1992 Ford Ranger 2.9l Crank but no Start

[beckers0347]

I have a 1992 Ford Ranger 2.9l and the other day I was driving it and all of a sudden it died. I pulled over and tried to restart it but it didn't start it cranked but didn't start i had no fuel pressure. I towed it home and did various tests and i had no spark or fuel pressure it has a new fuel pump and I replaced the fuel pump relay and the distributer and ignition control module. It still cranks but no start with no spark or fuel.

 

[alwaysFlOoReD]

Do the 50/50 test:
Spray fuel into maf and see if the engine tries to start. If it tries to start then you know it's a fuel problem. If it doesnt then it's an electrical problem.

 

[beckers0347]

Do the 50/50 test:
Spray fuel into maf and see if the engine tries to start. If it tries to start then you know it's a fuel problem. If it doesnt then it's an electrical problem.

What do you mean by tries to start, it has no spark so it wont be able to much more then crank

 

[alwaysFlOoReD]

If you've already isolated spark as the problem ignore my post.
But you indicated you had no spark AND no fuel. It is unlikely both would quit. So the 50/50 test....

 

[beckers0347]

Okay so there is no difference between cranking it and cranking it when i spray fuel into the maf

 

[alwaysFlOoReD]

So that eliminates fuel as the problem.
It's been a long time since I worked on my 1986 2.9. Mine had a distributor. Does yours? Pop the cap off and see if the shaft turns.
I'm not so good with the electrical side of things so hopefully someone else chimes in...

 

[beckers0347]

Yes mine has a distributer, the shaft does turn, my guess was that it was out of time, how would I check that

 

[gaz]

beckers,

If you are certain that you have no spark there are a few posibilties. The spark is generated by the coil upon triggering from the computer;

Power to coil
Coil
Coil to distributor wire
Distributor
Rotor
Plug wires

A tricky coil failure can simply be a failed balast resistor on the coil. Fortunatly they are a $4 part and it is to your advantage to keep on on hand.

 

[beckers0347]

Its a brand new distributer and Coil the wires have about 3000 miles on them, I cant find a ballast resistor for my truck

 

[alwaysFlOoReD]

Find number one spark plug. Iirc its passenger side front. follow the wire to distributor cap. Rotor should point at #1 when piston is at top dead center. On the crank pulley are mark's. Line up the Mark's with the pointer on the block. The crank rotates twice for one sparkplug firing. To make sure you're on the right timing Mark, pull #1 sparkplug and rotate engine until you feel air push your finger off the sparkplug hole. That will get you real close to top dead center and you can then rotate engine to correct spot.

 

[Paulos]

The fuel system and the ignition system are completely separate systems, with the exception of the ECM, which essentially controls both. If it was just a fuel pressure issue I would say bypass the fuel pump relay to see if the system pressurizes, and check the inertia switch. If it was just a sudden lack of spark I would first check the ignition module, then the coil, then lastly the pickup coil inside the distributer. But if both systems were affected at once, I would have to suspect the ECM.
Try bypassing the fuel pump relay to see if you get fuel pressure. The pump should run constantly with it bypassed. If you still have no pressure, check the inertia switch behind the glove compartment at the fire wall just behind the carpet. There's a button on top to reset it, but it would be best to check for voltage on both wires when the relay is bypassed, or unplug the switch and you should have continuity between both terminals. If all this checks out, and you don't hear the fuel pump engage for a couple seconds when the ignition is turned on, I would again suspect the ECU. Having fuel pressure with the bypass would indicate that the relay is good, the fuel system is good, but the ECM is at fault. Let us know how the bypass goes.

 

[beckers0347]

Bypass worked, everything in the ignition system is brand new except the wires the connect everthing together so my assumtion was the ECU im going to get one from the junk yard tomorrow and try that out. THank you for the help.

 

[beckers0347]

I went and got a new ecm and it started right up, just needed to be timed

 

[Paulos]

Cool. Glad it was a relatively easy fix.

 

[Oscara18]

The fuel system and the ignition system are completely separate systems, with the exception of the ECM, which essentially controls both. If it was just a fuel pressure issue I would say bypass the fuel pump relay to see if the system pressurizes, and check the inertia switch. If it was just a sudden lack of spark I would first check the ignition module, then the coil, then lastly the pickup coil inside the distributer. But if both systems were affected at once, I would have to suspect the ECM.
Try bypassing the fuel pump relay to see if you get fuel pressure. The pump should run constantly with it bypassed. If you still have no pressure, check the inertia switch behind the glove compartment at the fire wall just behind the carpet. There's a button on top to reset it, but it would be best to check for voltage on both wires when the relay is bypassed, or unplug the switch and you should have continuity between both terminals. If all this checks out, and you don't hear the fuel pump engage for a couple seconds when the ignition is turned on, I would again suspect the ECU. Having fuel pressure with the bypass would indicate that the relay is good, the fuel system is good, but the ECM is at fault. Let us know how the bypass goes.
View attachment 58765

This may be a dumb question but I'm having the same problem, when bypassing relay, I take the relay off and that's a picture of the plug itself that goes into the relay under the hood passenger side correct?