my bosses truck decided it didn't want to start the other day. its a 2004 f-350 with the 6 litre powerstroke and 206 000 km. its cranking over and it may fire once or twice but wont start.

its been acting weird for the last couple months and the ford dealer cant seem to fix the problem. occasionally it wont idle below 1200 rpm and if you try driving with it idling high the transmission slams into reverse and slips like crazy in drive. after it idles down it will drive fine.

it will sometimes downshift really hard while driving for no reason at all. when it does the tow haul light will start flashing on and off.

sometimes it wouldn't crank over when you try to start it. let it sit for half an hour it will start right up, or cross the starter solenoid terminals and it starts.

it has been to the ford dealer many times and every time they replace something but it doesn't fix the problem. i replaced both fuel filters which were black, and attempted to drain the water separator but was unable to remove the drain plug. ford ended up replacing the separator because of a few solenoids not working? the also did some transmission work because they said some sensors or solenoids weren't working.

nothing has fixed any problems and now it wont start at all. i scanned it and no codes came up.

any advice is greatly appreciated.

 

Moved to the 6.0L Power Stroke Diesel forum.

 

IF it is late 04 then i would think its the sct fitting. If early 04 then maybe hpop Mechanical problem sometimes throws no codes...same problem im going thru. But try unplugging icp sensor. see if it starts. Can you get your hands on a scanner? Like a scan gauge? Check icp, ipr and ficm readings.

 

Late 04's don't have the troublesome STC fitting. Just 05 and up.

From the post, it sounds like a lot of maintenance was lacking. Hard to diagnose without more info and testing (and without knowing what specifically has already been replaced).

If the tow/haul is still blinking, then odds are there is still a tranny problem (and probably some codes that only Ford can read).

Black fuel filters indicates to me that there may be some injector issues.

Starting OK after sitting might point to a HPO issue or a bad HPOP.

 

need to get a diffrent scanner something that can read live data

My 8K POST LOL

 

where is the icp sensor located? i was thinking it may be the ficm. i pulled the cover off and it is a 7 screw model. haven't tested it yet i had to buy a new multimeter because i lost my old one. what is the sct fitting? i scanned it but pulled no codes. i need a better scanner. its been sitting for about 5 days now still wont start

 

My FICM went out in the same manner. Cranked, almost started, started, blew a bunch of white smoke, died...wouldn't start again. Replaced the FICM and ran like new until the oil cooler went.

 

Some good reading:

DTS Articles - Coffee Table Books

Otherwise, you can go w/ AirDog or FASS

 

i just tested the ficm. results were key off 0 volts. initial key on 17 volts. key on 47 volts. cranking 15 volts. im gonna pull off the ficm and re solder and re test

 

thats pretty Low Volts

I would just send to ED at www.ficm.com

If the Volts was Higher Id say try it but maybe you have

 

Oh and would be a Great Idea to Load test Batterys separatly

and check alternator Output

Make shuree the charging system is 110% as a weak charging system will Kill FICM FAST


Thats got to be Incredibly HARD on the TRANs to hold it at 1200RPM and DUMP it in GEAR Id tell BOSS not to do that anymore LOL

 

do you need a special soldering iron for silver solder. i tried to re flow the cracked joints and couldn't get them to melt with my iron

 

well i ended up sending the ficm out to be repaired by ficmrepair.com. got it back yesturday and plugged it in and the truck started right up. not sure why but it also reset the odometer to 0. all of the other problems still exist. ocassionally wont crank over, high idle, no power in drive, tow haul light flashes, down shifts for no reason. im really not sure where to go now. this truck has me really confused

 

Did it reset the Trip Meter to 0

Or was it the Actual Odometer that went to 0 ?????????



So when it wont crank what does that mean?? Starter will not engauge??? or just spins but wont start

All that stuff to me sounds ike a wiring issue

 

The turn of the key and no crank sounds like a problem i had with my 99.It was the mlps/neutral safety switch.Corrosion in side the pigtail.Located on d-side of tranny on shift linkage.If you have the same sensor unplug it and look inside with flash light for corrosion very common.May need to replace both sensor and pigtail.