Hey guys Cody here from down in the OBS forum. My father some of you know has an 05 6.0. He called me yesterday to tell me his truck is starting very hard. As in lots of cranking.

First I asked if he was waiting on the glow plugs. His reply was that he waited for the glow plug light to go out and he cranks.

I don't even know if there is a wait to start light on these trucks, but I would assume there is.

So I tell him, the glow plugs should cycle anywhere from 10 sec to a minute. And since he doesn't have a voltage gauge, he can't see the voltage drop. (I love my Dad, but telling him to watch lights for voltage drops will not go well.)

My guess is he isn't waiting on the glow plugs long enough before cranking. However, if he is and in fact the glow plugs aren't cycling properly, what is my troubleshooting path?

Do 6oh's have a relay similar to 7.3's?
Where is the relay?
Where are the glow plugs? (I thought they were external on 6oh's....I think)
ohm readings I should see on good or bad plugs...etc.

Next, block heater cord. I just read about it's location and routing in the tech folder. Excellent writeup. So if he's laying behind the front tire looking up on the inside of the frame rail, the block heater cord (If he has one) should be just below the starter? Does that sound correct? And the plug should be behind the bumper on the passenger side by the fog light?
OH, OH, OH, before I forget, if he DOES NOT have a cord, is it the same cord as on a 7.3? It looked very similar as far as the tin prong thingy that holds it on that threaded head.

Thanks guys, I look forward to hearing from you.

 

It is very likely it isn't a glow plug issue or an issue w/ being plugged in. These may be playing a part, but there may be a different "root cause".

I would suggest that he start with the basics (if he hasn't already).

- Fresh oil - 5W40 synthetic w/ OEM filter and new OEM style fuel filters
- Disconnect each battery, charge them, and then load test them - individually
- use a quality fuel additive (anti-gel)
- Take it in to get the latest flash. Lots of folks are worried about it, but I do not think their worry is warranted AS LONG AS the batteries and charging system are properly maintained. System voltages are VERY important on a 6.0L

If there are still problems after that, I would say check the FICM (Fuel Injection Control Module) voltage. DrQuad has a nice post on it. I started a thread on it also ("borrowing" from SWAMPS Diesel and the PSN forum):
https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/8...procedure.html

On the 6.0L the glow plugs are not under the valve covers. Look in the wheel wells on the side of the motor, you will see your glow plugs right above the exhaust manifold with a bus bar connecting them. The glow plugs run for 2 minutes I believe - regardless of how long the "wait to start light" stays on.

If you want to check the glow plugs:
Install an inductive ammeter on one bank at one of the two harnesses at the Glow Plug Controller Module (GPCM). You can get up to 200 A at first, but then should stabilize around 35-45 A. Check the other bank with the inductive ammeter. Both sides should read the same. If not, check the amps to each individual glow plug to determine which one (or ones) is bad. Each glow plug should draw 10-12 Amps.
Also - you can disconnect the glow plug harness and test the resistance of each plug. Each plug should read 0.1 to 2 ohms resistance. The harness should read 0 to 1 ohm resistance.

<TABLE style="WIDTH: 562pt; BORDER-COLLAPSE: collapse" border=0 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=749 x:str><COLGROUP><COL style="WIDTH: 562pt; mso-width-source: userset; mso-width-alt: 26464" width=749><TBODY><TR style="HEIGHT: 18.35pt" height=24><TD style="BORDER-BOTTOM: windowtext 0.5pt solid; BORDER-LEFT: windowtext 0.5pt solid; BACKGROUND-COLOR: yellow; WIDTH: 562pt; HEIGHT: 18.35pt; BORDER-TOP: windowtext 0.5pt solid; BORDER-RIGHT: windowtext 0.5pt solid" class=xl25 height=24 width=749>Video w/ a short excerpt on glow plugs at apprx. 6:00 minutes to 7:45 minutes:</TD></TR><TR style="HEIGHT: 12.9pt" height=17><TD style="BORDER-BOTTOM: #d4d0c8; BORDER-LEFT: #d4d0c8; BACKGROUND-COLOR: yellow; HEIGHT: 12.9pt; BORDER-TOP: #d4d0c8; BORDER-RIGHT: #d4d0c8" class=xl24 height=17>mms://multimedia.ford.com/seopts/Tech25_250k.wmv</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>

You are correct on the block heater cord. If your dad is in Texas, I would doubt that he has one. I do not believe they are the same as the 7.3L. Again, if he is in Texas, I would have to say that his truck really should start well without the block heater (ie down to 10 *F).

 

I cannot help much but when I had an 03...6.0 we had trouble with the Glowplug relay.I had it replaced two times.

 

Mark,
I'm finally gonna get a chance to look at my dad's truck next week. I'm not gonna lie, I don't even know what an inductive ammeter is. I have a Fluke 85 III meter, but I'm not very astute at using it other than ohms.

I'm clear on the load testing of the batteries.

He did take the truck to Ford and they could not flash the pcm because they say it has a program loaded on it.

Some history. He bought the truck with some sort of programmer/ chip on it, with full pillar gauges. He bought it used from Ford like that. Well, he had issues with it, and took it in for service. They tried to hand him the whole, it's programmed, no warrenty. But he proved he bought it like that. Well, they removed everything, gave him the gauges, but said they wouldn't give him the chip..... Doesn't make sense to me, but my dad's an old rodeo cowboy, and explaining why he got screwed wouldn't be worth the explanaition to him. I love him, but mechanics and diesels are not his forte.

Now, that being said, my expertise is in the 7.3, and alot of what you said doesn't make sense to me. I'm not afraid to say I'm not the smartest. But what can I do to help him with what I've got to work with. i.e. lots of tools and gusto. LOL It's okay to explain it like I'm an idiot. Because honestly, when it comes to a 6.0, I am.

I really have no orientation of where things are on these motors for the most part. I mean don't get me wrong, I can wrench with the best of them, and have very strong attention to detail. But have zero time on these trucks.

Can Ford reflash these pcm's if there is say, a Superchip program loaded on them?
Where is the glow plug relay?
How hard is it to change them?

I realize your probably like, "this guy should never touch a 6.0" I couldn't agree more, but I gotta try to help him. So any info I can get, I greatly appreciate.

 

The 6.0L Bible is a great place to start.
6.0L Bible Table of Contents

GPCM:
Page 66: Electrical Components

Do the videos work for you (they do for me, but others have had problems)?

 

I am not sure about flashing the PCM after it has had a Superchips.

Everyone "knowledgeable" that I talk to says that you must return it to stock before performing a flash update. If you do not have the tuner to return it to stock, I am not sure of the proper steps to take. I would like to say that the Dealership that sold him the truck is responsible for that. You might try contacting Ford about that one.

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First thing you need to establish is what happened. You have 2 tuning devices, in-line and Flash programmer. The in-line tuning device can be removed, if the truck had been Flashed with an SCT or other flash device, a Ford technician can re-flash over the tune returning it to stock programming.

A hard start is not always the glow plugs, the first line thinking as in the 7.3L engine. The 6.0L injectors are fired with high pressure oil and electric spool valves open & close the injector. Low readings from the ICP or low oil pressure to the injectors will cause a hard start. You possibly could have a bad ICP/ICP connector or leak in the high pressure oil.

Fuel pressure can cause hard starts as well as low voltage from the FICM (Fuel Injection Control Module) or low battery voltage. The truck needs to have a good going over at the dealer to get your dad up and running and back to square one since you have no idea what the previous did.

If I have you confused I understand, we can try and answer any questions you have but do provide as much information as possible.

 

the guys are right. the inline tuning device must be removed. then the reflash can be done.
gpcm relay is a silver box on the right valve cover. glowplugs can be tested at the 4pin buss bar. just follow the glow plug harness at the heads and you will find the connector.
good valve is the same as a 7.3 about 1-2 ohms.

 

It is an 05 truck. Might be the HPOP STC fitting beginning to fail.

 

Until we find out more information, his only problem is a hard start when cold. Usually the HPOP leak will start showing up after the truck is warm.

 

Okay, I'm finally here with the truck. Here's what it did yesterday afternoon.
Probably 70* outside.

Hard start w/ black smoke. (this was the first start of the day)
Loping hard for about 1 minute.
A clear miss for about 1 minute as well. (first time for this)

Also, when driving for the first 1/2 mile slow down a dirt road, the tranny did not want to shift out of 1st gear. After things started to warm up, it would shift fine.

After driving the truck and bringing it up to operating temps, the truck will start, shift, and drive fine. It's only having these simptoms when cold.

Also my Dad noted a longer running fuel pump.

Since I don't have a code reader, or scan gauge with me, we went to Autozone for a free code read. Here's our codes.

P0261
P0264
P0267
P0270
P0273
P0276
P0279
P0282

Their generic meanings are:
Open circuit condition
Coil to Coil Short
FICM poor connection fault
Faulty fuel injector

We cleaned all the battery connections till they were shiney again and making good connections. Even the 8 awg wire connections coming off the positive leads.
I read voltage with my meter and the both showed 12.87v. Though this isn't a load test, they showed good voltage.

Also, not sure if it's worth noting, the truck is an 06, not 05. With 133k on it.

 

all 8 injector low codes = failed ficm.

 

Do you think the FICM fix that Tim has on here will fix it?

We just took a voltage reading off the screw closest to the drivers fender and it read 48.8v.

From what I was reading on the fix, 45v is what it required. Is 48v to high?

 

you need to check the voltage both cranking and running to see why its doing this. if its reading 48 volts all the time the dc/dc converter is most lilky good. so I think that would mean an issue on the main board or battery/ alternator concerns batteries and alternators are easy to check though. 48v is idea for a ficm.
you could also try to reflash it as I have seen that cure it before.
you can try the resolder repair listed here and see what that gets you but if the repair is to fix con concerns with the converter.

 

Also, the glow plugs all ohmed .5 to .7 at the 4 pin connectors on top of each valve cover.

I'm at a loss here. 7.3 is where my strength is. So any tips or small things that I might be missing would help. I appreciate everything you've helped me with so far.