No Spark Dead on the Road HELP!

My 1994 2.3 5 speed manual just died out of the blue with no spark leaving me stranded 70 miles fron home. Any ideas?

A little history on the truck.

I bought it off a girl i know who wanted to sell it because the clutch was shot and she had bought a new truck. It is real clean with 90000 on it and is all original.It ran fine and smooth when i bought it just seemed like it needed a tuneup.

Well i put a new clutch and flywheel and pressue plate in it and at the same time went a head and put a new timing belt and waterpump and all new hoses and a idler and belt on it so i had nothing to worry about for a while.


I also replaced all the plugs on the passenger side and replaced the wires on that side only as the other side is a bitch. The plugs were most likely original.

Well the truck was still dogging but ran smooth so i assumed the cat was plugged.I drove it for 5000 miles like this and it ran fine just seemed like a dog.I used to own a 2.3 Pinto back in the 70s and it didn't even have the header or injection and it was much more livelyer than this 2.3 .

Well after 5000 miles it started running really chity to the point it was undrivable.So i go great i had just parked my clean 1990 Bronco because after a month of trying to figure out why it is running like chit i gave up and went back to my clean Ranger and it is pulling the same crap.

So i pulled the manifold off and cleaned and inspected all the injectors and cleaned all the plugs and used the electrical silicone on them. Cleaned and electricaled siliconed all the sensors and plugs .

Put new spark plugs and wires and put a ton of seperating clips on the wires to isolate them from each other. Also dismounted the coils and cleaned the bases and reassembled.

Started it up and it ran like a champ. Smooth as can be.

Took to go out of town today and during some rain it just started dying. I turned the key on and off and it would reignite and go and than die again till i ended up on the side of the road.

Tested for spark and had none. Checked all connectors and grounds still no spark.

Had the GF drive 70 miles to get me with a new ignition module and ignition switch. Neither of them made a difference still no spark.

Whats left ? The crank sensor the cam sensor and the EEC ?

How often do the crank or cam sensor fail and how hard is it to put them on? Is ther a test to check the sensors and can Autozone test the EEC Also.

I have a Haynes manual but i don't see where they mention install and checks on them.

Any help would be appreciated. Sorry for the long story but i just wanted to give everybody the whole heads up on the condition of the truck

And like i said about my Bronco on FSB --God i miss a carburator and a normal distributor.Not to many things to go wrong.


Thanks for any help. Great site by the way.

have you tested the coil packs?

Well i installed a new ignition switch because as it was dying going down the road i turned it off and on and it would run again and than die and than run . plus it was only ten bucks. I also had my GF drive 70 miles with a ignition module and tried that. Nothing

I went and towed it home on a dolly yesterday.

The coil packs i switched around but did not test. I just bought a new one and i am going to test them and install.

Is it possible one was already dead for weeks and finally the other one died. I thought i read somewhere that the engine only uses one coil to start anbd than uses both once running.

anything is possible. you dont need to go buy a new one to test it, a 5 dollar multimeter will do the trick. and i beleive it's only the passenger side that fires on start-up, so if you've allready bought a new one, replace that side first.

Well i tested the coils at the primary connection per the Haynes manual it tested at 5 ohms on both coils so they are in spec there. I tested the secondary connections per the manual and meter barely moves which i assume is a really high ohm reading . My meter is analog and i can't find the spec for the secondary ohms anywhere.

Any ideas.

It wasnt the ignition switch nor the ignition module and if it is not the coils than all that is left is the crank sensor and the cam sensor.

When these go out do they leave you with no spark?

Well i tested the power going into the coils by back probing them and both power leads are showing about 3 volts unplugged but if i plug them in they go right down to o volts .

Than with the connector back probed and connected to the coils i am getting no voltage at all while cranking it.

Any ideas ?

Is this common?

The red/light green wires should have 12 volts with key on and cranking. the power comes from the ignition switch and also feeds power to the PCM power Diode in the engine compartment fuse box. IF you have power on the diode and not the coils check the connectors between the chassis and engine. If there is no power check the Ignition fuse in the engine compartment fuse box 60A. As a temp test jump battery voltage to above coil wire and it should start.

Let us know what happens.

So i can run a hot 12 volt wire from the battery to the red wire going to the coil and it should start just like an old coil distributor setup.I was wondering about that but did not want to take a chance frying something.

What controls the spark than the light the other wire?

Well iteseted the connection where the diode goes in and have 12 volts but if i plug in the diode and test from the legs of the diode i get like 2 volts.

Is this commin?

magnum2 said:

Well i tested the coils at the primary connection per the Haynes manual it tested at 5 ohms on both coils so they are in spec there. I tested the secondary connections per the manual and meter barely moves which i assume is a really high ohm reading . My meter is analog and i can't find the spec for the secondary ohms anywhere.

Any ideas.

It wasnt the ignition switch nor the ignition module and if it is not the coils than all that is left is the crank sensor and the cam sensor.

When these go out do they leave you with no spark?

Click to expand...

your manual has the specs in it. i think secondary is somewhere between 13k-17k ohms. and unless you have a california model with munual transmission, your 94 wont have a cam sensor.

After rereading this thread one basic Question. Do you have an alarm or remote start system? If so they could be tied into this system and be causing the problem.
A little Basic Ignition Information...... The coils have key on power(R/LG WIRE) should ALWAYS be 12 volts with the key on. The ignition control module controls the ground to the coils tan wires. This is called Ground side switching.... Back to your problem LESS than 12 volts on the R/LG wire. You said that the voltage is LOW at the diode and at the coils..LOW voltage usually indicates a loose or burnt connector... Tracing the 12 volts Back to the source. The wire goes back to the ignition switch on the steering column. IF the voltage is good at the ignition switch check the round connector on the left side of the brake master cylinder that goes thru the firewall. IF the voltage at the ignition switch is less than 12 volts with key on unplug the switch connector to inspect for loose or burnt conn.If the connection is good test the yellow wires going into the switch they should have 12 volts at all times with every thing connected. the yellow wires get 12 volts from the engine compartment fuse panel. The link below shows the a wiring diagram same basic wiring as 1994. C105 is the firewall connector
http://www.therangerstation.com/tech_library/EDiagrams/files/Diagram_Ignitionsystem_1990_2_3.JPG

SMTGREG thank you very much for taking the time to write all this and also the schematic.

I feel confident that i will find my problem now.

I did not want to tear down the front of the engine to replace the crank sensor.Is there away to test that also for future problems?

Well i got the bitch running.

I tested the power coming in to the ignition and only had 7 volts so i took the plug out on the firewall and cleaned it with cleaner even though it did not look bad. Plugged it in and had 12.5 volts but the engine still did not start.

I have 12.5 to the coils still no runny.

Well i was fiddiling around down by the ignition module with the key on and i would hear the relays coming on and off so i went hmmm bad plug at the ignition module.Cleaned it all up and and the other 2 plugs by it and no runny.

So if i fiddeled around there again i could hear the relays switching.

Than i remembered reading somewhere where somebody didn't put the 3rd screw in that is so hard to get at and they were getting no spark. So i ran a ground down to that corner of the ignition module and the relays starting making noise.

Well when i was having my previous problems with it running shitty last week i had taken off the ignition module to test it but only repalced it with 2 of the 3 bolts because 1 dropped down to where i could not find it and it was the last one that is so hard to get at.So i said hey 2 is enough to hold it and and they were the easy ones to get to anyways.Well i started it up last week and it ran like a champ so i figured my tuneup and wire cleaning and injector cleaning had all worked.

Well the other day i headed out of town and it died 70 miles up the road in the rain.Immediately i suspected electrical because of the moisture and i had my tools and went through everything.

I ended up having my girl drive the 70 miles with a ignition switch and ignition module.I installed the switch 1st and that made no difference so i next installed the ignition module with just the 2 screws that were on the drivers side like i had the old one mounted and still no runny. So i went home with my girl and picked it up with a dolly the next day and have been screwing with it since.

Well as near as i can figure out the ignition modules must have multiple ground points on them and i think what happened is i had only one ground point hooked up and the load was to much and it must have burned up the connection inside of the module leaving only the other ground point to ground with that did not have a bolt going through it.

Being that the module is just shorting out the coils it needs a large ground capacity i would think and that is what probaly fails on these modules most likely, I don't know i am just speculating on that.

If any one understands them please enlighten me .

Anyways the bitch is running and i want to make sure i replied with an answer as so many threads i have read through end with no results.

And thanks for everybodys replys and input. Great site also.