97 FORD RANGER SPLASH 4X4 checkeng. light blinking ?

[ddsmith1958]

Hello Everyone,

I have a 97 Ford Ranger Splash 4x4 4.0 eng. 5 speed with 150,000 miles on it.
It has been running great until this Yesterday.
I was driving down the road and it started running rough when I was going up a hill.
The check eng. light came on and was blinking.
It did that a few min. and then stayed on.
(the check eng. light came on a few months agao and you good people told me it was the EGR valve and when i had it checked that was what it was, the guy who checked it said i could clean it out but i couldnt get the egr off without breaking the pipe going to it ( the nut would not break free so i unbolted it from the flange and cleaned it the best i could without removing the whole deal. I then hoked the Batt. cable back up and the light was now off and it ran good so i havent worried about it until it started acting up yesterday.
and now back to my problem, When the check eng. light stoped blinking it ran good didnt miss or anything.I went down the mountain and it ran great.
I stoped at my doctors office and when i came back out to leave it started up great but started running rough again (missing and jerking a little)
I got home and undone the Batt. cable for a few min. and started it back up.
The light didnt come back on but the truck still ran bad.
I have been told to replace the spark plugs but i wanted to check with you guys first.
I am sorry for the long letter but wanted to cover everything like it happened.
it is a 5 speed and the only trouble i have ever had with it is the EGR valve.
the gut at Advanced Auto check it that time when the check eng. light came on and said it was the Egr valve.
But this time the check eng. light blinked on and off a bunch before it stayed on.
Any advice you have i would greatly appreciate.
ddsmith

Also If I need to remove the EGR valve does anyone have any ideas about how i can get the nuts on the pipe to break free without breaking the pipe?

 

[Wicked_Sludge]

next time the CEL comes on...dont just disconnect the battery to clear the codes. those trouble codes could have helped you/us figure out why the engine is running rough...now they are gone and diagnosing will take much longer.

now we have to start with basics. what is the status of tune-up items on the truck? (filters - including fuel, plugs, wires, PCV, O2's, ect).

check for vacuum leaks, loose hoses/wires.

 

[fordwheelinman]

It was blinking while running rough to let you know that it was in a poor running condition that is bad enough to cause catalyst damage in the converter.

Where have you been getting fuel lately? Have you gotten fuel right after a big rain? If its fine and then not, fine then not, it could be a fuel related issue, i.e. water in your fuel, pump going bad, that sort of thing. The best thing i could say is to run it a little bit (nicely) to try and get the CEL to reilluminate, then take it somewhere to have it checked out. With just having cleaned the EGR valve it may be possible that it could be damaged and it is sticking open and letting too high a level of gases reenter the chambers and its messing with your a/f mix. When was the last time it had a tune up? Plugs and wires especially. You could have a wire or two breaking down and causing a misfire allowing unburnt fuel to enter your exhaust (which is a catalyst damaging condition) and flashing the check engine light. But this is all here say and a CEL on would really be more helpful.

 

[WNY964x4]

whenever tthe check engine light blinks like that it means that there is the severe possibilty of damage to the catalyst , i.e. fuel into the cat converter. The 90 percent of the time cause of this is a random multiple misfire , chage the plugs wires and maybe the coil and it will be fixed.

 

[fordwheelinman]

whenever tthe check engine light blinks like that it means that there is the severe possibilty of damage to the catalyst , i.e. fuel into the cat converter. The 90 percent of the time cause of this is a random multiple misfire , chage the plugs wires and maybe the coil and it will be fixed.

Not if he has water in his fuel system that has made it up into the fuel rail and is blocking fuel from the injectors. OR if there is a chaffed wire in the harness that is sending a bad signal to the coil, injectors, or any number of other things. OR if there is a bad ground somewhere. Any number of things can cause a misfire/multiple misfire. Without proper diagnosis it is impossible to say that plugs, wires, and a coil will fix the problem.

Its possible that he HAD water in his fuel, that when going up the hill, moved in the fuel rail blocking injectors, but managed to be forced through, while the misfire has destroyed his converter and that could be causing his current running problems.

Bottom line, ANYTHING is possible. Get it checked out by a qualified shop if you dont feel comfortable doing it yourself. You could always through parts at it, but Why?

 

[Jspafford]

whenever tthe check engine light blinks like that it means that there is the severe possibilty of damage to the catalyst , i.e. fuel into the cat converter. The 90 percent of the time cause of this is a random multiple misfire , chage the plugs wires and maybe the coil and it will be fixed.

Huh?

My crystal ball rolled off the desk and busted so I am going to be the bad guy and tell you to pull the codes the next time the CEL lights.

It is flashing for a reason, it is communicating to you.