My 99 F250 V10 will crank and crank and crank but won't start. Happens only intermittently. Always starts and runs great first thing in the morning. Usually doesn't start doing it until later in the day after I've started at least 4 or 5 times. If I let it sit for a few minutes it will then start up fine. Once started the truck runs like a champ with zero issues. My initial though was the fuel pump is going out but I'm not sure and don't want to just start swapping parts. Could it be some sort of wiring issue. Took it to a garage and they had it for a whole day and couldn't get the problem to occur. Went to pick it up and drove it home fine and when I got home it wouldn't start. Go figure. Waited fifteen minutes and started fine. Help please. What else could it be. Any advice is appreciated.

 

Did your repair shop scan the ECM to see if there were any codes, call them and see, If the cam or crank sensor is bad it would cause those problems but you should have a memory code. When the fuel pump craps out they usually die and thats it. If it doesnt start while cranking the engine have some one kick the center of the gas tank and see if it starts, but before you do that remove the gas cap and put your ear to the fill tube see if you can hear the pump running, you just need to turn the ignition on and you will hear the humm, try it so you know what to listen for. check the relays in the under hood fuse box, the PCM relay is in there as is the fuel pump and they have problems making connections. Bang on the MAF meter while the truck is idling. If it stumbles, or stalls, clean the MAF with a spray just for cleaning them at pep boy's ect. if it still acts up after cleaning replace it, but only if it acts up while you bang on it. go from there

 

Have you tried pushing on the gas pedal when it won't start? If it does start when giving it some throttle, it's the IAC.

Otherwise, when it won't start, bang on the gas tank with a 2x4 and then see if it starts. If so, it's the fuel pump.

Change the fuel pump relay FIRST though.

 

Thanks for the responses. The reason I'm skeptical on it being the pump is that once it's running there are no issues. Wouldn't I have issues with the vehicle when I'm driving it?

 

No, you wouldn't. One the pump is running, it'll run forever. When it stops, and the brushes are bad, or the commutator have a bad spot, the motor won't spin up until it just basically wants to.

But if you do replace the pump, make sure the wiring up to it is good, and change the fuel pump relay.

 

I am having a similar issue on my 02. Mine will die in traffic and if I let it sit a few minutes, will start back up. I have ruled out the IAC since when it dies, feathering the gas pedal doesn't help, pushing the throttle to the floor doesn't get it to start, and yesterday I verified that the pump did not prime right away when it stalled.

I have a remote start so I can stand next to the tank. When it stalled, I pulled over, stood next to the tank and cranked it. No priming pump sound. After sitting a minute, and restarting, I hear the pump prime and it fires right up. So I am going to say it is the pump or the wiring/relays. No more issues the rest of the evening.

This has been an intermittent problem for about 6 months now so very hard to troubleshoot. It has been more frequent the last few weeks though and about the only factor I can see is that it seems to happen more often when the truck sits in the sun all day. Just doesn't happen if I drive in the mornings (yet).

My understanding is that the fuel pump relay is integrated into a board on this model so a simple swap there is not possible or at least not cheap. I am going to trace the wiring and see if something got nicked. I hate just parts swapping and hoping. Is there a way to isolate the pump and test it before I start pulling and replacing parts? If it turns out to be that integrated relay, I am not sure what I will do about that.

 

Had the same problem, would run great for weeks at a time. Might not start after coming off the hi way or even parked for a few days in the garage Finally it quit and they replace the fuel pump. It's been since last October and no further problems. The relay was changed first.
Cokeman, isn't your relay part of a wired assembly? My 01 was a plug in relay.

 

Just to be clear, I advocate changing the fuel pump relay because in a bunch of cases, I've seen it be THE cause of the fuel pump going bad. It usually develops resistance at the contacts, causing a voltage drop, which in turn causes the pump to run hot eventually burning the brushes/commutator.

 

I understand the entire fuse panel was moved to under the steering wheel in 2002, like ours. I don't see any fuses or relays in the engine bay. The diagram for our 2002 fuse panel doesn't show a relay for the fuel pump, just a 20A fuse. Where is the fuel pump relay or is it part of the fuel pump assembly?

 

My understanding is that the 02s and 03s have the FPR integrated into the fuse panel and are not serviceable. OPs 99 should have a serviceable relay and I agree with Krewat on replacing it if possible just because relays do go bad and are easy to replace usually.

I share OPs skepticism on the pump being bad since it runs fine once I am past the initial issue, but Krewat brings up another good point again on how those pumps work. So there's that.

That's why I would like to figure out how to isolate the pump and check it without just swapping parts. A new fuse panel is around $400 I think, so I don't really want to just swap that out and hope it works. The pumps aren't exactly cheap, but better than that panel. Still just on general principal, I would rather diagnose and fix instead of just parts swapping.

Having said that, there are a lot of threads on this forum with similar symptoms. The ones that turn out not to be the IAC seem to end up being the pump and not the relay. So it's not completely blind parts swapping. That's what a forum like this is for, right?

 

I thought that was such a good idea to have the fuse/relay panel not in the engine bay, but to have the fuel pump relay integrated into the panel ??? The 04 and 05 owner's manuals also do not show a fuel pump relay on the panel. I have a wiring book on order. I'm sure there is a way to bypass a relay integrated into the panel and wire an aux relay into the harness that can be serviced. I have a couple of spare relays on order and have a couple of wired sockets for them. I just looked behind my panel and the only thing on the back that is large enough to be a relay is in the lower left corner.

 

fuel pump relay for 2001 was $12.00,they did the cheapest first. its up under the dash

 

I had a problem with my 03 F-250 stalling in traffic or just sitting at a light.I replaced the fuel pump and filter no help still died when ever.I had it towed to the dealer brilliant dealer replaced the fuel pump and filter gave it back to me drove it for one day same problem.Had it towed back to the dealer they cleaned the fuel system gave it back to me.I drove it almost home and had same problem it did restart and made it home.Called the service manager and he came to my house with the mechanic so he could drive it back to the shop it died 5 times on the way and no codes.It ended up being a short in the fuse block itself.They replaced it at no charge because they replaced a new fuel pump for no reason.Don`t know if this helps but it was my problem.

 

Well, I went for 2 weeks with no problems, then today it died 5 times on me in a 10 mile stretch. Of course I cannot not get it to die in my driveway so I can troubleshoot. The only consistent thing I can see is that, when it dies, if I wait 1 or 2 minutes, it will start right up.

So that sounds like something getting hot, then working again once cooled. If that was happening in the wiring or fuseblock, I would expect it to happen every time. I would also expect that an overheating pump would do it more consistently as well, but I guess these pumps could get erratic when starting to fail.

Like I said, I hate just parts swapping, but I can't get any repeatability to make a good decision. It will also be hard to replace something and know right away if that fixes this, but I guess that's what I have to do and start with the fuel pump.

What do you think?

 

Have you noticed when it dies do the gauges all go to zero or your radio turns off? If they do it is not your fuel pump it is electrical and probably the fuse block. That is how the mechanic at the dealer figured out what my problem was.Also the first time it happened to me was a year before and it had no problems until it happened again then it was consistently doing it. Hope this helps