No idle, has power

10

Asked by Rbagley70 Jun 13, 2013 at 01:24 PM about the 1997 Ford Ranger XLT Extended Cab Stepside SB

Question type: Maintenance & Repair

2.3 l4 1997 ford ranger
One day I got out of my truck and 3 minute later I got in
started it and it had a misfire in cylinder 1 and could not
hold an idle.
When Iam at low rpms the cylinder seems to die down. But
when I put my foot in it, the cylinder seems to come to life
and the power is all there.... but when I push in the clutch
the rpms drop and the truck dies.    

The two trouble codes say misfire in cylinder one
Mass air flow circuit low

Performed compression test on all cylinders. Came out
good. Have spark on both plugs.
Cleaned iac.
Replaced sending unit
Replaced #1injector
Injector is getting power and is clicking when hotwired.

if you have ever seen this before please let me know so that
I can get this truck running right again.

3 Answers

795

It sounds like you have a bad coil. When you get into the throttle all the way, your truck runs fine because your engine is forcing a ton of current through your coils and plug wires. when your just putting around, its not forcing so much current theough, so if there is a mass of resistance somewhere... ie... a bad coil, or even a bad ground wire from the engine to frame, your cylinder wont get enough current to fire the plug hot enough to burn the gas inside the combustion chamber. You could also have a hairline crack in your plug, or a short in your wire. both things will be fine under full throttle, and both things will appear to work fine just by looking at them.

1 people found this helpful.
795

just do a switcheroo from cyl 4 to cyl 1. if the problem moves with the plug, wire and coil, then you know its one of those three things, and you can start weeding it out from there. good luck, and keep us posted.

10

That would make sense because when I tested the spark they sparked orange and not blue

1 people found this helpful.

Your Answer:

Ranger

Looking for a Used Ranger in your area?

CarGurus has 12,567 nationwide Ranger listings starting at $1,650.

ZIP:

Own this car?

Share your experience with others.

1997 Ford Ranger

Review another car

CarGurus Experts

  • #1
    Gene Arnett
    Reputation
    4,390
  • #2
    Bob Beaman
    Reputation
    3,000
  • #3
    Jennifer Gorham
    Reputation
    2,560
View All

Know more, shop wisely

Search

Related Models For Sale

Used Ford F-150
6,177 Great Deals out of 133,336 listings starting at $900
Used Toyota Tacoma
2,044 Great Deals out of 33,226 listings starting at $2,990
Used Nissan Frontier
765 Great Deals out of 23,155 listings starting at $700
Used GMC Sierra 1500
1,936 Great Deals out of 66,622 listings starting at $1,100
Used Ford Mustang
901 Great Deals out of 22,517 listings starting at $1,000
Used Jeep Wrangler
3,301 Great Deals out of 59,981 listings starting at $2,500
Used Ford Bronco
396 Great Deals out of 23,831 listings starting at $25,918
Used Toyota 4Runner
1,240 Great Deals out of 18,414 listings starting at $1,550
Used Chevrolet S-10
4 Great Deals out of 173 listings starting at $2,995

Used Cars for Sale

2024 Ford Ranger For Sale
5,725 listings starting at $28,510
2023 Ford Ranger For Sale
34 Great Deals out of 395 listings starting at $27,442
2022 Ford Ranger For Sale
74 Great Deals out of 786 listings starting at $19,990
2021 Ford Ranger For Sale
161 Great Deals out of 1,790 listings starting at $18,888
2020 Ford Ranger For Sale
141 Great Deals out of 1,366 listings starting at $16,833

Content submitted by Users is not endorsed by CarGurus, does not express the opinions of CarGurus, and should not be considered reviewed, screened, or approved by CarGurus. Please refer to CarGurus Terms of Use. Content will be removed if CarGurus becomes aware that it violates our policies.