One of the first things I did to this truck after acquiring it was the installation of new glow plugs. The repo place that I bought the truck from said they put in glow plugs. After pulling out the old glow plugs, i found only 1 of the 8 had nit been changed Since it was and still is so had to start, I didn't believe it. I didn't however replace the relay.

The factory block hasn't worked. Somebody installed a tank heater on the radiator hose circuit. That too was shorting out because it was rusted and causing the short. I installed a new 1500 watt heater. My only complaint with that heater is if I leave my truck plugged in 24/7, it more than doubles my electric bill. Nonetheless, that helps significantly with the cold weather starts. When it's warm out, the "wait to start" indicator normally turns off very quickly.

 

Yes. When i bought this truck from the repo people, they told me that they put all new plugs in it, plus other work. After bringing it back to CA, i did not believe they had; however, upon disassembly, I found that 1 of the 8 plugs had not been changed. In spite of that, I replaced all 8 anyway.

The truck, as you know, comes with a 1500 watt block heater that is right above the oil filter. This one is not functioning. In fact, i believe it shorts out and pops my garage circuit. SOmebody later installed a tank heater, which too was rotted out thereby shorting out. I installed a new 1500 watt tank heater. The only issue with that I have is that when plugged in 24/7, it more than doubles my electric bill. But after being plugged in for a coiuple hours or so, I fired right up and the "wait to start" light goes off in maybe 10 seconds if that long.

What i can say in general, this truck has been quite expensive since the acquisition of it. I have rebuilt the front end and replaced the breaks; my family and i went camping up in the Angeles National Forest and the starter went out. Thankfully i drove my focus up inside my toy hauler for that trip! I have replaced multiple sensors, glow plugs, that filter assembly (though not actually - its en route as we speak). Ive done other things to dress it up, shall we say. I bought new wheels because the ones it came with were complete junk and the tires were all cupped and worn funny; i obviously bought new tires, put in the gauge set, nerf bars. All in all however, i like this truck; it certainly out works my chevy 1 ton 4x4 with a pretty healthy 454.

I am concerned though about the PCM. When i was replacing those sensors, it was throwing two codes related to the pcm, po603 and something like ...606.

 

603 is probably from unhooking the batteries. 606, I'm not sure. I'd get your things fixed up your fixing, clear the codes, and drive it some. See if any come back.

If your gp system is working ok, you should get at timer to plug your truck into. About 3 hours works good. Much cheaper this way.

 

2 hrs to start ?... We need to test a few things .. We first need to know if the glow plug relay is working ..We also need to know if the oil is full.. Then at at hard start , we need to know if the HPOP res is full , oil needs to 1/2 inch or so from the top ...

THe 344 can be set simply from long crank no start


lastly , before you do anything else , check here first ...

 

where do i find the hpop res? as i understand it, the hpop runs the fuel pump, or something to that effect.

as for po344, i am aware of the effects of long cranking times!!! after replacing the cmp (with a ford part), my truck stalled. after cranking it, the code reappeared!

i have thought of the fuel injetors, but i dont want to even think about that yet. the one part will come tomorrow so i will get it back in and then readdress this crazy truck.

truth be told, this is my first diesel, so its a little intimidating, if you know what i mean. also, you said before i do anything, click here. where do i click?

 

I think Rick is just saying to check in here first. Ask anything you need, we will help if we can, and hopefully save you money and time. The hpop resevoir is on top of the hpop(high pressure oil pump). It is right in front of the motor on top. I'll see if I can find a picture. The hpop gets fed oil from the lpop, and feeds the injectors up to 3000 psi of oil to fire them. It has nothing to do with the fuel pump. The fuel pump runs off of the camshaft lobe. 2 stage mechanical fuel pump.

The plug pictured in the bottom here is the one to take out and make sure the res is staying full.

 

On the pic that Darin posted under the word that says canister have someone to turn the truck over while you hold a cheap air psi stick gauge on the schrader valve. Needle valve like your tires have. Anyhow see what that pressure is and post back.

Also you could have a wiring issue to the starter that is causing low voltage there and not enough rpms to up the fuel line pressure to a pcm permisive crank point.

The HPOP as mentioned can also cause that. The vent in your fuel bowl plugged can starve the unit of fuel. So theres a lot of different things so start slow and checking whats mentioned. The cable to the starter can be bad and not even look like it0 it can corrode inside.

Oh and and the warm up that you were doing- Just buy a cheap wall timer and let it come on for 2 hrs before you wake up.

 

Ok!!! I understand about clicking here in FTE!!!

Thank you for the picture. I knew where the location of the hpop, but the res. picture was very helpful. also, as crazy as this is, i didnt know how to drain out the water, as the water in fuel light would flash on and off. after taking out the fuel filter assembly and going down to ford, the salesman in hte parts store was an idiot. i asked just that, how to get the water out but he had no clue. so i was playing with that black lever, which was frozen, and i managed to work it lose. then all of a sudden, the idiot seemed to know his own head from the hole in the wall!

as for the fuel pressure on the regulator, it was about 50 psi. at the moment, that is a moot point because im getting one tomorrow along with that filter. once i get that in, it is time to be hitting it again! of note, this truck has 327,000 miles on it!

But thank you for that picture. Very helpful. I will also look at the battery cables once i get the filter assembly back in with the new fuel lines (the old fuel lines were so rotten, its a wonder they didnt fall apart).

 

and before i forget, thanks for the hpop clarification. i had some idea of it. i actually forgot the specifics, but i have been raeding in different forums and looking online about it. thank you though for reminding a forget brain!

 

Ok, I am at complete loss with this truck. I put in the fuel filter assembly, and this stupid thing still dies when i slow down or come to a stop. If i power brake it, i am able to keep the truck running. The pump definitely is not the problem. At idle, its putting out 50 psi and at 2000 rpm, its producing 56 psi. The hpop res level is full, so you would think the fuel injectors are working at the designed pressure.And, this truck is not throwing any codes during this.I do not know what else to do to resolve this issue. I really hate the idea of sucumbing to the notion of having the dealer look at it because they are not always the sharpest tools in the shed! I would hate for them to supposedly fix it but really not after paying them a lot of money.

 

Do you have a auto trans?

 

yes, this truck has an auto transmission.

 

Next time your slowing down put the truck in neutral before you stop and see if it stays running or dies

 

ok.

some suggestions made to me was to check the mechanical fuel pump, as the orings might be worn, thereby allowing it to leak air. another suggestion was to check the injection pump for the same reason. the final suggestion was to check the inertia fuel shut off switch.

i know this inertia switch is to cut the fuel supply in the case of an accident. i have read some posts that from one person that these trucks do not have these switches, but my brother who has a repair shop up in UT looked it up on alldata, was the one who said to check it. if there is one, where is it located?

 

There is no injection pump. Just the hpop.
If your fuel pressure is steady, that is not your problem.
I don't know where the inertia switch is, if we have one( I don't think we do), but that would not be it either. That would need to be pushed back on to get running again.