Hey Ya'll, I haven't been on in a while, been super busy this summer. Lot's of time in the mountains and lots of lake time.

Anyway, Today, the truck started taking extra cranks to start, it started with one, and toward the evening, now were at 5 to 8 cranks to start, and it sounds like it doesn't want to, and all the lights including the headlights flicker a lot more than normal... simple answer... batteries.

So I ran over to the auto store before they closed, and we tested each battery separately, and together. He said they checked out fine, and had a good "surface charge".... meaning the alternator is good?

My fuel filter is clean, and only has about 5000 miles on it, oil is 6000 miles, and air filter is maybe 1000 miles. Truck has 311800 on it. Fuel pressure gauge is normal... I am not sure what a bad starter sounds like.

So, do I ignore the fellow at Oreilley's, and purchase new batteries tomorrow? I have been considering Optimas and have hear mixed reviews. I am pretty hard on the truck during the winter, so the strongest battery i can buy is a plus. Thoughts?

On a side note, some good Ol' 7.3 pics from the Colorado Mountains:


Top of Picayne Pass in the San Juans


Little bit of snow on Imogene Pass, this is in August...


Summit of Imogene Pass


TooHellYouRide, Colorado


Engineer Pass Summit


Lots of Color


Crossing Mirror Lake on Tincup Pass

 

you may have clogged screens in the fuel tank.
like the pics!

 

Interesting, so do the in tank mods, which would be good to do anyway.... but wouldn't i see a drop in fuel pressure, or a loss of power?

 

voltage drop test: slap a volt meter on the batts have someone start it. check the voltage drop. i have honestly never done it on my truck-since it starts, but if its something crazy like 10 volts you could be losing a cell or two in one or both.

my 02

kurt

 

Will do, another question, I noticed that when the tuner is in 80e (more fuel) it starts easier than in stock... thoughts?

 

have you ever changed the oil in your hpop? you have good fuel pressure, i wouldnt know where else to look. im still learing these powerstrokes

i have 2 optima red tops in our daily driver vws' they work great. have run them down pretty low a few times-to needing recharges and they have held up well.

nice pictures

kurt

 

No need to change it really, it gets circulated through in short order as soon as you start it up.

 

The flickering headlights, seems like it should lean towards a bad alternator to me, or a possible loose connection on the alternator, or a bad ground. Check the condition of the battery cables and terminals, clean those up well too.

 

I had the exact same issues, it seemed like the batteries were going but it turned out to be the starter was done... no cranking power. I would clean and check all your connections first, and go from there.

 

Good suggestion. One of my starter bolts had fallen out and I was loosing ground...

while you are messing with the starter, just take it off and get it tested.

 

cool pics, is that a marine bimini top in your bed or what?

 

X2 on the starter . I just had to replace mine because both bolts were looses which caused the Big Power cable to crack the selinoid housing , and finally break it . I was getting a slower and slower crank each time I fired it up .

 

If you do get batts, just get some wal-marts and ruin them after 1.9999 years and return them for freshys.

saves you $200 or so

 

Alright, I remember that thread about the loose starter bolts, so I will take a look at it.

I recorded a video of the problem last night with a cheater view of voltage, and fuel pressure. I shortened it for just the hardest start. After that, it seems to start better. I haven't tried this morning. You'll need some volume.

Aren't you supposed to be able to see RPM's fluctuate while its cranking? Mine is not showing any movement until it starts.

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