.3 1994

2,3 not firing at idle (intake) 1,4 firing at idle (intake). revved up engine 2,3 still not firing. after swapping out icm no cel, no 223, 224 codes. now 116 maybe not warmed up enough, and 332 egr dirty or what? thank you for your consideration

 

[craig]

any ideas on this? if crank position sensor was bad, it would not just cause these 2 plugs to not spark, right? thank you for your consideration.

 

[Mark_88]

I had to check because it's been a while since I looked at the CKP symptoms...

Acceleration Problems. As the engine speeds up, there needs to be adjustments to spark timing and fuel injection. ...
Reduced Gas Mileage. ...
Engine Misfires. ...
Rough Idling. ...
Stalling. ...
Difficult Starting or No Starting. ...
Check Engine Light. ...
Related Issues.

You would likely get a P0335 and/or P0338 code also...so some of your symptoms match but some definitely do not match.

I guess if you are stuck and it is the only affordable thing to try then swapping it out would be worth a shot if everything else has checked out...

You can also try testing it before you replace (which is usually recommended) and I found this site in a google search...I don't like taking credit for things I don't know...

https://www.1aauto.com/content/articles/crank-sensor-testing

 

[craig]

this is a 1994, so those would not be the codes, right? it runs amazing if these 2 plugs are not firing... will pull them and see if they are fouled, cause they might be if no sparking right? no other symptoms you mention are apparent. thanks again all help is welcome.

 

[Mark_88]

Did you check the boots on those two plug connectors? I once yanked off my plug wires and managed to pull the connector up higher into the boot so they were not making contatc with the plug at all and would not fire properly. With 6 of 8 working plugs you might not even notice the difference especially on the intake side.

These engines have some special plug wires that have an added feature for the intake side wires...there is or could be a removal tool that is attached to them that makes pulling the wires off easier...

So...have a look inside the boot to see if the connector has been pulled up to high...something worth checking...and you can also test the wires with DMM to make sure there is continuity in them if you haven't checked that or replaced the wires recently.

 

[craig]

these are new wires, plugs, motorcraft, but no special removal tool on them. will look for that pulled up connector, but there is no switching signal on that side of coil pack, does truck have to be moving or engine just revved up for that spark to show on those plugs? thanks again.

 

[Mark_88]

I'm pretty sure they fire when the engine is running but I don't know that specifically if they don't fire at idle. If two of them are firing (1,4) then there may be a problem with the secondary coil signal to that part for 2 and 3.

Maybe inspect the wire harness and connector that goes to the secondary...cracks or broken wires...I can only imagine how that works or search for the diagram to see if there are two signals coming to each coil...one for each bank of cylinders.