Engine cranks but will not start?

Hello LI VORTXZ IL,

From what my information is telling me fuel pressure is within spec so that's good.

How does the distributor look? I would pull it off and look at the contacts inside on the cap and rotor. I have added images for both good and bad for you.

You won't only be looking at whether is it dirty but look for pits in them as well.

I would also mark the distributor cap on the side with a single line down to the body of the distributor before removing so you can line it back up when it goes back on.

You should be able to leave the wires attached to the cap.

I would start there since everything fuel wise so far checks out.

Let me know what you find.

Thank you,
Brendon

Hello LI VORTXZ IL,

No worries. Get back to me when you can.

This condition has a lot of possibilities. Especially considering the vehicles age. Timing can be one of them. Fuel injectors would make sense because it ran after you sprayed the starting fluid. Dirty valves are another as well as ignition system issues.

There is a Technical Service Bulletin or TSB on two different injectors. Some were Deposit Resistant Injector's or DRI's. Most Ford models had one or the other, including the 1992 Ford Ranger 2.3L. So, it is possible the injectors are gummed up because they aren't the DRI version.

However, they may have been replaced so I am going to add this bulletin for you so you can try to identify them since they will have a specific color if they are the DRI version.

To clean them you could try a bottle of Lucas Octane Booster. The lower grade fuel isn't made the same way it used to be. This can gum up injectors causing issues. The Octane booster will make the low-grade fuel burn better and clean the injectors at the same time.

I would try this and see if it changes things. You will have to spray some starting fluid and hit the gas to keep it running for a while. But for $12 a bottle it is worth trying.

Also, because it has a distributor and seems like it is affecting most if not all of the engine, it seems unlikely all injectors would clog up and cause a problem all at the same time.

I think ignition is more likely so if it where me that is where I would start.

So, I think checking the distributor for corrosion as well as the ignition coil would be a good few first steps, so we aren't overlooking something obvious before we dig deeper. If the seal on the distributor cap is bad it would let moisture in and slowly cause ignition problems and get worse and worse as it corroded more and more.

How does the ignition coil look? Any rust on the body of it or does it look swollen? Try to gently remove the wire from it that goes to the center of the distributor and look in there and see if you see any green stuff or anything else that might be a bad connection.

I would say let's start with these 3 things and see if we can find anything or at the very least rule them out.

If you can take pictures of the inside of the cap and a few pictures of the coil for me that will help since I can't see what you are looking at.

To me it sounds like it is misfiring and a bad distributor and/or ignition coil. Which would be great because they are relatively cheap parts with minimal work involved.

Let me know what you find, and we can go from there.

Thank you,
Brendon

Hello LI VORTXZ IL,

Ah. I see. Sorry when you are not there physically, you really on the service information. Unfortunately, it isn't always 100% accurate.

Thank you for the pictures.

Wires look new, did you just replace those?

It also looks like the are 8 wires. Maybe I am seeing something else. When you asked the question, you said it was a 2.3L. Could you verify your engine size for me?

Anything else replaced, besides the Mass Air Flow and Air Filter you already mentioned?

Do you have a spark tester? (See image)

If you do, I would see what you are getting for spark at each plug and see what you are getting. Just to rule it out.

Usually auto parts stores will have one in stock. You will need a friend to turn it over while you watch it though.

If that seems fine, I would pull the plugs out and see what they look like. I don't know if you replaced them or not.

I have attached a diagram showing common plug issues. See if any of them match. The spark plug can tell us a lot about how it is running.

Thank you,
Brendon

Hello LI VORTXZ IL,

Okay. Sounds good.

I found this for you as well. It is a way to obtain any codes that might be stored. Here is the website:
https://www.troublecodes.net/ford/#accessmil

Here is a video of someone doing this:
https://youtu.be/gtuOTyIHwok?si=eek3Vax78KrY9rXp

I would see if you can get some codes from it, even if the engine light isn't on.

Thank you,
Brendon