Hello all,
I have a 1997 7.3 with 230,000 had it for about 40,000 of those miles. Has run very very well up untill this point. I live in Maine and in the winter this truck fires right up plugged in or not. Once warmed up blows no smoke at all good mileage very quiet idle does not shake the cab at all. So onto my Problem. I was driving for about 1/2 hour and I pulled out onto a highway at didnt have a ton of room so I accelerated pretty good got 2 miles down the road started running rough. pulled into a gas station checked codes got p0344 so I continued to drive trying to make it the 4 miles home and got about 1 before I felt I wouldnt make it. Parked the truck at my friends and replaced the cps. was told it was a common problem. after replacement it would not start AZone part. returned it got a Napa part still no luck then bought the ford one still no start. it is very close to starting just about to but no dice. lots of white smoke. Fuel pressure while trying to start is over 30lbs. volts to icp while trying to start is 5 v. replaced fuel filter tried both tanks. Today I replaced the uvc harness on the drivers side(it was burnt on what appeared to be the glow plug wire) the only other thing that is wrong is the staering collum is in pretty rough shape. and it still is throwing the code p0344 after reseting them several times but I have to crank for a extended period to get a code. Any ideas?
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The code is from extended cranking.. If I had to guess , you blew an o ring on an injector ...

 

Thanks very much for the response. One O ring on one injector could cause it not to start? Can I just pull the injectors and check them by removing the star bits? any idea why code 344 would come up?

 

The 344 will set due to extended cranking at no start ..

You can pull the valve covers & look for oil bubbling up from the base of one or two of the injectors while cranking .You can use a gauge too , but it is a bit more involved ...

 

Yes ................

 

Thanks very much I will give it a shot.

 

Don't forget to keep the batteries on a charger while you diagnose this. Too many crank attempts can weaken the batteries. Just because the starter spins the motor doesn't mean there's enough voltage for the IDM to fire the injectors. I'd hate to see you find and fix the problem, but still have a no start due to voltage and keep looking for something else.

What are you using to pull the codes? Can you monitor any live data with it?

 

I am using a aftermarket scan tool that also can program the engine but it is vin locked so all it will do on this truck is read codes. And we put fresh batterys in it and it is right on the verge of starting sounds like it is just about ready to fire but wont catch. It seems almost like the injectors are firing at the wrong time. just a hair before or after they should.

 

And by the way I forgot to say thanks for the fast reply and help

 

might be a stupid question but have you checked all your fuses?

 

Yup checked them, Dont know how to check the relays or if they could be bad. The 2 silver metal ones inside the cabs fusebox I checked by doing a continuity test. not sure if thats how you test them but they both had continuity. Wasnt sure if it could be the fuel pressure regulater since that is after the schraeder valve. I also checked the fuel in the filter and it is clean. I read that if it is a o ring on a injector that fuel would be black not sure if that is correct.

 

i know ive had problems with the solenoid on the fender and the actual starter i know it doesnt explain why your truck was running real rough but could be why its not starting.. i would look over the wire harness going to the valve cover gaskets again i know you said you checked already but before you go any spend a bunch of money on sensors and parts i would make sure the wiring for the idm all the way to the injectors looks good.. nothing worse then buying parts not needed..

 

If the truck is blowing smoke then you're spraying fuel, so it isn't an issue of a bad relay or a blown fuse. I also doubt you're having an issue with the batteries since these trucks will typically start if there is fuel being sprayed, and if the batteries are too low it won't spray fuel (no smoke out the tailpipe). Is the GPR working? It should start even if it isn't unless it is cold wherever you are (I doubt it is).

Here are a couple things I would try first:

1- Unplug the ICP on the front of the driver side head. Then crank it and see if it will fire.
2- Check to make sure the tin nut on the back of the IPR is tight (just don't over tighten it, it is tin and really easy to strip -- as long as it is snug, you should be fine).
3-I would look at the IDM if it were me. Take the three bolt out of it to unbolt it from the fender on the driver side and then shake it to see if you hear any water inside it.

Check those things out before you pull things apart.

Just out of curiosity, what did it act like before you shut it down? Did it idle correctly? Did it act like it was missing badly, or just have no power? Did it make any strange sounds? How long since the fuel filter has been changed? Have you tried switching fuel tanks?

That's a lot of questions, so I will give you a minute to respond to them.

 

Hey Nate thanks for the input.
GPR is working and its like 85 degrees here. Batteries were fresh. I tried unplugging ICP and still no difference. The truck was running great then within 3 miles it started running terrible like it was missing then got progressivley worse till I parked it then it wouldnt start. It has been sitting for 3 mons now so I assume if there was water in IDM it would have dried up by now but when I get over there I will take it out and see. Just changed fuel filter yesterday and I have tried switching tanks.

 

Yeah, check the IDM then. They've been known to get moisture in there and when that happens it shorts out the IDM and ruins everything so even if it does appear to be dry now, I would try sticking another one in there if you can find one to try.

I am a little skeptical that it is the IDM since you're getting some smoke from the tailpipe, but if you have one to try it would be an easy thing to verify.