2.3L ('83-'97) got me again

[Dav]

95 2.3 auto 2wd long bed; drove across tampa to drop off a job app. about 40 miles each way. not much traffic so move right along. had to redo app at the place so truck was parked for 3/4 hour in the sun. temp about 85 to 87. on the way back, truck lost power, acted like it's out of gas. 5 minutes later, started right up ran for 1 traffic light. 10 min later started again, took it to my daughter's 1/2 mile away at 5 mph sat for an hour. ran fine for another 20 miles and started crapping out again. every time i had to slow down, either by touching the brake or just letting up on the gas to coast, it would die. 4 miles from home it started with the bucking that it does when the O2 is bad this O2 sensor is less than a year old. 1 mile to go and it wouldn't. had to get the 88 and tow dolly. 95 drove right onto the dolly
in the am i plan to remove the cat to see if it is clogged or melted or anything.. any suggestions as to what else to look at? does the series 3 have a problem similar to the TFI problem the series 1 and 2 had?

 

[RonD]

1995 is distributorless(no TFI), and in 1995 it had no external ignition module(ICU), its in the computer

Was the battery light on, does the battery light work?
Reads like you were either running out of fuel pressure(dirty fuel filter) or voltage to run the spark, alternator is bad so running off battery power, but restart would be noticeably slow crank speed

You can test for clogged exhaust with Vacuum gauge

 

[Dav]

am i right in thinking that the fuel pressure regulater runs on vaccum from the intake and the brake booster also? can the booster rob the vaccum somehow so the fpr cant work right? problem always starts when i slow down for any reason. have new filter to put in in morning. starting power seems to be ok didn't look at gauges, didn't notice any lights

 

[RonD]

Vacuum leak can effect engine, of course, if Booster is leaking you should hear it in the cab where the atmosphere valve is, on the brake pedal push rod

But not fuel pressure, the FPR vacuum is there to lower the fuel pressure, so less vacuum means higher pressure

 

[Dav]

well, surprise, surprise! in the 14 years i've owned this truck, i've never known that it has 2 O2 sensors. i've replaced the upstream sensor no less than 4 times. how do i find if the downstream one is wirking right?

 

[RonD]

Downstream O2s are there to make sure Cat Converter is working, they don't use up their chemicals as fast as Upstream O2s do, so don't need to be changed every 100k miles

These can effect LTFT(long term fuel trims) but not engine operation, so wouldn't cause your issues

These are called O2 Sensor "2"s, and would set a code including Bank 1 Sensor 2(B1S2)
Upstream O2s are Sensor "1"s
On a 4cyl you just have Bank 1 sensor 1(B1S1), on a V engine there is also Bank 2 sensor 1(B2S1) for the other upstream O2

Most Rangers have single exhaust, so only the one Bank 1 sensor 2 downstream O2
On Dual exhaust there would be Bank 2 sensor 2(B2S2), for a 2nd downstream O2

If you don't have a trouble code for B1S2 O2 sensor then its working OK

 

[91stranger]

Fuel pump?? Mine did the same thing when my fuel pump was failing. Would drive just fine and then as soon as you let off the gas it would die and sometimes wouldn't start back up, sometimes it would. Check your fuel pressure and let us know.

 

[Dav]

drove the truck to o'reilly's, about a mile. ran fine. had the guy drag out the obd2 and check. nada. no codes. went to youtube and found several vids on engine codes. none had the same dash as mine.usually the over drive on/off light blinks after 10 minutes or so but today it didn't.
i really don't want to get under the truck to deal with the fuel pump. one of the trucks i pulled the bed and slid it back 2 feet which allowed me access to the top of the tank. but i can't remember which truck that was.

 

[RonD]

OD light flashes only for transmission codes, P0700-P0799, and most OBD readers can't read/see them, just FYI

No Codes points to fuel pump, there is no fuel pressure sensor, so no code is possible
Lean codes can be set, but if pump is actually cutting off then no Lean codes either

On the Rangers you slide back the bed to access fuel pump
Unless you have a shop with lift and transmission jack, then you can lower the tank down

 

[Dav]

i went looking for something online that would show me where my cel was. where ever i wound up said 95 could be either obd or obd2. it also led me to beleive that some trucks had the obd connecter both under the steering wheel and in the engine compartment. i've looked at both my series 3's; truck 1, my daily, 5-95 and truck 8, 3-96. both have 2 connecters attached to the fuse box and capped off. they are round plugs. are these the obd port or are they for uninstalled options like cruise control or abs.

 

[RonD]

CEL(check engine light) should come on with key on, if not then bulb is burn out, or wire from computer is broken, it will then go off after start up.

OBD1 connector is in the engine bay, and looks like second drawing down here: https://www.therangerstation.com/tech_library/OBD_I.shtml

Its on the main wiring harness and may have a rectangle cap over it that has EEC on it
They were never round

OBD2 ports are in the cab under steering column

1995 Rangers were the first year to get the newer EEC-V computers which did use OBD2 but..............this first year used Fords version of OBD2, so generic OBD2 readers may not always work with this one year
In 1996 Ford used generic/standard OBD2 as required by law

Any vehicle sold in the US or Canada was required by law to use standard OBD2 protocol from 1996 and up, and they still do

OBD is a communications protocol, like English or French is a communications protocol
OBD2 was standardized for 1996 and up so they all "speak the same language" regardless of vehicle maker

 

[91stranger]

Have you checked you fuel pressure yet?

 

[Dav]

took the instrument cluster out yesterday to check the cel bulb. there wasn't one! no bulb, no little bulb holder. had some spares so i checked them all and reoplaced 3.now i have a cel. haven't had an opportunity to go anywhere so i have not had a chance to see the code when the truck is acting up.

 

[Dav]

got the fuel pressure tester from o'reilly's. after hooking it up, the reading was zero. turn key on; goes to 20 lbs. key off, key on 10 seconds later, goes from 20 to 34 to 28. start truck; goes from 28 to 32 then 28. rev it; 44/28 turn truck off. reading very slowly drops. 15 minutes; 20 lbs 1 hour; zero. turn key on; goes to 32/28. start motor; 32/28. key off; starts dropping. each time i start after sitting for a while, it starts right away but within 15 seconds it tries to stall. i think it may be purging air thru the injectors. whatever, it steadys after that. i think i have a spare fp regulator. if i can find it, i will swap it in the morning and try again. easier and cheaper than a fuel pump. question; is there a check valve or a foot valve on the fuel pump?

 

[RonD]

The high pressure pump will have a check valve inside it, its not a separate part