Taking a little poll to see what the consensus is on my new to me used 2004 F-250 6.0….

Bought this truck on 15Aug, got it at really good price. In hindsight I think I may have jumped on it too soon without really researching it.

Truck ran fine for the initial 2 weeks, then on a camping trip day 2 when I started it up the check engine light came on, idle seemed normal but when I drove it faster than about 30mph it was definitely missing a cylinder. Ran a code and got P0265 (Cylinder 2 Injector Circuit High).

Got it too a mechanic where they discovered that the FICM wire harness to the cylinders were cracked and rotting, FICM had already been replaced he said probably from a truck out of a junkyard and was only bolted on by 2 bolts???

Didn't replace the harness since I'm in a deal to trade the truck in.

Took the truck to get emissions which to my surprise it passed, then ran it to get new plates from DMV. Came out 2hrs later and truck would crank but not start.

Looks like the FICM is now out as well.

Soooo…. here is my question(s)
Is this a somewhat normal scenario for when a FICM goes out
Has anyone had this type of wiring issue before
Wondering if I should bail on this truck and avoid anymore potential problems???

Thx

 

Yes
Yes

Keeping it depends on how much time and $ you want to put into the truck. Is it mechanically ok besides engine issues?

The stuff you are describing with the wiring is a known issue. The FICM just going out....yep it does happen.

How mechanically inclined are you? If you are a competent wrench you can save yourself lots of $ doing the work yourself.

Do you have anyway to monitor the engine vitals? A scan gauge 2 is cheap and readily available at the box stores.

 

Well I would describe myself as a shade tree mechanic, put on lifts, pulled engines, etc… can't and wouldn't attempt any engine rebuilding, or fabrication, when it gets technical unless I can research the problem (i.e….youtube or these forums) for how to fix it I defer to paying a mechanic…

Truck has an SCT tuner on it so I can get readings off of that….

I do like the truck and would love to keep it, just don't want to get into a whack a mole situation where this week its electrical, next an injector then what???

 

Sadly no one here has a crystal ball and can tell you whether or not your truck is gonna be a bad one or not. First I would ask why you think that the ficm is on it's way out? Are you looking at the ficm main volts or just basing it off of your no start situation? The mechanic already said that the wire harness is pooched so I would think that would be a good place to start. A no start can be cause by many things and we would need to see some sensor values just to begin helping you diagnose any problems. I will say that if you plan on keeping the truck it is always best to try and deal with any issues you suspect right away because limping it around town when you know that there is something up will always bite you in the *** and usually cost 10X the amount it would have to fix it initially not including tow bills.

 

Are your FICM volts actually low? The truck will usually start with a bad FICM, it just starts really hard. I would replace the harness and retest.

 

Ditto 78fordman. Fix what you know is broken first.

 

Well you can do the work yourself and save labor $. Just remember things take longer the first few times around on the 6.0L. Well at least for me.


You have another thread up about a bad FICM harness. Replace it and go from there.

I am not sure that the SCT tuner will grab all the data you need to diagnosis drivability issues or no starts.

Grab a scan gauge 2 and set it up with what you need to look at. The key to any diesel is to monitor the vitals!

 

I have a sct tuner. I think a 9600, the scan gauge 2 is what you want. The sct only reads about a 3rd ofvthe stuff you need to know.

 

Good info fordf150guy, I guess the reason of this post was to gauge the severity and occourances of this type of issue for these trucks, that would help to let me know if I got a lemon or not…
no didn't test the FICM, just had it in my head that it must be bad, harness is definitely got to get replaced, didn't want to do that till I knew if this trade deal would go thru or not…I was figuring why spend $$$ on a vehicle I might trade to a dealership…
yes it did bite me in the butt, after I did emissions and sat at DMV, next stop was dealership, didn't start….should have known better…
Deal still might go thru it sits at the dealership right now, there going to take a look at it to see if they want to take it in still…..
In any case I do know now what needs to be done (harness and possibly FICM if it tests bad) won't have the dealership do this though ($$$) so if its a no on the trade then tow it to my mechanic for fixes.

 

Hey guys thx for the replies all good stuff,
Truck would usually start fine, waited for the glow plugs to do their thing then usually just a couple of cranks and a little gas it started right up…ran great for about 2 weeks then overnight check engine light came on and ran rough…But your right start with what you know is defective ( harness) and go from there…

I will pick up one of the Scan Guage 2's for future use…

Just a little nervous about these diesels, don't know my way around them and from what I'm hearing they're great until something goes wrong then it can cost thousands to fix….Read a post on here somewhere that an engine bent a rod or something similar in the rear cylinder, mechanic advised the guy to replaced the engine, cheaper than fixing it, I think the quote was something like 8-12K…that definitely scared me!!!

Thanks guys for all the gouge/advice, I should know more on what I will do with it by end of day today, will post up and let you all know what shakes out...