I have a 1990 f250 7.3 idi 5 speed. yesterday I started the truck up and it ran for a second and died, I started it up again and it ran fine, drove about 8 miles to go pick up some parts. I was there for half an hr. started up the truck and it died. started up again after cranking for about 10 seconds and barely started up again and had to hit the throttle as it started to fire. then drove 4 miles and it lost power and died. wouldn't start again so I sprayed a small shot of starting fluid in and it barely started after 5-10 seconds of cranking and had to hit the throttle as it started to fire. on the way home it had a loss of power, I put it in neutral and revved it up and it ran fine after that until I got home which was another 8 miles. sometimes while driving yesterday it would act as is it had a sudden increase in power and it would take off but I never pressed down on the pedal when that was happening. kind of like a gas engine that wasn't timed correctly and suddenly takes off after a certain rpm. I don't know if that is related or not. Also the voltage meter in the truck shows 17 volts and batteries are not charging according to my voltmeter when hooked to the batteries. I had the fuel filter changed last Friday along with the oil and filter and a leaking injector seal. also in the last couple weeks it started and died on me twice but would immediately start up and run fine afterwards. I have searched online and can't figure out the problem and don't know where to start. Any help is much appreciated. I apologize for such a long post.

 

First off, read this: https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...owner-faq.html

if you haven't already, it answers a lot of questions.

How much fuel is in your tanks? It really sounds like you have a fuel delivery issue and you are sucking a lot of air out of the tanks. If you're below 1/4 tank, add a few gallons and see what happens. Often the fuel pickup "showerhead" breaks off and then you're sucking air.

What does your voltmeter say when read at each battery? Test while truck is off, and also when its running.

 

my rear tank is full, front tank I only went 175 miles on it (fuel gauge doesn't work)and when the problem started of it dying and hard to start I switched to my rear full tank. I read the new owner sticky right before I posted but I wasn't convinced of fuel pickup line being bad. I suppose I can drop the tank in the next day or so and check it out. When the truck is off it reads the same voltage at each batter as when the truck is running plus or minus .1 of a volt. I changed the voltage regulator on the pass. side fender and it didn't help. I am going to try a new alternator today or tomorrow. Thank you for the reply, I appreciate it.

 

What is the actual voltage you're reading at the batteries?
Sounds like you are on the right track for the fixing the charging system.

175 miles on the front tank is probably getting at the point the pickup could be causing a problem. You may want to check all the lines to see if there are any leaks front or back.

 

ok, thank you. I will drop the tanks Saturday or Sunday and see if the pickup is bad. if it is the pickup and I replace it will the air leave the fuel system on its own or will I need to crack open injectors?

 

The fuel system should be self bleeding, thats part of the job of the return lines. Only time you really need to crack the injector lines is if you've just replaced the pump and the injectors. And even then its not always necessary.

 

17 volts out of the alternator sounds like there is nothing wrong with it.
my bet is a bad fusable link, or a bad wire from alternator to battery.
if there is no load on the alternator it will go full charge like it is doing.
as for the fuel problem, i would first check for fuel delivery at the filter head. 7 psi, and 1/3 pint in 10 seconds cranking. any less and i would look for a failing lift pump or a air leak in the fuel lines.
disconnect the fuel line into the lift pump and hook a portable fuel source to it and try again. if it runs fine, work your way back to the tank to find the leak. dropping the tanks is the last thing on the list.