I have a 99 F450 bucket truck. I was up in the bucket when the engine died suddenly. It turns over but won't fire. I have no dash warning lights now either but everything else seems to be working. Lights, radio, annoying beeping sound from the key left in the ignition, etc. There are roughly 5 or 6 fuses in the panel to the lower left of the steering column that don't have power to them. Are they all supposed to have power when the ignition is on? I checked the fuse panel under the hood and all of the fuses that have 12V to them are good. There are a few small ones that don't have power to them but I don't think they do all the time. Any suggestions?

 

got a cps to try

 

it sounds like the cps to me but and no those fuses should be okay i would look up what those fuses are for and youll know why they dont have power

 

could the windshield have leaked and shorted out that panel?its not uncommon for them to leak in that area

 

What's a "cps"? I don't think it's the windshield leaking because it hasn't been out in the rain for quite some time and it's been parked inside in the shop.... Seems like it should be a simple fix since it just shut down and the dash warning lights quit at the same time. I thought it would be a fuse but they seem ok....?

 

Ok. I googled CPS. Camshaft position sensor right? First, is there any way to bypass it or check to see if that's the problem. Second, that wouldn't cause my dash warning lights to quit would it? I'm 99% positive they were working because I just got pulled over by the DOT a week ago and he checked to see if they were working. I read that you could turn over the engine for an extended period and if your tach doesn't move it would probably be the cps. I did that and the tach didn't move. Just seems weird that the warning lights quit too...

 

No wait to start light?

Don't think this is a CPS (cam position sensor) issue. Check number 30 fuse. If blown replace and disconnect the heating element at the fuel bowl.

 

Ok...fuse number 30 is good but there is no power to it. I ran a jumper to it and the warning lights came on and I could hear something click so there's where the problem is. I wasn't able to hold the jumper on the fuse and try to start the truck but I'm pretty sure that it's going to work if I can find out why there's not 12V there. Is there anything that could cause it to lose power or am I going to have to try to track down a bad wire or something....?

 

Ok.....so I found the problem luckily. It was purely luck. So....my bucket truck has a start/stop engine switch in the bucket to shut the truck off and restart it. It's a momentary contact so it springs back to the center position after you shut the engine down or restart it. I noticed the other day that the switch wouldn't shut the truck off anymore. I ignored it and figured I'd fix it some other time. There is also a Master switch on the dash that energizes the electrical controls in the bucket. I went out to the truck to see if I could possibly find a loose connector on the fuse box or something and noticed the master switch was still on. No big deal but I figured I might as well turn it off. When I did, the dash warning lights came on and I could start the truck. The engine start/stop switch in the truck must be bad and it made contact to the "stop" connection and stuck there and that's what killed the engine. It maintained contact and that's what killed the power to the fuses that run the fuel pump and the warning lights. I wiggled the switch back and forth a couple times and went back to the drivers seat and started the truck. I turned on the "Master" switch and everything stayed working. The problem is a bad start/stop switch in the bucket. I'm so glad I didn't have the truck towed to a repair shop and have them try to track down a problem that originated in the bucket and not in the cab or under the hood. Must be my lucky day. Thank you everyone for your input and help.

 

I'm glad you found your issue! It starts to get tricky when aftermarket things have been done to it. Usually when there is no idiot lights along with no fuel pump and a no start it tends to be that fuse. Also what causes that fuse to blow is a bad fuel bowl heater and/or connection.

Sorry I didn't get back to you sooner, was out at a weekend party.