have a 1988 V-6 2.9 fuel injected with 120,000 miles. a month or so ago it started to turn over several time's before starting but only when warm. gradually it started to do the same thing when cold. the rpm build's up as the engine turn's over until it finally start's. compression is good, tune up with new plug's, coil, pcv valve, air filter, fuel filter, belt's, hoses, & new pump in the tank. my son & i took the box off & replaced the tank pump last summer & you can hear the pump prime when the key is turned on. the in-line pump has not been replaced. the purge canister seem's fine & is not pluged. it can be blown through with no problem as can the purge line's to the tank & to the bottom of the intake. it's a 4 wheel drive used primarily as a fishing & knock around truck so putting any serious dollar's into it is just not worth the effort. it goes down the road just fine with no miss or hesitation. just start's harded than it should, cold or warm. i should explain, in 1987 & 88 the ranger had two fuel pump's. one in the tank to act as a primer & one in line for the high pressure pump. my thought's are if the main in line pump is bad, the truck wouldn't run at all or only at low rpm. turning the key on & off to reset the computor doesn't seem to mater as it still does the same thing. perplexing problem. anybody have a suggestion? thank's for any help.

 

My guess is the TPS

 

I would try cleaning the throttle plates an the IAC valve , if the throttle plates are really dirty it wont idle fer nuthing , you can wind up the starter all day

 

Thank's for all the help & suggestion's to cure my start problem's. As it turn's out, the problem wasn't electrical at all, but fuel related. The fuel pressure regulator was bad causing the engine to flood. Replacing the tps did help some but apparently didn't completely solve the problem. Cleaning the intake & working on the iac did nothing at all. Finally traced the culprit thru the smell of fuel coming from the pressure sensor. Pulled the vacum line & had fuel on the inside of a it. Not where it's supposed to be! After changing the pressure sensor, the problem seem's to be solved. Thought posting this fix may help some one else with a similar problem. Appreciate all the help, thank's john

 

Thanks John,
Would have suspected a rough idle or higher RPMs