2.3L ('83-'97) No spark

[Otto57]

I'm really losing patience with my 88 ranger. Rebuilt 2.3 and it was running pretty good and after two days of driving it to work it started leaking gas from a rusted tank. New gas tank, sending unit and fuel line and drove it one day and now it won't start. No spark. Tested the coil and it was weak so I replaced it. Still no spark. Plugs wires and distributor cap are new. Can I test the ignition module? I'm tired of throwing money at it. What about the condenser mounted on the distributor? This is a early carburetor 2.3 that I put in to replace the 2.0 that died. I would appreciate any help

 

[RonD]

If the distributor rotor turning?

Timing belt could have broke, so no distributor and no spark

No, on the condenser causing a no spark

 

[Otto57]

Timing belt is new and rotor is turning

 

[RonD]

Then if there is no spark the Hall effect sensor in the distributor is bad, or the TFI module is

Diagnostics here: https://www.therangerstation.com/tech_library/TFI_Diagnostic.shtml

I would check if you have 12volts at the coil with key on first

TFI module is a more common failure than the distributor sensor
But no 12volts is the most common

 

[Otto57]

I have no tester for the module so I guess I will check voltage at coil and buy a new module. It is turning into a money pit. Thanks

 

[RonD]

33 year old vehicle...........a money pit, "say it ain't so Joe", lol

Actually you can spend money on a vehicle you like and it can be cost effective
If you buy an older vehicle for $1,000, and spend $4,000 fixing it up the way YOU like it, so cost is $5,000
If you can drive it for 5 years(60 months) without any other major expense then vehicle cost you $83.33 a month as a "car payment", and it will most likely be worth more than the $1,000 after the 5 years if its still running well, so actual cost was $66/month

Not sure what kind of vehicle you can get for $83/month, but it won't be as nice as a Ranger

 

[Otto57]

I'm just getting aggravated with it. Rebuilt engine, new clutch, gas tank, sending unit, fuel pump, power steering pump and front brakes. Still can't drive it. Just frustrated.

 

[Otto57]

Then if there is no spark the Hall effect sensor in the distributor is bad, or the TFI module is

Diagnostics here: https://www.therangerstation.com/tech_library/TFI_Diagnostic.shtml

I would check if you have 12volts at the coil with key on first

TFI module is a more common failure than the distributor sensor
But no 12volts is the most common

Well, I'm still fighting this electrical issue on my 88 ranger. Still no spark. Replaced coil and ignition module. After many tests with a multi meter, it appears that I'm not getting power to the module. I have 12 volts at the coil but nothing going into the module. I tested the distributor pick up and it seems good. Resistance varies as motor is rotated. My question is can I just splice into the power wire into module with a wire that is hot with key on? Any suggestions would be great. Thanks

 

[RonD]

Diagram below for 1987, will be the same in 1988

There are two wires for 12v power at the TFI module, the RUN and the START
The RUN can be hooked/spliced to the Coil + power wire, as you can see in the diagram they should already be spliced, and use/share the same red/light green wire
This 12volts powers the module and distributor sensor, and you can see in the diagram this red/green wire has 12v in RUN and START both

The START 12v needs to be momentary, like when starting the engine, lol, reason is that 12v on this terminal disables SPOUT(load advance from computer), so key on 12v here would cause very very sluggish engine
This 12volts is just to prevent computer from advancing spark too much for a good start up, so cuts off SPOUT
So no 12v here wouldn't cause a No Spark, just wrong timing for spark, and a slow or hard cold start

You may have 12v with key in START position here already, red/light blue wire, or you can splice into the red/light blue wire on the Starter Relay(solenoid), the smaller wire on the "S" post, it only has 12v with key in START position

 

[Otto57]

Thanks, I will play with it soon as I have time.