Can someone tell me what the lowest pressure would be? I have ran pressure gauge and had 20 psi with key on. Went to 38 while cranking. I thought it was supposed to be 55 psi. Could pump be weak?

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1997 2.3 stock ranger. First time owning ford

http://troubleshootmyvehicle.com/for...he-fuel-pump-1

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2002 Ford Ranger 2 Dr Standard cab 2.3 5 SPD 7.5 373 gears

Thank you. Truck is running. But if I had to turn the key on twice to reach 35 to 40 psi. Does that indicate a bad pump? Turned on key, pump came on for three seconds, went to 24, turned off key and back on, 36. And yes, it is maintaining the pessure when key is turned off. Sorry for being new at this, I never have this much trouble with the hondas lol

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1997 2.3 stock ranger. First time owning ford

In actuality, the system was designed to maintain pressure for a long period of time. If yours is down after parking overnight, for example, the fuel is leaking into one of two places, unless there's a puddle underneath. The fuel has to leak into the intake manifold if you have a leaky injector, or back into the tank if you have a leaky regulator or fuel pump check valve. Depending on vintage, some have a 'flowing' system, others a 'returnless' system. The flowing will have a check valve in the regulator, and one in the pump, the returnless, just one in the pump. Both attempt to keep fuel in the injector rail available for startup. The pump will run for 3-5 seconds to make sure there's some pressure. If your startup when cold is difficult, or requires more cranking, you might try cycling the key from OFF to ON, pause for 5 seconds, back to OFF, and then ON again. Each cycle from OFF will energize the pump, so after a few cycles, the fuel will be there, ready to go, and the engine will start easier if lack of fuel was the cause.
tom