I know this is a comet/maverick forum, but I have a problem that some of you might be able to help me with. I got a 1996 Ford Ranger with the 2.3L that runs great as long as the headlights or A/C are turned off, but as soon as I turn either one or both on, the engine starts missing, especially during acceleration or during a load. When I was driving down the highway one night, the engine started missing and jerking the truck pretty bad when I started driving up a hill, but then I decided to turn my lights off for a short time to see what would happen....purred like a kitten the rest of the way up the hill. Same with the a/c. Sounds like an electrical problem to me, but I don't know where to start looking. Can anyone help!
I would be sure that the engine is well grounded to the body. I had something similar happen with an '88 Honda Accord I just dropped an engine in. Turns out I forgot to put the grand strap from the engine block to the body of the car back on, so I just had a ground wire going from the battery straight to the block, and everything else in the car was trying to find it's way to ground anyway it could, which was through the computer... car would run like crap or just flat out die sometimes when I turned the A/C or headlights on.
Sounds to me like the alternator has bit the dust. You COULD fix it by replacing the 4 with a V8 and a new alternator though.
Yep, alternator is going. Sounds like the brushes are worn and not giving a full charge. Can replace the alternator or pull it and do a partial rebuild...
