Javarod
New Member
- Joined
- Jul 26, 2014
- Messages
- 33
- Reaction score
- 0
- Points
- 0
- Location
- St Louis county, MO
- Vehicle Year
- 1986
- Make / Model
- Ford
- Engine Size
- 2.0
- Transmission
- Manual
... aka the continuing misadventures of the Frankenford (formerly the Rickety Rocket).
Ok, the basics, 86 Ranger, 2.0 4cyl, 5 spd. Starter turns, but the engine doesn't fire up. Drained my little toy booster pack trying it.
History:
Picked it up in July, ran albeit a bit hard to start and idles rough. Usually took 2 to 3 minutes to warm up to where you could drive it. Also significant lack of power on hills, although peppy (at least as much as can be expected) on level ground.
First repair was replacing the wiring from the ICM to the distributor as the wires were resting on the steering shaft and insulation was crumbling off of it. No effect on starting or running.
Second repair was replacing the battery with a right sized one after it died and needed a jump (drained by toy booster pack). Had charging system checked and it passed muster along with the batter (albeit too small as it turned out).
By this time its getting colder, and warm up is approaching five minutes, and its known to backfire at starting, occasionally when first moving out.
Third repair came after it completely died. Hard to start, rolled out after five, truck starts losing power, then surges, then dies. Restarts some struggle, then repeat two more times. Coasted into a commuter lot, and that was it, won't start any more. Decided to do the HEI conversion that i just finished (Bridgeton CarQuest kicks ass ifn you're in/around STL and need a good parts store) since the ICM looked 30 years old. Also the coil tested low between the primaries (touch under 1/2 the proper measure), so i figured the upgrade couldn't hurt and might even fix the problem. No dice, runs or rather doesn't run exactly the same as before the change so it looks like i did the conversion right.
So now the question becomes what now? Prolly be tomorrow before i can use starting fluid to see if it'll fire up that way, but what else should i look for? Any probable cause?
Ok, the basics, 86 Ranger, 2.0 4cyl, 5 spd. Starter turns, but the engine doesn't fire up. Drained my little toy booster pack trying it.
History:
Picked it up in July, ran albeit a bit hard to start and idles rough. Usually took 2 to 3 minutes to warm up to where you could drive it. Also significant lack of power on hills, although peppy (at least as much as can be expected) on level ground.
First repair was replacing the wiring from the ICM to the distributor as the wires were resting on the steering shaft and insulation was crumbling off of it. No effect on starting or running.
Second repair was replacing the battery with a right sized one after it died and needed a jump (drained by toy booster pack). Had charging system checked and it passed muster along with the batter (albeit too small as it turned out).
By this time its getting colder, and warm up is approaching five minutes, and its known to backfire at starting, occasionally when first moving out.
Third repair came after it completely died. Hard to start, rolled out after five, truck starts losing power, then surges, then dies. Restarts some struggle, then repeat two more times. Coasted into a commuter lot, and that was it, won't start any more. Decided to do the HEI conversion that i just finished (Bridgeton CarQuest kicks ass ifn you're in/around STL and need a good parts store) since the ICM looked 30 years old. Also the coil tested low between the primaries (touch under 1/2 the proper measure), so i figured the upgrade couldn't hurt and might even fix the problem. No dice, runs or rather doesn't run exactly the same as before the change so it looks like i did the conversion right.
So now the question becomes what now? Prolly be tomorrow before i can use starting fluid to see if it'll fire up that way, but what else should i look for? Any probable cause?