Ranger dies after running...please help!!!

[b2bjacks20]

I'm sorry if I'm posting this in the wrong place but I need help. This is my daily driver, and I can't seem to find what is wrong. I was driving down the road, about 40mph and it died. I pulled over and tried to crank it over a couple times. After it sitting for about ten minutes it turned over again and I drove for about 15 more minutes and it did the same thing...sure enough about ten minutes later...started up, drove home. When I got home I started simple diagnosis, "well maybe there isn't any gas in the front tank", so I switched to the back. Heard the tanks switch, so I ran it, and same thing, died idling in the driveway after about ten minutes. So, started with the fuel tank relay, no dice. So went to the ignition module, nope. From my understanding if the fuel filters were clogged, the truck wouldn't even run at all, am I wrong? Why I haven't touched the fuel filters is what are the odds of both of them going out, 1 in about a thousand... Anything would help, open to anything, thanks!

 

[alwaysFlOoReD]

So when the engine cranks but won't start, does it have spark? If I remember correctly, those motors have a distributor with a tfi module on the side. They are prone to problems from heat.

Richard

 

[b2bjacks20]

Yes it does have spark and yes it does, I just replaced that module today.

 

[doorgunner]

My father in law's Ford was doing the same thing.........so we let it cool down......he started the engine----I started moving wiring harnesses on the engine.....I finally moved one after a couple minutes & the engine sputtered....I moved the harness a lot & the engine quit....one of the wires in the harness had broken where it entered the connector but the insulation kept it from coming aloose...we repaired the wire.

Not saying that's wrong with your truck...but it's worth a try...

 

[b2bjacks20]

Alright ill give it a shot tomorrow.

 

[RonD]

Remove the gas cap, could be an issue with negative pressure in the tank so at some point after running the engine the pump can no longer suck gas from the tank, sitting reduces pressure.

 

[doorgunner]

Remove the gas cap, could be an issue with negative pressure in the tank so at some point after running the engine the pump can no longer suck gas from the tank, sitting reduces pressure.

Good idea...as soon as the truck dies get close to the gas cap while you slowly unscrew it so you ncan hear any air noise----does it blow presuure out......or does it suck air in?

 

[Jardine]

I had the exact same issue on my 4.6L 2002 Ford Mustang GT. I would be driving along, and randomly it would full die out on me. I hooked up a fuel pressure gauge, and waited for it to die - the pressure remained good. So I ruled out fuel. I then took a spark plug and watched it spark. As it was dying, it was losing spark on all cylinders. Long story short, I ended up finding that the previous owner used to have an AutoMeter tachometer in the car, and the wire that he had spliced into the coil signal was never removing. It was dangling under the dash, and would periodically ground itself out.

 

[bwright1818]

My '87 150 had EFI so I am assuming yours does, too? Run with a fuel pressure gauge and see what happens. It should start to slowly drop back as the truck starts to die. I'm a boat mechanic not a truck one. But yes, pressure can drop back and it will still run, to a point. Usually what would happen with a filter is it will start and idle fine. But the faster you load it up the faster it would die off. Running with a pressure gauge will tell you a lot....but again, I am just a boat guy.

 

[killj0y]

Mine did this and it was the fuel filter 7 dollar part do it.

 

[snake]

Do you have fuel pressure when it dies? You can listen for the pump to pressurize when you turn the key on. Also, check the inertia switch. some of these got hot on certain years and started to melt the wires- then the truck runs intermittently. Might want to swap the fuel pump relay with another in the box to eliminate that as a problem.