2.9 Ignition problem

[Buddha62]

hello

have an 88 ranger 4wd 2.9 that i drive 130 mile a day. i took it to the car wash and cleaned the engine since its leaking about a quart every 250 miles
after the wash it started right up andi drove it 2 miles/let it sit for about 30 minutes and then it wouldnt start

the engine would crank freely for about 5-10 seconds then would bog down like it was firing out of time or i had the firing order off.
pulled the coil wire and it would crank fine all day long

a friend replaced the ignition module and it fired right up. he then set the timing (turned the distro to chenge module)
running fine.

shut off the engine cleaned up and tried to restart the engine.
Same problem!!!

believing i got a bad module we replaced that and it fired up fine till i shut it off. then it did the same thing agian
checked spark at the coil and plugs were firing eradically

the cap,rotor, and wires are new.

checked the cap and it was dry inside.

what would cause the timing to change or blow a module that quickly????

where is the spout located that i saw mentioned for timing???

could this be a problem with the pickup coil???

any other ideas???????

 

[trail B2]

When you say that the cap is new is that before you had this problem or after.Do you think it could be arcing on the cap look for lines or trails where its shorting across.It acts like by what you say its shorting from one cylinder to the other in the secondary ignition system, some cylinders out of time.Not sure but could this damage your module?Intermittent problems are always the hardest to find good luck and start simple.

 

[IMenriched]

hello

have an 88 ranger 4wd 2.9 that i drive 130 mile a day. i took it to the car wash and cleaned the engine since its leaking about a quart every 250 miles
after the wash it started right up andi drove it 2 miles/let it sit for about 30 minutes and then it wouldnt start

the engine would crank freely for about 5-10 seconds then would bog down like it was firing out of time or i had the firing order off.
pulled the coil wire and it would crank fine all day long

a friend replaced the ignition module and it fired right up. he then set the timing (turned the distro to chenge module)
running fine.

shut off the engine cleaned up and tried to restart the engine.
Same problem!!!

believing i got a bad module we replaced that and it fired up fine till i shut it off. then it did the same thing agian
checked spark at the coil and plugs were firing eradically

the cap,rotor, and wires are new.

checked the cap and it was dry inside.

what would cause the timing to change or blow a module that quickly????

where is the spout located that i saw mentioned for timing???

could this be a problem with the pickup coil???

any other ideas???????

the spout is located on the passenger side of the intake manifold...just below the IAC...it'll have just 2 wires going to it, the same color. It will be about the size of 2 Carmel cubes , white with a black male plug, the plug will have little "T" handle.

AND yes those TFI's or ignition module, can be lost in relative short order, i had one last <50 miles....(one of those lack of quality things.) Yes the pick-up coil can be week/faulty, there-by not feeding the TFI correctly.

 

[Buddha62]

ok
i replaced the cap rotor and wires before this problem started. i dont thnk this is the issue because as soon as i installed a new ignition module it fired right up and ran fine till i shut it off then the problem returned.

going to pull the module off and have it checked/replaced tomorrow. any other ideas on what this might be????

 

[RustedRanger]

Check the plug in to the coil,even if it looks good the plug could be bad. Try to jiggle it around.

 

[Mysticcook]

also that spout needs to be out when timing. it wont affect starting but either retards or advances the spark.

 

[Buddha62]

now what???? oi put the battery charger on the truck and let it charge for a day.i went out the next day and it fired right up???? turned it off started it 4 more times....
so what could be causing this ti start now and not when i was jumping it off??? when i had the problem lest above i had cranked it till the battery was dead and it would fire once and not start afterwards.......

 

[kunar]

the biggest problem i've had when i wash the engine bay is that the relays get water in them and then they dont want to work. if the computer's relay isnt turning on (intermittently?) you wont get spark. you wont get fuel either...

 

[holyford86]

the biggest problem i've had when i wash the engine bay is that the relays get water in them and then they dont want to work. if the computer's relay isnt turning on (intermittently?) you wont get spark. you wont get fuel either...

just fixed a problem like that the other day, the pumps still turned on but under heavy load the engine would cut out, swapped in a used one out of my mountain of parts and problem solved. I cut the relay open after and was greeted with a rusty corroded mess.

 

[old409]

Somebody mentioned the plug that plugs into the coil. Don't overlook it. It can cause you problems like you have. Try wiggling it when your truck won't start. Another thing it could be, since you washed your engine down,,,,you may have got water in a wiring harness and it could be causing an intermittent short or intermittent ground. Also,

I had a problem of no start and I got several new parts that weren't any good. Just because the parts are new doesn't mean they are good, especially the TFI and computer. I just about lost my mind from bad parts this past summer.