Questions and Answers

Dying Ford Ranger Q. I am having problem with my Ford Ranger Quitting. I can drive about ten miles and the engine will shut off. I can wait two or three minutes and it will crank right up again. It has been doing this for the last three days.

I changed the crankshaft position sensor but it did no good. It does not cut off in the early part of the morning just in the evening when it is hot. There is no hesitation or stalling before all of a sudden it is just as if the switch had been cut off. I get no warning light or anything. I ask a local mechanic and he said no way to check without it stopping for good. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Model=Ford Ranger Pickup
Year =1997
Trans. =5 Speed
Engine=2.3 liter
Milage=81,000
Fuel Injected-Air condition-Power steering

Oscar

A. The mechanic is correct, something like this can be very difficult to track down. Usually a problem like this is a bad ignition control module. When they get hot they just cut off. On this model truck, the ignition control module is part of the ECU and is not a stand alone part.

Since it is like a key turning off, it is most likely an electrical problem. I would suggest that you have your mechanic check the computer for any stored codes as a possibly starting point in locating the problem. You could very well have a bad computer.