Check engine light

[Anthony2296]

I got a 2004 Ford Ranger 4.0 check engine light is on but can’t read nothing and I check all the fuses and they are good what can it be

 

[Curious Hound]

I got a 2004 Ford Ranger 4.0 check engine light is on but can’t read nothing and I check all the fuses and they are good what can it be

Anything from a tiny vacuum leak to "the engine fell out of the vehicle". It's a long list. Best thing to do is get the codes read somehow. Cheapest way is to see if a local parts store like AutoZone will do it for you. But it's really easy and not very expensive to order an OBDII code reader with Bluetooth capability and download a free app on your phone. Then you can get the codes yourself. Once you have the codes, then we can narrow down what might be wrong.

 

[Anthony2296]

Anything from a tiny vacuum leak to "the engine fell out of the vehicle". It's a long list. Best thing to do is get the codes read somehow. Cheapest way is to see if a local parts store like AutoZone will do it for you. But it's really easy and not very expensive to order an OBDII code reader with Bluetooth capability and download a free app on your phone. Then you can get the codes yourself. Once you have the codes, then we can narrow down what might be wrong.

I took it to the autozone and it can’t be read

 

[Curious Hound]

What else can you tell us about how the truck is operating? Funny noises? Loss of power? Temperature normal? Vibrations? Hesitation? Fast idle? Slow idle? Smoke? Skipping? Funny color?

When you checked fuses, did you check them with a meter, or just look at them? Did you check both fuse blocks?

 

[Dirtman]

Why can't it be read? When you try to scan a vehicle even a crappy scanner will give you some info as to what's going on. No power to the obd2 port, unable to communicate with the ECU, something.

Your not giving us much info here...

 

[rusty ol ranger]

Arnt you the one with the faulty temp gauge?

Wonder if its an ECM issue? Doest all that get funneled thru the ECM on newer vehicles?

 

[19Walt93]

The dealer I worked at was less than 1/4 mile from Autozone and those knuckleheads caused us no end of headaches. Half the time when they did their free scan they'd erase the memory so we couldn't complete the diag after they failed. The other half the time they'd sell the customer a part based on their mickey mouse code reader that didn't fix it. There are 2 levels of OBD II codes, generic and proprietary, only dealers can access the proprietary codes. The dealer scan tool, IDS, displays the actual codes and the tech then follows a diag tree to reach the actual fault. Often aftermarket scanners display the scanners guess of the cause. The one we'd see most often was "O2 sensor fault" popped up so they sold the customer an O2, he installed it and the light was still on. If the O2 is out of range it most often means the vehicle is running rich or lean, not that the sensor failed. It's a symptom, not a diagnosis. One used car dealer brought us an F150 after they'd replaced the O2 sensor 5 times trying to fix it using their scanner, my tech fixed it in 40 minutes. If you've unplugged anything, drive it for a few days and have a dealer diag it, it's better to pay for a correct diagnosis than to buy a bunch of parts based on faulty "free" diag.