1994 2.3 Ranger missing intermittently

[Bartmuley]

I know this is vague but I have a 1994 Ranger 2.3. For the past few months the check engine light has been on. A few weeks ago it started randomly missing. The exhaust was rotten so replaced it and the cat. It’s still missing but the check engine light will go on then shut off.

like I said I know it’s vague but I’m not really sure where to even start. Any help or advice is appreciated. Thanks.

 

[franklin2]

Go down to the parts store and get them to pull that code that is turning the light on and off. If it's off when they check it, it should be stored in memory, just make sure you do not disconnect the battery before they check it.

 

[RonD]

Welcome to the forum

The 1994 2.3l will have 2 spark plugs per cylinder, both spark plug sparks at the same time, this adds more power

After engine is warmed up, shut it off
Unplug the 3 wire connector on the Drivers side coil pack, intake side, pull it back so it can't arc
Start engine
If you have a steady misfire then one of the spark plugs on passenger side, exhaust side, is bad

The thing with dual spark plugs is that you can't tell when 1 spark plug fails until the other spark plug in the same cylinder starts to fail, lol

Do the same test but plug in the intake side coil pack and unplug the exhaust side coil pack

In some 1994 and earlier 2.3ls only the exhaust side coil pack worked when cranking engine over
So engine may not start with only intake side spark plugs hooked up
If that's the case you can start up the engine with both coil packs plugged in then unplug the exhaust side after start up, use insulated pliers or insulated glove to do that

Common things to do
Clean MAF sensor, every year
Change PCV Valve every 3 oil changes

O2 sensors use a chemical reaction to see Oxygen in the exhaust, and they run out of chemicals over time
150k miles or 12 years is maximum for these sensors, the only sensor that has to be changed

 

[Bartmuley]

Thanks for the replies. I haven’t gotten to look into it due to work and weather but am going to try to figure it out this weekend (assuming it doesn’t die before then).

it ran great today so I’m at a loss.