IF you've seen my other threads you'll know I'm in the UK and recently picked up a 1990 F250 with the 7.3 IDI with an E4OD.

Its got a slow starting/no starting problem, it has been fitted with a manual start and plug heater button.

The batteries are fairly new and charge off the mains to about 13volts. But I am yet to test the Alternator. But I have a feeling its not charging the batteries as much as it needs to, or I've got a leakage somewhere on the power.

I found ( after testing ) that the TPS was only giving me a range of something like 0.73 volts to 4.10 so a new one is en route to me.

It seems to be effected more by a little atmospheric dampness, which is how I flattened the batteries the other day in not much time at all. I flicked the ignition on, waited for the light to go out, then held the GP button for about 8 seconds, then went for a start. Lots of cranking, it fired then died straight off again. Couldn't get it to fire again before the batteries lost sufficient cranking power.

All I can see visibly that may contribute is aged battery cables, the manual GP button, and here is a long shot thought - the water pump was changed shortly before I bought the truck, which leads me to ask ( in my very limited knowledge ) does the fuel pump adjuster get disturbed usually when the water pump is changed ?

Because I had this random thought of the starting problem ( if not completely electrical ) being a fuelling issue as I can't see why its not getting enough heat as the ambient temp is fairly good at the moment, but the whole start then die situation as well as me leaving the truck for only 20 minutes but its still a bit of a pig to get fired up again, makes me think theres not enough fuel pumping through.

Any thoughts, checks etc will be a huge help to get my truck in top running order, since its the only one in this part of the U.K. Thanks !

 

hi, why dont you look to norway, these trucks are all over the place overhere.
at least when it comes to spareparts.
have you made sure, that you dont have a leak in your fuelline, so that it takes longer to get the fuel into the injectors?
and get the generator testet, you dont want to run out of juice, in the winter.
what does it deliver in volt, when the engine is running??
and dont run the batteries flat, othervise, you will kill them, in the long run.

 

Can you eventually get the truck started after cranking after x-amount of time if you can it means you are getting fule ,check your fule return lines they are the little lines that go imbetween the injectors if they are leaking it can make it hard to start. Did you clean all battery connections ?
The battaries may charge up, but they may bogg down when you put a load on them, i know you said they are fairly new but you ought to put a load tester on them and see how many volts they drop down to with a load, if you dont have a load tester, take the battaries to auto zone and have them test them with a load tester and have them test them for a bad cell, its free.

 

The fact that it will fire and die suggests a fuel delivery issue . Your problem seems to be compounded by alt/battery concerns . As stated above , load test batteries and dissconnect thecables to see if you have a "phantom draw" when they are reconnected .

 

Thanks for the advice !

pappa_wolf, if you know of any company names ( and have some time ) maybe you can let me know them, it will be cheaper to ship parts from Norway to the U.K I'm sure, so it would be a massive help.

I'll start tests tomorrow on the batteries and electrical system and check out the fuel lines as well and let you know the results.

I'd like to figure out what forms the major parts of the GP heating system so that while the batteries are off I can quickly find, clean and test any relays or controllers and such like - but my workshop manual does not show the locations of any of the main parts, which is annoying.

I've already tidied up the wires directly on the GP's and found 2 or 3 loose and 1 wire completely off.

IS there anything I can test on the fuel/water separator maybe ? I see it has a valve on the side ( I assume for air ), but can anything be checked/tested on that maybe while I am at it ?

Thanks again, all help and thoughts is really appreciated !

 

The Gp controller is located behind the air filter housing, and the relay is idk i am sure you could just trace the wires until you find it ,and the glow plug harness and glow plugs are pretty obvious the glow plugs are the things next to each injector with wires going to the top of them they are kinda like spark plug wires you just pull them straight off.
EDIT: For the fuel water seperator (on my truck) there is a metal thing at the bottom of the filer housing that you turn and the water and such will leak out you may have to prime/pump it you do that by pushing the little button looking thing that is next to the thing that looks like a bike pump valve , the bike pump valve thing is for blkeeding air out of the system .
Just check for leaks around the fittings they should all be bone dry.
Don't be rough with the fule return line caps... the plastic ones because they will leak even if you just give them a little bump.

 

Thanks ! I'll have to get the step ladder out again as I can't reach the back of the engine without it. I love the simplicity of these trucks though, going from jap imports and saabs and Lexus' and the like, over to this, its a breeze to work on I think !

 

I`ll compile a list of suppliers, that I know are trustworthy, and good at what they are doing, and PM you tomorrow.
And the simplicity, of these engines and durabillity of these trucks, are the reason I`m selling my 1979 caprice, I thougt that, that car would be a keeper, but the fordman in me wants out.
so tomorrow, I`ll be calling a guy, and ask for a trade,
Its a 1986 f-250 with a 6.9 and a 4 speed manual. even my girlfriend likes it!

 

lol....it seems we have European friends Guys....

 

Let me put it this way. I`m working my butt, to shreds, in order to save as much money as possible, just so I can buy me a piece of georgia, when I get older.
I`m sick and tired of the stupid regulations, the norwegian government are forcing down over our heads.
Did you know that we pay 11 $ for a gallon of diesel, and 12$ for gas!!
you are not allowed to make any changes to a vehicle, unless you have a permission from the traffic advisory.
I`m paying more than 2000$ in insurance per year, and the roadtax is 700$ pr. year.
a normal family pays more than 6.000$ pr year, for owning 2 cars.

the only upside to this, is when a car/truck is more than 30 years old, it`s considered a veteran, and the taxes and insurance drops to 1/10.
and most of the regulations on how the car can be built dissapear.
but you are under no circumstances, allowed to put bigger tires or a liftkit on your truck, unless it is approved by TUV, and then you still have to apply for the right to put it on your truck.

the prices on beer are stupid, a sixpack of budweiser, are close to 50$

 

I guess we are all starting to feel the sting of fuel price increase, when I started driving some years ago I was paying about 30% of what I pay now. And for Britain our diesel is 10% more than petrol ( gas ), even LPG is creeping up in price rapidly.

I understand the situation with the TUV and registration and all that. I was living in Germany for a while, and in the end I had to keep the Skyline registered and taxed in the U.K, and just brought it back to the U.K once a year to keep it legal.

Anywho, progress so far today with the Behemoth:

I've not been able to do electrical tests as I got carried away with the bodywork and decided to strip the seats and carpets out completely to clean them and also paint the floor. In the process I decided to pull some wires out and here is what I found ( which many of these will not be helping the starting issue ).

Where there was a power plug for a 5th wheel dangling out behind the cab, I traced the mains wires all the way to the battery. They had multiple connectors and were all tangled into other wires etc. So ripped that lot out, I'd much rather start over when I need a power hook up, the existing wiring done by the PO's is suicidal !

I found some wires just jammed into the brake pedal ( for the brake lights I assume ) and another jammed into a fuse, on the fuse panel.

A greatly concerning wire was the earth for manual GP button, several connectors, several exposed sections of wire where it had worn away under the carpet, and barely attached to the cover plate over the transmission, I'd think the earth wire was being about as useful as a handbrake in a canoe !

I also removed a tail light and found several bare wires and needless connectors, as well as the bulb ( now serving as an indicator ) spray painted ( badly ) in orange.

On the engine side I tidied up a few more wires. I removed the airfilter case and carefully extracted the GP controller and relay ( bolted to the bulkhead directly behind the controller ) to inspect them in the comfort of the house.

I noted one pot around the number 4 cylinder GP with some liquid in it, where as none of the others did, but I mopped it up and it smelt of nothing, so it may have been fuel, but I suspect water coming off the air filter casing when I removed it as there are no indications of a fuel leak all around that area, everything is tight and dry. If its water dripping in then I'll make up a shield to redirect it, if its fuel I'll find out when I do more tests.

I noted a slight wetness around the 8 ( I think ) cylinder and found the fuel pipe going from one side to the other at the back was a bit of a loose fit and the pipe looks aged, but I clamped it up a bit tighter for now and will test and replace asap.

Lastly I had a look in the fuel/water filter ( I know I'll need to prime now I guess before a restarting of the engine ) and it was half full with what I'd guess as diesel by the smell . A few bits of dirt floating around at the bottom, but otherwise fine. And I traced the fuel pipe down bellow the alternator and found a stupid length of the fuel pipe twisted around ( but not kinked ) with a non-return valve barely staying sat in the pipes, I've taken it off to check that as well. I was thinking of a non-return valve, but I can certainly do without the extra 10 inches of pipe wrapped around the whatever it is down there.

So thats it so far, and I did have to use the step ladder and I had to climb into/onto the engine bay to reach the relay. Whoever the peanut was that did all the wiring and other additions clearly had no idea what they were doing, a wild chimp with an alcohol intolerance would have done a better job I'm sure !

Thanks again for the help and thoughts ! I really feel I am making decent progress with the old Leviathan !

 

where you at in UK, my wife is from the "pottries", Stoke on Trent, just got back from a trip over to visit. probably won't be back until next year, would love to see you drive one of our trucks on those miniature English streets.

 

Cool ! I'm in the very south of Lincolnshire, near to Boston and Peterborough ( bordering Norfolk as well ) so not a great distance from Stoke, but any distance would be nothing on this island if it were not for the speed ristrictions

I love driving the truck on these little roads, apart from the fact there size an excuse for any situation " Oh I can't fit this in less than 2 parking spaces " or " yer I'd love to come over, but my trucks to big to fit in your driveway ", but also when most things are smaller on the roads you don't feel you have to stop for them either ! Though of course I would...... if needed..... to save my paintwork of course.

 

Sounds like you are making some headway. If I were you I would get that extra fuel line in order and install a return line kit on it. Called an injector install kit at the parts house, and make sure you get one with viton orings in it.

There is a stickie at the top of the page that will outline how to test your glowplugs.
Batteries, cables and starter have to be in top shape on these to start quickly and relialably, as do the glow plug circuit. Then it should start in one or two turns of the engine.

 

Thanks ! I am all for that, no doubt the previous owner found it was slow starting and put the manual GP button and non-return valve etc quick fix it when in fact the problem was bad wiring and bits coming off. Typical that is.

I found someone over here stripping a 450, so I've asked for the windows, air intake pipe and the battery cables so I can make up a decent set with what I have.

And I'll have a look now at the injector install kit/extra fuel line.

Thanks very much, once again !

EDIT/ADD:

Do I already have a kit installed ?