Starting in 1994, Mazda and Ford had their deal to rebrand the Ranger as the Mazda or vice versa. This little truck is definitely a Ranger clone (or vice versa) which is pretty handy. The only real differences are some trim level items, grill, headlights, etc. It’s pretty similar to my 1989 Ranger 4×4 actually. Great little truck with great memories.
09/30/2019 – Fixed backup lights, cruise control issue, TCC lockup and Steering wheel recover
Backup Lights
The backup lights haven’t worked for some time on this truck. Basic bulb checks and a quick check of the trans connector looked fine. However, pulling the trans connector off it’s pretty obvious why now. I am guessing this happened when the transmission was rebuilt years ago. Backup wires completely cut down to the nub and neutral wires almost done. I cut off the plug, extended the backup wires and crimped things back together and it works fine now.
Cruise Control
After working through ALL the debugging processes for Ford cruise control issues for a 1994, it all came down to the “Speed Controller Amp” or control board being bad. Fortunately a local Oklahoma Ford Ranger Club member had one in a parts truck which solved the problem.
Torque Converter Lockup – TCC
For some time now TCC Lockup has not been working on the truck. To help debug things some I tapped into the 3-4 shift wire (O/Y) and the TCC lockup wire (PU/Y) and added some LEDs so I’d know if the computer was even trying to engage them. As suspected the ECU was never even telling the trans to lock the converter. Previously I had noted a 181 and 186 error code that would come and go at times, usually at highway speeds. Those are lean code or injector pulse saturation errors which all leads back to mass air sensor issues. Changed the air filter, cleaned the mass air sensor, reset the computer and now it is locking up like it should.
Re-covering the Steering Wheel
The steering wheel grip was till all original and in good shape but the foam underneath on the top had died and was gooey which let the cover twist and eventually started leaking black foam goo out. Apparently a common issue on these years. I found a universal leather cover that actually offered different sizes for not just diameter but also the circumference of the grip which ended up fitting nicely. I could have used a better stitch but being my first try I kept it simple. Have a nice firm, larger grip on the wheel now and no gooey feeling.
09/19/2019 – Added Remote Keyless Entry
The little things that newer cars offer are often sorely missed on the older good stuff and key less entry is definitely one for me. I’ve used several different brands of aftermarket remotes and they all seem to work as advertised. Some have much better directions that others for sure.
