#1 Cyl. Timing Help

[eaglebreath]

Which Is The #1 Cyl. In A 4cyl. 2.3,l Engine ?????
And If I Wanted To Check My Timing, What Wire Would I Use On The #1 Cyl.the One On The Drivers Side Or Passenger. Does It Make A Difference? I Havn't Figured Out These " Dual Plug Cylinders".

Thanks

[DonSor]

From front to rear, the cylinders are numbered 1,2,3,4 respectively. There are eight wires coming from your coil pack, two wires going to two plugs per cylinder. Since ignition firing is by cylinder, you can clip your probe in either of the two wires since they fire simultaneously. By the way what year Ranger do you have? Be aware that the location of the markers on the flywheel differ.

[eaglebreath]

95 ranger.............I am running about 12-17 deg BTDC. Is this within spec's?

I am only asking cause I recently had my timing belt changed and it seems
to be getting a little worse gas mileage ( 20 now , 23 before). But
I also have been running my AC since Then too.................and its too
hot to run without it.

Any feedback would be helpful..............THANKS!!!

[DonSor]

My manual states that the timing on 4 and 6 cylinder Rangers are non-adjustable. That means it is under the control of the PCM and the timing is based on the inputs (O2, temperature, speed, etc). What you may have read with the timing light was a reading at that point and may change depending on the conditions. Try checking other things out like air filter, fuel filter, spark plug, etc. including tire inflation. Of course running the A/C constantly draws a lot of the power.