2.3L Issues

[Blackpony]

Have you looked into the oxygen sensor? maybe throw a new one in. A bad sensor will throw all kinds of crazy codes.

[BttleFedC10]

Not sure if serious....


I can't say with 100% certainty that it matters, never wired one backwards like that, but I would say it with about 99%... at least.. that it completely matters..

Well which is it? Cause right now as it sits the back coil is going to the left side and the front is going to the right.

Have you looked into the oxygen sensor? maybe throw a new one in. A bad sensor will throw all kinds of crazy codes.

I thought about buying a new oxygen sensor and maf. Not sure which one i should buy.. A maf is $100 fir this thing. Ridiculous.

[00pooterSS]

Well which is it? Cause right now as it sits the back coil is going to the left side and the front is going to the right.



I thought about buying a new oxygen sensor and maf. Not sure which one i should buy.. A maf is $100 fir this thing. Ridiculous.

It absolutely matters.. I originally meant that I can't say that with 100% percent certainty. But to the best of my knowledge, even if the firing order is the same on each coil, the timing at which the coils fire will be different. So, yes, it absolutely matters.

I would be looking into that very closely before I did one more single thing if I were you.

As far as the MAF, they will run okay with them unplugged, so before you run off and buy one try running it unplugged and getting it running half decent first. Plus I have never seen a bad MAF cause one to run like yours does or pop through the intake. A new 02 sensor for that truck should be fairly cheap. A new 02 sensor is never a bad idea, they get slower as they get older. But it is also running far worse than a 02 sensor should make it run if it were bad.

Check the plug wiring and make sure it is correct and the wires are connected to the correct coil and go from there.

[BttleFedC10]

Well i mean all of the diagrams dont show which coil goes to which side.. Like if the front number one goes goes on the left side or right. So yeah..

EDIT: Im gonna try and swap the plugs that go into the coils off the wire harness. If theyll reach that is.

[00pooterSS]

Well i mean all of the diagrams dont show which coil goes to which side.. Like if the front number one goes goes on the left side or right. So yeah..

Ah crap. Yeah, you definately need that. I think I saw a diagram that did show it in the past week or so, lemme look.

[BttleFedC10]

Ah crap. Yeah, you definately need that. I think I saw a diagram that did show it in the past week or so, lemme look.

Theres diagrams that show which wire goes where but not a side.

[BttleFedC10]

I also tried that egr test. I took it off first to see if it was still working. I pushed the lil plunger down and put my finger over the hole and it stayed down. That means its work right. Also sprayed some brake cleaner in there to clean it a lil.

[00pooterSS]

I also tried that egr test. I took it off first to see if it was still working. I pushed the lil plunger down and put my finger over the hole and it stayed down. That means its work right. Also sprayed some brake cleaner in there to clean it a lil.

Yes that sounds like it is working. I may have been wrong about the timing being different between the coils. I have to read up more on wasted spark and exactly how it works. I always hated that setup and never researched it. But at this point anything is worth a shot.

I came across a thread that (best I could interpret) said the front coil is the exhaust fire plugs.

[00pooterSS]

From the pictures I have seen the front coil should be wired to the plugs on the driver side of the engine.

http://troubleshootmyvehicle.com/ford/2.3L/how-to-troubleshoot-a-misfire-1

Also found this, has a lot of info in it

http://www.justanswer.com/ford/1h5yp-ford-94-ranger-intermittent-check-engine-light.html

[00pooterSS]

It looks like the rear coil is hooked to the compression fire plugs, what happens if you pull those wires off one by one like you did in the video a few posts back?

When you pull a plug wire it should start missing and shaking real hard, if it is an auto you can put it in gear, apply the park brake and to be safe have someone hold the brake pedal in addition to the park brake and pull a wire at a time and the affect will be more dramatic. If you have good compression and proper firing order pulling a wire at a time will have a big impact.

And make sure that it pops really loud when the spark hits just like it does in the video where you pulled the wires on the front coil.

[shumpertdavid]

At idle it shouldn't matter which coil is wired to which side of the motor. The dual plug thing was to help reduce emissions IIRC. At idle speeds it should be firing both sides. Nissan did a similar thing back in the 80's. At one point in the video is sounded like one cylinder had weak compression, I listened to the video several times but never could tell 100%. If you hold the accelerator down all the way while cranking it should go into clear flood and not start. When you do this, while it's cranking over, does the engine sound like it skips a beat in it's rhythm. If so you may have a compression problem on one hole. I know I read that you did a compression test and it passed, but the way it runs leads me to believe you may have a mechanical type problem in there somewhere still. If the firing orders are correct and all 8 coil towers hit like the 4 in the video clip then your ignition side is most likely ok.


It uses the DPI (dual plug inhibit) system, during cranking only the plugs on the right side of the engine fire, after the engine starts, the PCM commands the ignition control module to fire both sides.

Front Coil to Intake side, Rear Coil to Exhaust side here's my crappy mspaint version of firing order, my text box wasn't big enough for the e on engine.

[BttleFedC10]

Yup, that's how its plugged up. I took a new video of how it runs. I turned the idle up just a tad. I just wish i knew what the rpm was at.. Sometimes it'll idle fine and the motor just raises the rpm randomly??

[bobs94formula]

Have you tried replacing the ignition module?

When the ignition/TFI module (whatever you want to call it) went bad on my 91 fox it ran like it had a clogged cat. I was going along and then it started having problems going over 20-30 mph. Exhaust got so hot it ended up making my rear seat smolder. I unbolted the exhaust and it ran the same, turned out the ignition/TFI module was bad. Yes it is on a 91 2.3 fox

[BttleFedC10]

[BttleFedC10]

Have you tried replacing the ignition module?

When the ignition/TFI module (whatever you want to call it) went bad on my 91 fox it ran like it had a clogged cat. I was going along and then it started having problems going over 20-30 mph. Exhaust got so hot it ended up making my rear seat smolder. I unbolted the exhaust and it ran the same, turned out the ignition/TFI module was bad. Yes it is on a 91 2.3 fox

No i haven't replaced that yet. Not sure where its even at on this thing? It could be that or the Mass Air