Ok here goes,

Started truck the other day and walked away to let it warm up I come back from inside and the truck is sitting their dead. now looking at it after a bunch of messing around at night out in the cold the number 30 fuse is blown so i replaced it and it blows as soon as i roll the key over. so i read on here about this fuse and i know i covers the fuel heater, pcm relay, wastegate solenoid, and injector driver module. so... i did wat most threads on here say to do is to unplug the fuel heater and replace the fuse which i did it still blew next i unplugged the pcm relay under the hood replaced the fuse and tryed it still blew. now i now the injecter driver module fuse has something to do with the under hood fuse #27 i think it looked good so i skipped this item. Next was the wastegate solenoid which i believe is the unit bolted to the intake with the two vacuum lines on it and one goes up to the turbo? so i unplug that and the fuse doesn't blow... so ok i think i'm getting somewhere so i try starting the truck she fires up and runs for probably 20 seconds then the #30 fuse pops again and it dies???? so then i try unplugging both the wastegate solenoid and the fuel heater still blows then i unplug everything again at the same time the pcm relay, fuel heater, and wastegate solenoid and roll the key over pop the fuse goes now everytime ??? i dont get it

also when messing around with all this stuff i noticed the air heater relay the big one on top of the engine was clicking randomly and makin noise that dosn't sound like it should lol! so i check it for 12 volts the large terminal has 12 v all the time when the key is on none of the other posts have anything?odd... so then roll the key over still putting fuses into #30 probly gone through 15 of them now and i see my wait to start light flashing funny and popping and clicking i go back under the hood and the relay is clicking again so i throw the voltmeter on it and the smaller post gets 12 v everytime it clicks then it goes away sparatically and randomly so this makes me think the air heater relay is shot..?? but i dont think this has anything to do with fuse #30 right?

this is a royal pain in the *** i cant find a wiring diagram anywhere for fuse 30 so i can trace the wiring for shorts cause that what im thinking now that the short may be in the wiring?

any help or direction would be great
because currently my ford is "FOUND OFF-ROAD DEAD" and im a chev guy and only had this truck like a month so im loosing confidence at a shocking rate lol!

 

See if you can feel around the harness that crosses the driver side valve cover. Unfortunately that rubs and can chafe wires in the harness. Sounds like you have some wiring shorting out.

 

The red/lt green wire on the waste gate solenoid and fuel heater are tied together and go to the #30 fuse. So test the two connections at the plug and see if it is shorted to ground with the meter when the fuse is blown. The white/red and gray/red wires on those two connection go to the pcm (different pins). The red/lt green wire also feeds the pcm power diode.

 

ok thanks for the help guys
In the mean time i have located a wiring diagram of this circuit and it shows a PCM diode before the relay where would i find this?
Also may sound stupid is the fuel heater wiring connector the little black one with the steel clip at the bottom of the filter bowl or the slightly larger white one about half way up. I looked in my hayes manual and it says the white one? not the little black one i think maybe i was unplugging the wrong one maybe cause i was unplugging the little black one?

 

It's the larger white one on my '99. I had the same problem earlier this week, my truck just died luckily i was able to coast off road and unpluged the conector replaced the fuse and I went on my way.

 

I'm not sure about colors, but the only other plug I can think of in that area is the Injection Pressure Regulator (IPR)... That is a sure No-Go if it's unplugged. The IPR is a fair amount further down and actually is connected to the HPOP that sits UNDER the fuel bowl. The plug your looking for is ~1.5-2 inches from the top of the bowl. And there is no metal clip on it. If you haven't found the "diode" yet, it's in the fuse box, mounted in a fuse like housing, but all black having a diode symbol on the outside. It's the only one in there so should be easy to locate.

 

Well guys thanks for all the help turned out i was unplugging the wrong one cause i unlugged the heater and she fired rite up MINT!!!
thanks again

 

I have the same problems that you had even after I changed the glow plugs, cam position sensor and the glow plug solenoid. What is it exactly that solved your problems, please be more detailed.

thanks

 

Welcome to FTE kyle. What year is your truck? If it's a 99 - 01 and fuse #30 is blowing, you need to unplug your fuel bowl heater. Look at the fuel filter bowl. There's an electrical connector on the back side of it. Unplug the connector, then replace your fuse. When the heating element in the filter bowl goes bad, the fuse it blows also kills power to the PCM which is why your truck won't start. Unplugging the heater, then replacing the fuse (leaving the heater unplugged) will allow you to drive your truck.

 

From his reply it looks like it was the fuel bowl heater. He was just unpluggng the wrong harness. Now that he knows this he just needs to replace the heater element.

 

Yes that is what i unplugged and it seemed to do the trick thanks again guys!!

 

yea, i would pull the fuel bowl heater plug and the vehicle would start but when i plug the fuel bowl heater back in the fuse will blow again. can you give me a little more info on the heater element such as how much it costs and how to change it out? sorry, i'm not much of a mechanic...but i'm learing alot from this forum.
thanks

 

You don't need the heater. My advice to you is just leave it unplugged and drive. Hang out here some more and you'll get a better understanding of how things work. As your knowledge and confidence grows, you can decide if replacing the element is worth it. Leaving it unplugged won't hurt anything.

 

so leaving the heater bowl unplugged is ok even in the winter? so what exactly does the heater element do?

 

Yes leaving it unplugged even in the winter, even up North is OK. If your fuel is going to gell, it will gell in the tank, lines, pump, etc, so that tiny amount of fuel near the heater won't make a difference.