Ok, this might be kind of long. I just got a 97 F350 CC obviously with the 7.3. Had to trailer it home because something is wrong with the trans...but thats another story. I had a hard time getting the truck started to get it off the trailer (yes, trans only works in reverse). Truck had been sitting for 2 weeks according to PO. I eventually got it started but it didn't have power right away. no matter the pedal position it wouldn't rev past 2k. After I let it idle and warm up a bit, it all of a sudden seemed fine. Would rev as high as I wanted it to and sounded great. turned it off, and started it a few more times before I called it a night and it started fine and ran fine. This morning comes, and I go to start it and again, it won't start. It cranks and sputters and tries to start, but then just keeps cranking. That went on for awhile till I finally had the thought it might be out of gas as the needle was pretty close to the bottom of the gauge. So put a couple gallons in and I can get it to sort of run, but it will not respond to throttle, and only runs for a few seconds, very rough mind you, and then dies. Also, it does have codes P0113 and P0344. Its missing the stock filter box and therefore the intake air temp sensor as well, so that might explain that code, and the P0344 might be attributed to too much cranking and batteries getting weak?? I know it also relates to the CPS but I do get tach movement when cranking to about 100 rpms. Been doing a lot of reading and just to see, I unplugged the ICP and there is oil in it and on the connector. I'm going to replace that, but is there anything I'm missing?? What direction should I go if the ICP doesn't fix the problem, I really need this thing to run so I can diagnose the trans. And why would it seemingly run ok yesterday, but today it won't? Truck has 324k on it. I am very mechanically inclined, but this is my first diesel and I'm just not familiar with them. Oh I did check the fuel bowl and filter, filter just has the color appearance of being wet, not very dark, and there is fuel in the bowl. Please help!!

 

How is engine oil level, heui need oil pressure to run, and check hpop res. to see if it has oil in it, dont sound like a cam sensor cause they will not let it run at all if its bad, ill keep thinkin on it and see if i can come up with anything else

 

To be honest I haven't even check the engine oil...although that is one of the first things I should've done anyway before even trying to start it. I'll check it and report back. Also, I know the HPOP is under the fuel bowl, but how much stuff do I have to remove to check its resevoir? Can it be checked by just opening that maintenance cover flap, or do i have to take that whole cover off?

 

Plug it in and see if it makes a difference

 

hpop is right in front of fuel bowl, has a small plug on top, remove it and check to see if it has oil in it, also check screen of fuel bowl, on right side of fuel bowl is pressure reg, remove it and there is a screen there, usually old psd's have a lot of stuff blocking the screen off... was the truck smoking while it was cranking, were u getting any white(unburned) fuel out of tailpipe

 

Are the batteries fully charged ? If cranking voltage drops below 10.5v the idm will not fire the injectors

 

Ok, I'll check those things out, and yes, lots of white smoke when cranking. Also, the batteries were on chargers all day, for most of my cranking attempts, so I'm just going to assume at this point that they weren't dropping below the necessary voltage to fire the injectors. The truck was completely dead when I arrived to pick it up, so theres no telling if the batteries are "good enough" anymore. However they are supposedly under warranty and I do have the receipt for them from the PO.

 

 

If your gettn lots of white smoke, then you've prob got enuf oil to fire injectors, whats the temp like outside, is it cold, maybe glow plugs

 

Ok, I just went out to check the oil levels, engine oil is just below the add mark on the stick. And for the life of me, I can't find where to check the HPOP oil level. There is no obvious reservoir that I can see in front of the fuel bowl. Can you make that picture you posted bigger, or link me to the source of it so i can tell for sure? I still want to be sure of the HPOP oil level even though it appears theres enough oil since I'm getting the white smoke while cranking. The temp is cold, but according to the PO glow plugs and relay are new. I know for a fact the relay is cause its shiny new self is on the truck installed, and I have the old one in the box the new one came in...glow plugs themselves I can only take his word on as there is no boxes for them and I don't know where to find them on the engine to see if they look new or not...I assume under the valve covers?? And don't know if it makes a difference or not, but I had the block heater plugged in all day as well while trying to get it running.

 

Just searched google images, and found a bigger picture, and matched the reservoir plug to what I've seen on mine, so I'll check its level tomorrow after work just for peace of mind. Would a dirty or stuck IPR cause any of this? And also what about the IPC? I checked the plug again a little more carefully, the plug was wet with what looked like oil, but looking down in the actual sensor appeared dry.

 

HPOP plug is where you check the oil level.

 

Thanks for the pic Bill, thats the one I found on google images and had the ah ha moment! After watching some videos on youtube, it sounds like my truck may not be cranking over fast enough, meaning I think my batteries are shot. The batteries charged overnight the day I got the truck, and again all day today and never read fully charged. Gonna see if I can get them replaced through the warranty and see if that fixes this problem or makes any change at all.

 

New batts will make a big difference. Good luck with it bud.

 

plug in the block heater if you have one