There are definitely worst places to be stranded, but I'm stuck at Disney World with my family and our travel trailer. We made the 950 mile trip here without any problems and we have been having a great time. Several days ago, I noticed that I was having a hard time starting the truck in the evenings on the way back to our campground, but we've had a few cold nights here and I attributed it to the temperatures. Then, a couple of days ago, I couldn't get it started in the morning. It started to turn over as usual, and I guess I just made a rookie mistake and cranked it too long. I didn't drain it, but I came close. I've tried 3 jump starts since and now it won't turn over at all. The first two attempts were jump boxes, and tonight I called Good Sam and they sent a wrecker with jumper cables. The guy with the wrecker said he could hear the starter clicking. The dash lights come on and the cab light is strong. When I could get it to crank, the lights didn't seem to dim at all.

I've checked the forum and I've done some additional googling. I've been a little overwhelmed with what I've read. Based on the details of my situation, is there anything I should try at the campground? If I can't resolve things myself, can anyone in the Orlando area recommend a mechanic or a favorite Ford dealership. They have a full service garage at Disney that may be open tomorrow (Sunday). But I'm wondering if I should wait until Monday so I can find a diesel mechanic familiar with the PSD. As luck would have it, we were supposed to head out tomorrow afternoon and all of the Ford service depts will be closed.

Thanks for any advice you can share.

 

do you have a multimeter?that way you can check the batteries and the starter.sounds like a starter issue if you have strong lights.

 

check your #30 fuse its for the fuel bowl heater see if its blown if it is you can disconnect the bowl heater plug on the fuel bowl

 

Have to agree, sounds like a starter. Check cables and starter for security.

 

If it comes down to it I know a mechanic about an hour from you. You can PM me and I'll send you his #. He is a good guy and honest mechanic. Hopefully you get it figured out without having to take it to a dealer!

 

Smoke while cranking? Does it kick at all?

 

Check all the cables to and from your batteries as well as the terminals. Tight? Any corrosion? Same for the leads to the starter.

 

Best bet, buy 2 new fully charged batteries at Walmart. I don't think jump starting has enough amps to start.

 

1. Plug the crank-case heater up (let it warm the engine).
2. Get the batteries fully charged or replaced.
3. Crank the engine to see if it will start.

If it starts, you have a plan now to get your family home.

I suspect a failure in the glow plug system.

 

You need to approach this systematically. Instead of spitballing ideas and throwing money at it, approach like this.
1.) does WTS light come on? If so, step 2. If not, disconnect fuel bowl heater element and replace fuse. Doubt that's your problem though, because truck would continue cranking even if that fuse was blown. It just wouldn't start.
2.) using a voltmeter, check your batteries, first with the key off, and then secondly with someone trying to start the truck. What your doing here is seeing how charged your batteries are and then, seeing how tired they are. If they're dropping below 10.5v while cranking then your PCM isn't getting enough juice to fire the engine off.
3.) use your volt meter and see if your getting juice to the big wire on the starter. Perhaps the cables are corroded and your not getting juice to the starter. But if you are getting voltage, then your starter needs to be replaced.
These are the steps I would take to troubleshoot it instead of just swapping out parts, especially if your having to get a ride to get parts. You want to make 1 informed educated guess instead of spitballing. If you have questions, post up results to these questions, and we can help you out further. Good luck! Sucks to break down away from home.

 

I would advise getting 2 cars and hooking them up to jump it. My old truck would take forever with one car hooked to it. As soon as I would grab another car and hooking it up it would fire ever time the batteries would drain. I also had a bad electrical gremlins

The last issue I had with it ended up being a starter that was less then a year old that I replaced not knowing that all I had to do was push the shifter up a little. It would fall down just enough to not allow the engine to try to start. After I figured that out I tightened up my sloppy shifter and never had another issue with it.

Good luck

 

If you dont have a charger with you plug in the trailer connection. The onboard power converter should charge them up over night...or at least that is the way my camper does. If nothing else, take them out of the truck and put them in place of you camper batteries.

 

With the batteries charged you can always try to jump the starter solenoid on the passenger fender to see if the starter will engage and turn over the motor.

That will either confirm or rule out the starter as an issue. You will also be able to see bypass all electronics.

Check your oil! You just pulled a lot of weight 900+ miles. If you are low on oil, it won't start up easily. Mine had been burning oil and I've been chasing it.

Good luck!

 

[QUOTE=Bill Kay;14986421]If you dont have a charger with you plug in the trailer connection. The onboard power converter should charge them up over night...or at least that is the way my camper does. If nothing else, take them out of the truck and put them in place of you camper batteries.

i like that hadnt thought of that and thought aaaahhhhaaaaa! nice one

 

i had similar issue, unhooked the wires from my starter and cleaned them off then hooked them back up, when i tried to jump the starter solenoid it did nothing (before cleaning the connections) the connections actually didnt look terrible, my starter was pretty new, made sure my batteries were fully charged and it started right up. I always have corrosion on my battery posts and it always starts better after i clean them off