My water in fuel light repeatedly comes on. I've drained the fuel bowl and that dosent fix it. I've even put in a new filter and it died again just after starting. Please help.

 

did you charge the fuel system after changing the filters? try turning the key on, waiting 10-15 seconds, then turn it off for 5 seconds. repeat a few times and then try to start it again. it would help to know what year and how many miles are on the truck. could be a bad sensor.

 

Was it running before the light came on? Have you checked the fuel you're draining to make sure it's not solid water? I've gotten bad diesel before and trust me, although the pump will push pure water, the engine won't burn it LOL. But more than likely you just need to make sure the bowl is full like in the post above.

 

Welcome to FTE. First off, you really need to tell us which diesel motor and what year truck you have.

If you have a 99 - 03 7.3, then look under the air intake tube going to the turbo. You'll see a thick wiring harness coming up and over the drivers side valve cover going to a box with a bolt in the middle of it. Check to see if that wiring harness has been rubbing on the valve cover and chaffed a wire. Also look behind the square box where the wires come out on top of the valve cover for the same thing. If one of these wires is chaffed and touching metal, it can cause the WIF light to flash or stay on. It will also cause the truck to stumble, stall, or not start. Wiggle everything around at first, pulling wires away from metal to see if that helps.

Also, it's important we know if you have a chip in the truck. That can cause the same issue.

 

Welcome to FTE. First off, you really need to tell us which diesel motor and what year truck you have.

If you have a 99 - 03 7.3, then look under the air intake tube going to the turbo. You'll see a thick wiring harness coming up and over the drivers side valve cover going to a box with a bolt in the middle of it. Check to see if that wiring harness has been rubbing on the valve cover and chaffed a wire. Also look behind the square box where the wires come out on top of the valve cover for the same thing. If one of these wires is chaffed and touching metal, it can cause the WIF light to flash or stay on. It will also cause the truck to stumble, stall, or not start. Wiggle everything around at first, pulling wires away from metal to see if that helps.

Also, it's important we know if you have a chip in the truck. That can cause the same issue.

 

My truck is a 2000 with the 7.3 It does have a chip in it and I couldn't tell you what kind. It had it when I bought it from the previous owner. When ever the light is on, it dies (when running) or it just wont start if it's on. I have drained the water seperator and there is no water present. I also replaced the fuel filter. It started right up after that but about 10 seconds later it quit. If it is the sensor, where is it and how do I change it out? I will check the wiring harness too. Thanks for your help.

 

It's not the sensor, and you don't have water in your fuel. The way the PCM is configured, the light on the dash acts up whenever the PCM resets. A loose chip can cause this. So can a short to ground in the wires mentioned above. The water in fuel light is just giving you a hint of other things to check.

Let us know what you find.

 

Thanks for your response. I'm not sure what PCM means. I'm guessing it is the performance chip. If so how do I go about checking that? If there is a short in the wires should I replace the harness or what are orther options?

 

PCM = Power Control Module. It's the electronic "brain" that controls all of the functions of the engine and transmission. You cannot perform the diagnostic on the PCM. Only the dealership can to that but you can look for codes using a scanner.

If you have chaffing on the wires, a temporary solution is to wrap electrical tape around the chaffed area until you can replace the wiring harness (optional). You may want to remove the battery cables for 30 minutes to reset the PCM.

 

Thanks for the tip. I'm pretty sure my wires are ok. They are all wrapped in a hard flexible plastic. Not sure what it is called but it's a type of tube that has a slit all down the lenght of it for getting the wires in and then it overlaps itself. I'll try disconnecting the batteries and see if that helps. Thanks again.

 

It's better if you inspect those wires VERY closely. We all have the split loom around the harness, that hasn't helped some of us. I'd recommend taking the long bolt out of that square box (it doesn't come all the way out, just unscrews). Unplug the square box (42 pin connector) so you can really check those wires. There's a little push tab that you can press to remove the back half of the connector from the bracket. That should make it easier to spot any issues. It will help if you remove the air intake tube when you do this.

The other thing is go ahead and remove the chip so you're truck is back to stock. That way you can rule out a chip issue. Disconnecting your batteries before you find the problem won't help you any.

Before you remove the chip from the PCM (computer), MAKE SURE THE KEYS ARE NOT IN THE IGNITION. If you play with that computer with the keys in the ignition, even turned to off, you will fry the PCM and the truck will not start again until you replace it.