86 Ranger Gremlin

[Griffen-Mecham]

Hi forum, this is my first post but I'm just completely stumped. I have a 86 2.9 5 speed manual ranger and when it runs jts a great truck but I'm to my wits end. The truck will start right up when I go over and work on it then I drove it to work last week and it was fine. But when I was leaving work I pulled out of the gate and romped on the gas and the motor completely died (it's done this before) so I coasted down the hill and tried to bump start it multiple times and nothing then when I got to the parking lot it cranked until the battery died and didn't even sputter once. It acts like it'd getting fuel to the fuel rail but it's like the injectors won't feel the engine. Any Help will be appreciated.

 

[Shran]

If the engine was warm when it died I would bet you are dealing with a flaky TFI module.

If it was not warm then I'd check out the inertia switch and the wiring going to it under the passenger side carpet - that has given me a lot of trouble on multiple trucks. I've seen the switch go bad, the wiring connector melt, and the wiring itself melt.

Also check the ground wires coming right off the negative battery terminal. There should be one or two of them, small wires, in addition to the large cable. The smaller wire(s) are grounds for the fuel pump and some other things... they commonly come unhooked or break off and will cause a no start situation.

 

[Griffen-Mecham]

Thank you I will try all of these and post an update

 

[alwaysFlOoReD]

Another problem I've run into on almost all frame mounted high pressure pumps is the spade connectors under the rubber at the fuel pump are loose. Pull back the rubber and replace the spade connectors or carefully squeeze with pliers. Replacement is best!
The pump is located on frame under drivers seat area. Some have a fuel filter in this area as well.

 

[bobbywalter]

or bad pc grounds

 

[Cees Klumper]

You can get an OBD 1 code reader for the truck as well, that can help with diagnosing.
Another possible cause: small capacitor in the ECU can go bad causing crank no start. Easy and cheap to replace if that's the issue.