Coil/ignition issue 85 ranger 2.3

[stx4.0]

So I am working on an 85 ranger I have had parked for 10 years and cant seem to get it to fire.It is a fairly rare longbed 2.3 4x4.It only has 99k orig miles and was a super good runner when I parked it.I just never ended up needing it so it has sat for all this time.I put a new coil on it thinking that might be the cause of no spark and it has voltage going into it when you turn the key on but when you turn it over the coil does not fire and it has me stumped.Any other time when I worked on something if you had electric going into the coil and the coil was good then you had spark.All the connections are good and clean and no wires have ever been cut or messed with on this ranger.

 

[RonD]

Does the rotor in the distributor turn when you crank the engine?
never assume anything, lol.
If it has been sitting that long then timing belt could have broke at first crank, so no distributor rotation after that.

On the side of the distributor is the TFI module, this module gets the spark pulse from the sensor inside the distributor as shaft/rotor turns.
The module then Grounds the coil to spark it matching those pulses.
Coils always have 12volts with key on, they spark by Grounding and un-Gounding the "-" terminal, that's what Points did in the older distributors and thats what TFI module does in your system.

TFI module check list here: http://www.therangerstation.com/tech_library/TFI_Diagnostic.shtml

Print the worksheet and follow it

 

[stx4.0]

The cam belt is fine and all else is moving as it should but your point on the TFI and pickup is what I had in mind of replacing next since its apart of the ignition system.I dread replacing the pickup since you have to press the gear off.

 

[tomw]

If you are going to replace the pickup, I'd recommend getting a replacement or used distributor. I have done one, and it is still working, but for the time and effort, I'd get a re-man. There is a roll pin that stakes the driven gear which must be removed, then the pickup can be slid out. The gear needs to line up exactly to put a roll pin back in. It won't.
I know now that I should have just drilled a new hole, but tried to align the old. My roll pin did not end up in very good condition. It has been over 20 years, so I can't complain, but the gear tooth missing a slight chunk had me worried. Just the gear is or has been around $18, which I thought high.
If you are going to replace the TFI, be careful mushing it up into the connectors on the bottom of the distributor bowl. The plastic(?) holding the connectors in place degrades over time and turns to mush, allowing the connectors to move out of the way of the spades on the TFI. If you use a digit, you may be able to hold the connectors from the 'top' of the mushy plastic and get good engagement. If they engage, you are fine.
The E-coil should spark at each cycle of the ignition key if the TFI is not cooked. The ignition key provides 12v, and the TFI cycles a ground. When the ground is present, the coil is energized, creates a magnetic field, and then the ground is removed, and the field collapses, cutting the conductors in the other winding of the coil, which generates spark. The spark is made when the ground is removed. The ignition key does the same thing when the power is removed. The only question is the ground in the TFI being 'there' or not when the key is cycled. I do not remember, but think the ground is supposed to be there full time except when the TFI removes it. My memory is not what it was.
The 2.3 4X4 is a rare and desirable combination, from what I hear. Don't send it off to the crusher.
tom