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Weird Problem... '95 2.3


Maynard

New Member
Joined
Mar 27, 2020
Messages
4
City
Gulf Coast
Vehicle Year
1995
Transmission
Manual
Greetings all...

An issue that I've had for some time now that I'm hoping to find relief from. It even has my own mechanic baffled (or... he just didn't want to deal with it).

I've got a '95 Ranger x-cab with the 2.3 and the 5-speed. About a zillion miles on it. Got the flywheel, starter, fuel pump, and gauge sending unit replaced about a year ago, and those are the only major things I've done with it.

It runs fine, starts right up on the first crank every day, but here's the issue: If I have to stop quickly, she sputters and dies. If I have to turn sharply, she sputters and dies. Now, it'll start back up, and run fine after, but just not right away - I have to wait for sometimes up to five minutes. Sometimes, I can catch it and keep it running by goosing the gas when I start to hear it sputter, but that doesn't always work either.

I've researched this online, to no avail. I was told it could be the Idle Control Valve Motor by the intake. I've removed it, cleaned it, lubed it, blew it out, everything, and the problem continues to happen, so I'm not sure if that's it. Thought it might be the fuel pump, but it still does it regardless of how much gas is in the tank.

Any thoughts?


M
 
Welcome to TRS :)

The stopping and going around a corner probably has one thing in common
You are taking your foot off the gas pedal, as you should, lol

And yes the IAC(idle air control) valve can be a suspect in this, but also the TPS(throttle position sensor)

The TPS "tells" the engine computer(PCM) when you take your foot off the gas so the PCM would then use the IAC Valve to set minimum RPMs for idle

TPS is pretty simple, works like a light dimmer or volume control, its a variable resistor, it has 3 wires
PCM sends TPS 5volts, top wire
Then TPS sends back under 1volt(throttle closed) and 4.5-4.9volts(throttle wide open, WOT), middle wire
Lower wire is a ground

If TPS is wearing out voltage may not be dropping under 1 volt, throttle closed, so PCM doesn't know its suppose to take over engine idle

You can use a volt meter and sewing needle to test
Pierce the center wire with needle
Turn on key, engine off
Test voltage on center wire, should see .69-.99 volts, under 1 volt
Open throttle manually and voltage should start going up, nice and steady, no jumps or drops
Should top out at or just above 4.5volts

Close throttle make sure it drops under 1 volt, do it a few times to make sure its not hanging up


If IAC Valve is working OK, on cold start idle should be 1,100rpm or so, high idle
As engine warms up idle will slowly drop to about 750 on manual trans 4cyl
4cyl idle higher than a v6 or v8 because they vibrate at lower RPMs because they only fire every 180deg

IAC valve could still be the problem if its hanging up, not sliding easily
IAC Valve is a solenoid on Fords, not a stepper motor
It can only be replaced by a Motorcraft or Hitachi IAC Valve, just FYI

This is all just best guess

And anytime you do engine work, disconnect one of the battery cables
Two reasons for this, one is safety :)
Other is that it clears computers saved memory, so when computer restarts it will reset parameters, look for changes in the way sensors work, and controls, like IAC Valve and TPS
 
Last edited:
Thanks for the help Ron... Gonna look into testing and/or replacing the TPS and I'll let ya know if it remedied anything.

But - since it only acts up during those two situations (quick stops and sharp turns), could there be a vacuum problem or loss of fuel problem somewhere?

MM
 
Sure

But a vacuum issue would show as a high idle as well, which you don't mention, and would be opposite of stalling issue

And yes, you could be losing fuel pressure but that tends to show itself more under load, i.e. when going up a hill engine stumbles or at highway speeds, when fuel demand is high

Any info provided is just Best Guess, lol


When you take your foot off the gas pedal(lower voltage from TPS) the computer is suppose to turn off fuel injectors until RPMs are under 1,500 then it should restart them for idle
This is one of the ways fuel injection gets better MPG than a carb.
With a carb when you took foot of gas pedal, vacuum in the intake goes very high and that sucked extra fuel from idler Jets, fuel the engine doesn't need when decelerating, so extra fuel is just burned up with no power added, same as pouring it on the ground, lol
 
Update:

Well, my mysterious problem still persists.

I checked the voltage readings on the old TPS and they were within specs, but I replaced it anyway. Also replaced the Idle Air Valve motor. New air filter. New plug wires. Throttle body cleaning. It's STILL happening: If I have to stop quickly or turn sharply... Motor sputters and dies. Can't re-start for at least two minutes, doesn't matter how much I crank it. Runs fine after that, as if nothing happened.

Three different (local) mechanics haven't been able to pin down the problem, either. I am slowly descending into madness.

M.
 
What about a gas tank issue
When you stop or turn the fuel in the tank sloshes to the front or to the side

What brand fuel pump assembly was put in a year ago?

The movement of the fuel could be moving a wire in the tank causing fuel pump to lose 12v or ground as fuel sloshed around
Maybe a crack in a hose so air gets sucked in stalling the engine, when crack is exposed to air as fuel sloshes around

I have seen people rig up a fuel pressure gauge that they taped to closed hood, so they could watch fuel pressure when driving to see if it was dropping when engine was stalling out
 
I dunno. I guess by eliminating all of the other issues, you could be right about the gas tank. Bad power connection or hose inside?

I'm probably just gonna have to take it back to the shop where I had the fuel pump put in and hope they're sympathetic and won't charge me another 300 bucks.

"You guys were the ones who touched it last."

Thanks for all of the help and analysis.

M.
 

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