My light came on just the other day. Took it to Auto Zone for a free diag, came of P1443. Found this on another site.
Less than two months ago, I purchased a used 1997 Ford Ranger XLT, Regular Cab (2.3 L I-4, 5 spd.). Shortly after the purchase, the check engine light came. I had the code read at a local auto parts store, and the code P1443 was returned. The description for the code was “Evaporative Emission Control System Control Valve”. Initially, I didn’t do anything to fix the problem. The light ended up clearing itself a couple of days after it first came on. However, the light only stayed off for a few driving cycles before it came back on (and stayed on). I had the code read again, and again I got the P1443 code.
I did some research on the web and found that the problem could be the Canister Purge Assembly. This assembly connects the intake manifold to the charcoal canister and the assembly is made up of hoses, a valve and a sensor. On my 1997 Ranger, it is located near the front of the engine compartment on the driver’s side (the canister is right behind the driver’s side headlight). Apparently, if there are any cracks in the hoses, or if the valve or the sensor wears out, this will cause the check engine light to come on, and return the P1443 code. After looking around on the web for a couple of days, I was lucky enough to find a few part numbers for the canister purge solenoid/flow sensor assemblies:
F57Z-9C987-AB Canister Purge Solenoid/Flow Sensor
Assembly - 2.3L
F57Z-9C987-CA Canister Purge Solenoid/Flow Sensor
Assembly - 3.0L
F57Z-9C87-BA Canister Purge Solenoid/Flow Sensor
Assembly - 4.0L
After trying to get the part at a few different auto parts stores, I made a trip to the dealer to order the part. It ended up costing about $65 (although, I have heard it can cost $80 - $100 depending on the exact part number that you need). It only took 5 or 10 minutes to install the part, and it was fairly simple. Initially, I started the truck and the check engine light was still on. However, the light cleared itself after a few driving cycles and it has stayed off ever since (it has been about 5 weeks and 1500 miles).
Hopefully this helps someone who had the same problems that I did. From my experience, and from what I have found in my research, if you get the P1443 code on a late 90’s Ranger, this is the way to fix it. Hopefully you will be able to use the part numbers above to order your parts (I am not sure where on the web I originally got the part numbers from, but I did use them to order the part that I needed). I believe this is a part that you can only get at a dealer, so you may not even want to waste time trying to order it from the auto parts stores. I would rate this as a fairly easy thing to replace as long as you have some knowledge about working on cars and trucks. However, if you don’t feel comfortable doing it yourself, you may want to ask for help from a friend who is knowledgeable before you spend the money to have someone else do it.