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2.3L ('83-'97) Having trouble starting


RedRanger760

Member
Joined
Jan 8, 2025
Messages
12
City
Palm Springs
Vehicle Year
1988
Transmission
Manual
Hey guys my little 88 2.3 manual ranger is still having trouble starting. I replaced the battery, starter, spark plugs and fuel filter and still no go. It just cranks for a while and then it starts after 20 seconds What else can it be?
 
Try a 50/50 test. Spray some starter fluid or brake fluid into the air intake. If it sputters and trys to run, you have spark and the issue is fuel. If it doesn't you have an ignition problem. That will give you a direction of where to troubleshoot.

If it is a fuel problem, look at your fuse for the fuel pump and make sure your tip over switch I'm dawing a blank on the proper name but it shuts the fuel pump off in case of a roll over) didn't pop. If the fuse looks ok but there is brown stuff on the pins, replace the fuse and see if that fixes the problem. As far as the tip over switch, it should be on the passenger side behind the kick panel under the dash. Press the red button. If it clicks, it was tripped. Sometimes all it takes is a bump from a pothole to trip it. If all that checks out, you are looking at either wiring or a fuel pump issue. I think your year has two. A high-pressure pump on the frame rail and a low-pressure pump in the tank.

As far as spark, it could be a distributor cap and rotor problem (contacts are bad) or your ignition coil is bad. There also could be a fuseable link issue. They look like a wire but do the same thing as a fuse. The fuel pumps may have those as well.

It's been so long since I've had a vehicle with fusable links and was to inexperienced to do anything with them if there was a problem that I can be much help there. I believe that if one blows, you can tell by looking at it. The insulation will have a burn mark on it, I believe. You may have to resort to using a multimeter to check power and continuity to troubleshoot what is getting power and ground and what is not.
 
Tha
Try a 50/50 test. Spray some starter fluid or brake fluid into the air intake. If it sputters and trys to run, you have spark and the issue is fuel. If it doesn't you have an ignition problem. That will give you a direction of where to troubleshoot.

If it is a fuel problem, look at your fuse for the fuel pump and make sure your tip over switch I'm dawing a blank on the proper name but it shuts the fuel pump off in case of a roll over) didn't pop. If the fuse looks ok but there is brown stuff on the pins, replace the fuse and see if that fixes the problem. As far as the tip over switch, it should be on the passenger side behind the kick panel under the dash. Press the red button. If it clicks, it was tripped. Sometimes all it takes is a bump from a pothole to trip it. If all that checks out, you are looking at either wiring or a fuel pump issue. I think your year has two. A high-pressure pump on the frame rail and a low-pressure pump in the tank.

As far as spark, it could be a distributor cap and rotor problem (contacts are bad) or your ignition coil is bad. There also could be a fuseable link issue. They look like a wire but do the same thing as a fuse. The fuel pumps may have those as well.

It's been so long since I've had a vehicle with fusable links and was to inexperienced to do anything with them if there was a problem that I can be much help there. I believe that if one blows, you can tell by looking at it. The insulation will have a burn mark on it, I believe. You may have to resort to using a multimeter to check power and continuity to troubleshoot what is getting power and ground and what is not.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH!! Gives me a place to start! I appreciate your time and knowledge!
 

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