I bought a 2001 F250 V10 in California over Thanksgiving and drove it home to Minnesota. When I first started it cold at the dealer that I bought it from, it cranked for a couple seconds and didn't start. I cranked it again and it caught and started right up. I figured it probably had to do with the truck sitting for a while with no one looking at it.

The next week of driving it, I never had any issues with it not starting on the first try.

1,900 miles later, it's sitting in my driveway in Minneapolis. It's Thursday and I haven't driven it since Sunday. I go out to start it, it cranks and catches, then immediately dies. Subsequent tries to start only result in cranking with no hint of catching. I've given it a few minutes to cool off between attempts and still nothing.

It's 24 degrees out. I'm not sure what weight oil is in the motor. It's got a full tank of fresh gas that was purchased here in Minneapolis. The battery is strong, as it's cranking really fast.

I've just come over from a 93 F250 Diesel, where I might expect problems starting at this temperature, but issues from a gas engine surprise me.

Any thoughts on what this might be? I bought this truck to be more reliable than my 93 that had 276k miles on it. This one is only a baby with 80k miles...

Thanks

 

After digging around in the forum, I found reference to checking fuel pressure through the schrader valve on the fuel rail.

Found the valve, turned the truck to on a few times to build pressure, pushed the valve, nothing.

I've done something similar in bleeding the fuel lines in my diesel and fuel would squirt out convincingly then. Am I expecting the same thing here even though the truck is not running? Absolutely nothing came out. No fuel, no air, nothing indicating there was any type of pressure behind the valve.

I did hear something running/working on the passenger's side but I couldn't identify exactly where it was coming from.

 

You're right, on a gasser there should be gas under pressure in the rail. You can also hear the fuel pump when you turn on the ignition.

Also, plus 24 degrees is nothing. My gasser will start quite easily at minus 24 degrees, although I do recommend synthetic in the winter.

In my book you're definitely on the right track, just keep on truckin'....

 

What you're really looking for is pressure at the rail while you're cranking. The pump isn't running unless the engine is either cranking or running.

In my experience, I'd still expect some pressure at the rail even with the engien off. I'd suggest trying to get your hands on a fuel pressure gauge to see exactly what's happening when the pump is supposed to be running.

More than likely you have a bad fuel pump. Good luck!

 

+1 sounds like a flakey fuel pump.

just in case, check the usual suspects like fuel pump fuse and inertia switch. This is free and only takes a few minutes, but it eliminates these items as a source of your problem. Might try to check for ~12 volts while cranking at the inertia switch.

 

LOL, bummer... i would start siphoning that fuel into jerry cans or other vehicles. You have to drop the tank to get to the fuel pump. 30 gallons of gas weighs something like 200lbs, so the more you can get out the better...

 

So, help me out with the fuel system on a gasser. Is there just a single pump located in/near the tank that brings the gas from the tank to the spark plugs?

With my old diesel, you had one low pressure pump in the fuel tank to get it out of the tank, then a high pressure pump in the engine compartment that pressurized the lines for the injectors.

 

Yep, just one pump IN the tank.

It is inserted into the top of the tank, so you either have to drop the tank, or lift the bed... dropping the tank is generally easier IMHO.

EDIT: Before you change out the pump, just make sure you have power getting to it. I don't want you to waste your time and money on a new pump if the problem is a $0.50 fuse.

 

With my diesel, I had just replaced both fuel tanks, so I'm familiar with what dropping the tanks and removing/reinstalling the pumps looks like. I'm actually kind of psyched about the possibility of doing under-body work and not having fist fulls of rust falling in my eyes.

The '93 F250 diesel I had was a Minnesota truck = rust heap

This new '01 F250 gas is a California truck and comparitively pristine.

I'll definitely check to see that power is getting to it first.

...about that, I've only done a little electrical troubleshooting. Where are fuse boxes typically found on SDs?

 

Should be under the steering wheel, 4 screws to take the plastic panel off. Check your owners manual for the fuse #'s. Pull the fuse and use a multimeter to measure resistance across it. Also check the inertia switch wich is usually located in the passenger lower side pannel, and check for voltage there while cranking (if possible). Here is another thread going on dealing with fuel pump electrical gremlins:

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/9...f250-5-4l.html

I think you're gonna find that working on a clean truck is boring... rust makes things much more interesting.

 

I understand the fuse, what does the intertia switch do?

Are both the fuse box and the inertia switch inside the cab, or the engine compartment, or one in each?

 

What's the deal with the fuel pump shut off switch inside the cab on the passenger's side? The manual talks about how to reset it by pushing the reset button.

Is this the inertia switch Gunner was talking about?

 

Yes. It keeps the fuel pump from spraying gasoline while the vehicle is upside down in a ditch, or whatever post-collision position you might be in....

 

if u have fuel pressure it might be a bad ground wire, happen to my 5.4 last year... i had a loose ground wire witch caused it to crank over strong but not fire

 

Thanks, guys. I'll keep troubleshooting. I haven't had time yet to verify the fuse is good.

One thing I did read online in the owner's manual is that it looks like the low voltage fuses are in the passenger compartment under the steering wheel, but the higher voltage ones are in the engine compartment near the firewall on the driver's side. In reading the listing of which fuses do what, it looks like the fuel pump is found in that higher power one in the engine compartment. Does this seem right?

Thanks