STEP 4: Test The Dead Cylinder's Fuel Injector
Once you've made sure that your 1995-2008 3.0L Ford Ranger's dead cylinder has spark and good compression, then the next step is to test its fuel injector.
If a fuel injector is behind the misfire or rough idle condition you're trying to diagnose, then you'll usually see one or two things:
- The fuel injector is defective internally and not injecting any fuel.
- The fuel injector is clogged, and although it is spraying fuel, it's not atomized correctly or it's not sufficient for the cylinder's needs.
You can find the fuel injector test explained in a step-by-step way here: How To Test The Fuel Injectors (1992-1994 3.0L Ford Ranger).
The one thing that complicates testing the fuel injectors on the 3.0L V6 Ford Ranger's engine is that three of them are located underneath the intake manifold plenum.
This plenum has to be removed to test the internal resistance of those three injectors.
It's All About The Process Of Elimination
If you've gotten to this point, then you can clearly see that testing and resolving the exact cause of a misfire or rough idle condition is simply a process of elimination.
You start our by testing your 3.0L Ford Ranger or Mazda B3000's ignition system components that when they fail are the common causes of a misfire. These components are: the ignition coil or distributor cap, the spark plug wire that feeds the dead cylinder spark, and the dead cylinder's spark plug wire.
Once you have made sure that the dead cylinder is getting spark, the step is to make sure that it has good compression.
If the dead cylinder has compression, the next step is to make sure that its fuel injector isn't fried internally.
This diagnostic strategy of tests has helped me to find the exact cause of the misfire or rough idle condition in about 99 percent of the cases. I think that it's going to help you too.
More 3.0L Ford Ranger Tutorials
You can find a complete list of 3.0L Ford Ranger tutorials in this index:
Here's a small sample of the tutorials you'll find in the index:
- Tune Up And Torque Specifications 1991-1994 3.0L Ford Ranger.
- How To Test The TPS (1993-1994 3.0L Ford Ranger).
- How To Test The Fuel Injectors (1992-1994 3.0L Ford Ranger).
- How To Test The Fuel Pump (1992-2000 3.0L Ford Ranger) (at: troubleshootmyvehicle.com).
If this info saved the day, buy me a beer!
