92 Ranger not starting/hesitation

[bottlerocket]

Just got this Ranger home yesterday and the previous owner let me know about a problem starting in wet weather. I didn't have any issues yesterday, but after it being rained on last night while driving around work I noticed a little hesitation while cruising and accelerating. There didn't seem to be a pattern to the hesitation and it was very mild but still noticeable. It would happen more while accelerating than while cruising at a constant speed.

Now this afternoon while it was still in the rain all day it wouldn't start. I would crank and the first time it just cranked and nothing. The next 6-7 times it would crank and fire but die right away. After those tries I got it to start but it was a very lopey idle and it would rev up and down from probably 700-1200 rpm (a guess, I don't have a tach) for a minute or two and then finally smoothed out to normal.

I'm guessing its fuel related but not sure what exactly to start with for the diagnosis. Any suggestions?

 

[509lifted]

or it could be your distributor is gettin moisture in it....

 

[RonD]

Assuming a 2.3l engine?

Not sure when Ranger switched from MAP sensor to MAF sensor, I thought it was round '92

But either could give your those issues

Rain is usually a low pressure system moving through your area, no rain is high pressure.
MAP and MAF sensors use air pressure and flow to tell computer how to set fuel/air mix.

 

[Mark_88]

I think they dumped the MAP after 89 but not sure.

Could be what RonD suggested because it makes sense...and what 509 mentioned because I've had problems with wet starts on every Ford I've ever owned.

Until, of course, I knitted rubber booties for the coil and the distributor. Now wet weather does not stop me from starting...cold is another story that I will save for the winter. Only four more months or so...

 

[bottlerocket]

Its MAF

or it could be your distributor is gettin moisture in it....

I'll take a look today to see if that could be it. Any signs I'd see that would make it apparent its the distributor or something spark related?

 

[Mark_88]

Pull the cap and look inside. If you see condensation on the inside then that is the problem...or part of it. You can spray silicone on the wires and cap to keep moisture off them...or find an older 88 Ford Tempo and swipe the boot off of it for the distributor. That's what I put on both my coil and distributor to keep moisture away from it.

Checking the spark is fairly simple. pull one of the plugs and hook the wire back up and crank the engine. Hold the plug with the wire attached close to the engine to allow it to ground and watch for the spark. It is not usually very bright in daylight so you may need to do this at night also.

Or on a dark night open the hood and run the engine...spray a mist of water over the engine and you will see the arcs of light dancing around if there is a spark loss problem due to moisture.

If you leave the truck outside over night try parking it inside or under a shelter if possible.

 

[RonD]

Starting fluid(ether) is good to have around.

If there is ever a no start, pull the PCV(or power brake) vacuum line off the intake spray some in put line back on and crank.
If no fire, spark is the issue, if it fires then dies fuel is the issue


MAF cleaning
http://www.therangerstation.com/tech_library/CleanMAF.html