PX Ranger, Limp home mode but no fault code

Bluey

Well-Known Member
Mar 31, 2014
2,651
3,817
113
Australia
I wanted to bye a new ute but so many small issues can shut it down and not easy to fix im staying away see how the Dpfs go in tine after many years i dont trust all this stuff
 

Fordy

New Member
Jun 11, 2018
3
2
3
Burpenagry EastQld
Mark - another question please, how did/do you measure the return fuel temp? Is there a sensor that can be logged via the OBD2 port?

Cheers
Jim
Hi Jim,
Fuel temp can be read through OBD2 port if you have the correct Scan tool, usually high end workshops and dealers have them to analyse and reset fault codes, unfortunately high fuel temp doesn’t through a fault code on the Ranger.

The normal fuel temperature range is 30-40 degrees, the highest temp recorded for my Ranger during testing was 85 degrees.

If you search the internet and talk to diesel experts, as my mechanic did, you’ll find a number of causes for fuel temp.
1. Fuel Lines at fuel filter the wrong way around (usually after a fuel filter change)
2. Faulty fuel filter assembly
3. High pressure fuel pump with a sticky piston.
The last being the most expensive of the above repairs.

It wasn’t until we’d exhausted all of the above options leaving only fuel lines and fuel tank that the mechanic found the damaged fuel return line near the fuel cooler at the rear of the fuel tank.

My advise to you is to take your Ranger back to the people who fitted your fuel tank to have them check for any kinked fuel lines that may have occurred during installation.

Cheers and good luck

PS Please let me know how you go?
 

Mike turner

New Member
Mar 10, 2018
2
4
3
Australia
HI,
I had same problem with my 2012 px 3.2 TD all of a sudden going into limp mode for no reason esp on a very hot day, read through this forum and discovered that the fuel lines were connected incorrectly, supposed to be blue blue, red red. I cannot tell you how happy i am that I read this and have repaired it myself after spending $500 on a new air flow mass meter.....
Thank you so much to the person who posted this issue......

Thanks Rog #51
 
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Tanamite2

New Member
Jul 12, 2018
4
1
3
Brisbane
Hi Jim,
Fuel temp can be read through OBD2 port if you have the correct Scan tool, usually high end workshops and dealers have them to analyse and reset fault codes, unfortunately high fuel temp doesn’t through a fault code on the Ranger.

The normal fuel temperature range is 30-40 degrees, the highest temp recorded for my Ranger during testing was 85 degrees.

If you search the internet and talk to diesel experts, as my mechanic did, you’ll find a number of causes for fuel temp.
1. Fuel Lines at fuel filter the wrong way around (usually after a fuel filter change)
2. Faulty fuel filter assembly
3. High pressure fuel pump with a sticky piston.
The last being the most expensive of the above repairs.

It wasn’t until we’d exhausted all of the above options leaving only fuel lines and fuel tank that the mechanic found the damaged fuel return line near the fuel cooler at the rear of the fuel tank.

My advise to you is to take your Ranger back to the people who fitted your fuel tank to have them check for any kinked fuel lines that may have occurred during installation.

Cheers and good luck

PS Please let me know how you go?

Mark, I followed your advice and checked the fuel temp in the return fuel line and it went as high as 88 degrees coinciding with the loss of power & speed. Further investigation found that the return fuel line was kinked just as in your case. This has now been fixed, however I have not had the vehicle out under load yet to confirm 100% that it was the cause. I have to do a trip out early August so I'll report back either way.

Thanks again for posting your experience.

Cheers
Jim
 
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Fordy

New Member
Jun 11, 2018
3
2
3
Burpenagry EastQld
Mark, I followed your advice and checked the fuel temp in the return fuel line and it went as high as 88 degrees coinciding with the loss of power & speed. Further investigation found that the return fuel line was kinked just as in your case. This has now been fixed, however I have not had the vehicle out under load yet to confirm 100% that it was the cause. I have to do a trip out early August so I'll report back either way.

Thanks again for posting your experience.

Cheers
Jim
That’s fantastic news Jim! I’m pleased that someone benefited from the knowledge I gained from my bad experience.

The tank I had fitted causing all my problems was an ARB Frontier tank. In the interest of others being aware of possible problems to be mindful of. Can you share what make of tank you had fitted and where it was fitted?

Cheers
Mark
 

Tanamite2

New Member
Jul 12, 2018
4
1
3
Brisbane
That’s fantastic news Jim! I’m pleased that someone benefited from the knowledge I gained from my bad experience.

The tank I had fitted causing all my problems was an ARB Frontier tank. In the interest of others being aware of possible problems to be mindful of. Can you share what make of tank you had fitted and where it was fitted?

Cheers
Mark

Mark, I opted for a Brown Davis, installed by Opposite lock Springwood. The boys down there have been pretty good to deal with albeit sometimes a bit slow to follow up & return phone calls but in the end they were great once we were certain it was related to the tank.

I did a loop through Maleny Kenilworth area on Sunday with a few steep hills & no problems so looks like the problem is fixed.

Cheers
Jim
 

Ranger13

New Member
Feb 21, 2019
2
2
3
Sunshine West
Giday folk, love the info on the px ranger loss of power particularly while towing. I too have experienced the the frustration while towing my boat or camper. Never had a problem in five years of owning the truck until late last year. Serviced engine including fuel filter. 3.2lt 6 speed manual. 2013 with 90k on the clock. Problem would occur mainly in afternoon with high ambient temperatures. No engine light, no logged codes. Struggle to accelerate past 40kph particularly from start or during a climb. Found problem to have been incorrectly fitted fuel lines at the filter. Sorted them out and bresto problem gone. Can't blame anyone but myself, complacency, a mans greatest threat.
 
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Macca_75

Well-Known Member
Aug 3, 2016
680
596
93
49
SE Suburbs, Vic.
Giday folk, love the info on the px ranger loss of power particularly while towing. I too have experienced the the frustration while towing my boat or camper. Never had a problem in five years of owning the truck until late last year. Serviced engine including fuel filter. 3.2lt 6 speed manual. 2013 with 90k on the clock. Problem would occur mainly in afternoon with high ambient temperatures. No engine light, no logged codes. Struggle to accelerate past 40kph particularly from start or during a climb. Found problem to have been incorrectly fitted fuel lines at the filter. Sorted them out and bresto problem gone. Can't blame anyone but myself, complacency, a mans greatest threat.
Interesting as I am battling the same issue when towing the van. High temps, going up long hill climbs, all power drops. Might have to get the fuel lines double checked to make sure they are a) correctly fitted and b) no kinks, etc.

Not being mechanical (so not knowing what to look for), this is a job for the little brother....
 

Macca_75

Well-Known Member
Aug 3, 2016
680
596
93
49
SE Suburbs, Vic.
https://www.saeb.net/viewtopic.php?f=19&t=58

As per this site the fuel temp can be read with an Ultraguage using these parameters..:

FUEL TEMPERATURE

TDATA: 07E02205220000
TCTRL: 93 RCTRL: 31
RPOS: 2008 MTCH: 620522
X: 0001 /: 0001 +: FFD8
OUT: 00 AVE: 00
L/R: 30


@RickB, Would you happen to know how to set this in TorquePro?

The values don't seem to convert straight across.
 

BaxnRach

Active Member
Apr 5, 2013
107
189
43
55
Cobram Vic
Make sure your fuel lines are on the filter the right way around, a fairly common problem apparently, read this on newranger, just last week.
Edit, I see this was mentioned above.
 

Ranger13

New Member
Feb 21, 2019
2
2
3
Sunshine West
Interesting as I am battling the same issue when towing the van. High temps, going up long hill climbs, all power drops. Might have to get the fuel lines double checked to make sure they are a) correctly fitted and b) no kinks, etc.

Not being mechanical (so not knowing what to look for), this is a job for the little brother....
Giday Macca, sorry to hear you too are having problems with your tug. For your info if you look from the front of your vehicle and view your fuel filter, the order of the connections from the centre of the vehicle should be blue at the top left with a blue directly below it. The top right should be red with red directly below it. It has been known for the top two to be fitted incorrectly by the experts. For your information diesel fuel losses its performance potential the hotter the fuel gets. That is why I won't allow the fuel level in the tank to drop below quarter full. Also another item to look at is the fuel cooler which was fitted to Mk1 Rangers, it has been emitted on mk 2 & 3 Rangers. If one is fitted ensure that it is clean, the cooler resembles a smart radiator which is made of alloy. Give it a wash with water. It is located just above the rear axle on the left side.
Another point of interest is that on heavy earth moving machinery, the fuel tank is made of steel. With ambient air flowing around the tank, this help the heat transfer from the warm fuel. Modern vehicles are fitted with plastic tanks, a good insulator if you ask me. Sorry for yapping on. Anyway hope all goes well with your tugregards Ranger13.
 

Macca_75

Well-Known Member
Aug 3, 2016
680
596
93
49
SE Suburbs, Vic.
Giday Macca, sorry to hear you too are having problems with your tug. For your info if you look from the front of your vehicle and view your fuel filter, the order of the connections from the centre of the vehicle should be blue at the top left with a blue directly below it. The top right should be red with red directly below it. It has been known for the top two to be fitted incorrectly by the experts. For your information diesel fuel losses its performance potential the hotter the fuel gets. That is why I won't allow the fuel level in the tank to drop below quarter full. Also another item to look at is the fuel cooler which was fitted to Mk1 Rangers, it has been emitted on mk 2 & 3 Rangers. If one is fitted ensure that it is clean, the cooler resembles a smart radiator which is made of alloy. Give it a wash with water. It is located just above the rear axle on the left side.
Another point of interest is that on heavy earth moving machinery, the fuel tank is made of steel. With ambient air flowing around the tank, this help the heat transfer from the warm fuel. Modern vehicles are fitted with plastic tanks, a good insulator if you ask me. Sorry for yapping on. Anyway hope all goes well with your tugregards Ranger13.
Thanks - I'll have a look at the hoses later today - that seems easy enough to check.

I'll look for the fuel cooler but can't say I've ever seen one. I have removed the plastic standard tank and had a Brown Davis long range tank fitted (Steel). I'd love to find how to add the fuel temp to TorquePro and get a feeling for what *normal* is and what it is when the issue occurs.

Must check the date when I added the long range tank and see if that lines up with when I first experienced the issue.
 

Bob Law

New Member
May 13, 2019
1
1
1
Perth
I have a 2013 PX Ranger with exactly the same symptoms, seems to only occur when the ambient is above 30 degrees. The Ford dealership here have reprogrammed a parameter to the fuel pump, replaced the transmission module on the computer, replaced the sensor to the inter-cooler and also the fuel sensor, asked me to remove the winch, which they were adamant was the issue as it reduced the air flow to the inter-cooler, which I did but had no effect. Now they believe it's the long ranger fuel tank restricting air flow to the fuel cooler and they've asked me to put the standard tank back on to prove it (which of course I no longer have). ARB are trying to find one for me.
The problem for me is getting days hot enough to test any changes made as I live in ACT and this year summer hasn't been particularly hot. As a result, the issue has been intermittently occurring since November, so almost 3 months now.
Hi Dean, I have a 2013 Ranger 3.2l diesel, I too was paranoid re the heating cooling on the ranger, and prior to a big trip, 20,000Klms, i had the auto box gone over and replaced the torque converter with a heavy duty one,
I also removed the original cooling box on the side of the box and fitted an air cooled unit up the front, Not fan assisted.
I did 1500 klms and the car stopped, I was towing the van (2 Ton) long story short I was towed back toperth, Thanks RAC, and my gear box man got stuck into it.
The problem it seems was the transfer case 4wd selector motor, it had a few dramas and he got it going again (my van and wife were still in Eucla) got back there hitched up and off we went, 20,000 K's back in perth and no problems since. I would suggest replace the outlet and intake hoses to the throttle body with Silicone ones, get a fix for the EGR (Its just a resistor) and the silicone hoses were supplied by Plazaman.
Running really well and the gearbox temp is usually under 90* and the engine runs at 88* I also fitted a scan gauge so I know what the temps are all the time.
 
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ONWHEELS

New Member
Dec 20, 2019
1
5
0
Young New South Wales
Here's hoping that you get it sorted.
By the way, did you read my posting (#14) about the possible alternative that if you had a fuel filter change that someone may have put the hoses back on wrong and you therefore end up with hot fuel being recirculated. On another Forum I posted this to that was a response I got from somebody. Curious that 2 weeks prior to my problem surfacing that was a part of the Ford Service that I had done.
Hi guys Tristan from On Wheels Mobile Mechanics in Young nsw I've just had the same problem with a customer's car exactly the same symptoms fuel reaching temps of 85+ no codes no lights on dash .... limp mode like status not revving over 2000rpm ....fault fuel hoses to filter on wrong .... changed them around temp dropped from 80 to 45 instantly .... gonna do another road test but 99% sure this is the problem for most people in this situation
 

Freemo

New Member
Nov 24, 2020
2
0
1
Fingal Bay
meanderthals, I don’t know if your still about, but I have a 2013 3.2 and have exactly the same problem, I have even poured cold water over the fuel pump area and it fixes the problem every time until the motor gets hot again, are you saying that the sensor was the problem or the fuel pump ??
cheers Freemo
 

Freemo

New Member
Nov 24, 2020
2
0
1
Fingal Bay
Hi guys Tristan from On Wheels Mobile Mechanics in Young nsw I've just had the same problem with a customer's car exactly the same symptoms fuel reaching temps of 85+ no codes no lights on dash .... limp mode like status not revving over 2000rpm ....fault fuel hoses to filter on wrong .... changed them around temp dropped from 80 to 45 instantly .... gonna do another road test but 99% sure this is the problem for most people in this situation
Hi Tristan is there any chance you can post a pick of the proper fuel set up , mine look like they have been put back on correctly but you never know, when I pour cold water over fuel pump area it fixes problem sraight away until temperature rises again , then back to no power, I can drive it all winter without a problem.
Cheers Freemo
 

Macca_75

Well-Known Member
Aug 3, 2016
680
596
93
49
SE Suburbs, Vic.
Hi Tristan is there any chance you can post a pick of the proper fuel set up , mine look like they have been put back on correctly but you never know, when I pour cold water over fuel pump area it fixes problem sraight away until temperature rises again , then back to no power, I can drive it all winter without a problem.
Cheers Freemo
what picture do you want? I have a 3.2 2013 PX ranger and it runs fine. But my picture may not help as I have an upgraded intercooler, pre-filter for fuel and catch can. Also getting a trans cooler fitted tomorrow (I have an issue when I drive more than about 6hrs with the van - so it's an extreme edge case but as we are planning a lap of Aus I'm happy to do anything to make the car more reliable.

I'm not mechanically minded though...
 

Tysonclingan

New Member
Dec 18, 2023
1
0
1
Kerang vic
meanderthals, I don’t know if your still about, but I have a 2013 3.2 and have exactly the same problem, I have even poured cold water over the fuel pump area and it fixes the problem every time until the motor gets hot again, are you saying that the sensor was the problem or the fuel pump ??
cheers Freemo
Hey mate, how’d you go fix it would love to know as my utes doing this now and would love a hand
 

Life's A Beach

New Member
Dec 22, 2023
1
4
3
Uk
Hi Jim,
Fuel temp can be read through OBD2 port if you have the correct Scan tool, usually high end workshops and dealers have them to analyse and reset fault codes, unfortunately high fuel temp doesn’t through a fault code on the Ranger.

The normal fuel temperature range is 30-40 degrees, the highest temp recorded for my Ranger during testing was 85 degrees.

If you search the internet and talk to diesel experts, as my mechanic did, you’ll find a number of causes for fuel temp.
1. Fuel Lines at fuel filter the wrong way around (usually after a fuel filter change)
2. Faulty fuel filter assembly
3. High pressure fuel pump with a sticky piston.
The last being the most expensive of the above repairs.

It wasn’t until we’d exhausted all of the above options leaving only fuel lines and fuel tank that the mechanic found the damaged fuel return line near the fuel cooler at the rear of the fuel tank.

My advise to you is to take your Ranger back to the people who fitted your fuel tank to have them check for any kinked fuel lines that may have occurred during installation.

Cheers and good luck

PS Please let me know how you go?
Thankyou very much .
After my 2012 Ford Ranger T6 went into limp mode I took it to my local mechanic who scanned it but it came up with 1 fault code of which was the glow plug fault who decided it was more than likely the injectors as the faulty glow plugs wouldn't make it go into limp mode .He sent them off to be be tested who said they where breaking down so at great expense he replaced them .I had the truck back and it was fine for 4 days and it then back into limp mode .So it was time to do my own investigation, so I changed the glow plugs as 2 were faulty, removed, cleaned the egr valve ,removed and cleaned out the DPF with a special chemical solution, replaced the DPF vaporizer. And still no fix .
I then after hours of Internet searching I came across this post (Thankyou)
I bought a Forscan tool for £23 , scanned my track and no codes had checked the fuel temperature sensor valve of which
was 104°c whilst cold .
I changed it (£35) and tested the new one which said it was 2°c which was about right for the outside temperature.
I then ran the truck and after all that the truck was fixed just after a £35 fuel temperature senor .
So thanks again as I would of never found the problem with out your fuel temperature sensor post .
Thanks