2.3l wont start

[JohnnyUhlar]

i have a 1997 ranger with a 2.3l manual trans and i cant get it to start. i was driving down the road today and it shut off on me. it turns over but wont fire up. i checked my battery and its still got power. im no mechanic so my knowlege is limited. if anyone has any suggestions or has experienced similar problems please help me. i need to get my truck back on the road ASAP.

 

[bmxnick7]

Mine did the same thing when I first got it. It blew a fuse under the hood. One if the small ones. Put new fuse in and never did it again

 

[JohnnyUhlar]

just fuses? well im gunna go give that a try right about now. any other ideas as to what it may be? im gunna run to autozone but ill check the post when i get back.

 

[snake]

Start with the basics... you need fuel and spark for it to run. Check and see which you are missing. You can press the schrader valve in to see if you have gas pressure present at the fuel rail, or just add a little into the throttle body and try to start it. If it fires and runs the gas out you know it isn't getting gas. If so, try checking the filter, inertia switch, fuel pump relay, or fuel pump. To test the spark, you can take a plug out, put it back inside its wire, ground the outside of the plug to metal, and have someone crank it around to see if it sparks. If no spark test the coil, etc, but at least you'll know where to go from there, either gas or spark. If you happen to have both gas and spark, try checking the valve timing- leave the plug out, put ur finger in the hole it came out of, have someone crank it over and see if the plug fires a split second before you feel compression, or about the same time. If this is off, you may have jumped a timing belt or chain. The last test is primitive, but it should get you started down the right path of figuring out whats wrong with it...

 

[JohnnyUhlar]

wow. thank you bunches. im going to spend the next couple hours doing these things. and is there anyway to check a spark by yourself? i live by myself and i dont have any neighbors. just wondering if theres any way to do it by myself. if not ill call someone to come over. and thank you again. i dont know anything about trucks so all of this was very helpful.

 

[JohnnyUhlar]

alrighty so it turns out its a fouled plug and ontop of that i slipped a belt. im gunna have to look into how to do that next.