Hi folks;

Any help is greatly appreciated. My truck is an '01 F250 7.3 6 spd. 4wd On 7/4 I finished a bike ride, loaded up, and started the truck to leave. It started fine, moved about a foot and died. Before this I did not have any issues with the truck. It was running just fine. After that it has been a no start issue. Fuel tank is full. HPOP reservoir is full. Oil is clean, i.e. transparent, not dark. I do not know the exact mileage, but I think its is very much under the 3,000 mile threshold. Fuel tank is full. The fuse to the fuel bowl heater (30 amp under dash) is fine. The following is what I have done. 1. Replaced CPS with a CPS from NAPA. I know most people prefer the Ford brand, but it is what I had on hand. The o-ring was bad on the old one and it had about 100,000 miles on it so it did not hurt to replace it. Still no start. 2. Unplugged the IPC to see if it would start. No go. Replaced the IPC. No start. Replaced the IPR. No start. I think the tinnerman nut is tight. At least the electromagnetic part spins when I try to further tighten the nut. I also replaced the fuel filter. The fuel bowl fills with no issue. I have drained the fuel bowl twice and with each drain I think I have a solid amount of fuel, i.e. a normal amount of fuel drains each time. I do not have any smoke out the tail pipe when cranking - white, blue, black, or other. The RPMs when cranking appear to be about half way between 0 and 500. In other words, it cranks strong so I think I am meeting the minimum threshold for cranking RPMs. I should mention the alternator and batteries are new (less than three months old). I have been careful to not crank endlessly on the batteries to draw them down. Glowplugs were replaced last summer so cold starting has not been a big issue. I do get the WTS light and it comes on a normal duration for the ambient temps. I am in Western Colorado (Grand Junction area) and we have been in the high 90's. I do not have a diagnostic code reader for a diesel. I tried the loan a tool one from Autozone and told them I needed one for a 7.3 diesel. They told me the ones they have work on on all OBDII engines including diesels. From what I have read 7.3s do not follow the OBDII diagnostic format, but I tried it anyway. The code reader told me I did not have any codes and I really did not expect any, it was a shot in the dark knowing it probably was not going to work on this engine. I know I have thrown more parts at it than necessary, but I think I have been methodical in my approach, and given the mileage on my truck not a waste of money in my mind. I consider the parts I have replace needed maintenance. At this point any comments, questions, and yes, insults are welcome. I think I have decent wrenching skills, at least good enough to keep a 7.3 running for 279,000 miles; however, my diagnostic skills are not what they should be. Any thoughts regarding where I should look next are greatly appreciated. Thank you folks for enduring a long post.

 

do you have a chip or tuner of any kind? Did you do any maintenance just prior to this happening?

 

To be honest the next best thing you can do is get a way to monitor what the truck is doing. Are you familiar with Forscan or torque pro? Have an Android Phone or tablet? Here is some how to get the diagnosis tools you need pretty inexpensively courtesy of Tugly and others here on the board
https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...the-cheap.html

 

How did the truck die? Was it all at once, like some turned off the key? Or was more of a run rough / reduced power then sputtered to a stop?

 

Hi guys, it died like I turned off the key. Maybe an ever so slight stumble, but really just as if I turned it off.

No chip or tuner. The truck is stock, except for the Kwik filter mod. In the past month I have replaced the steering gear and replaced the bushings in the front springs with poly bushings.

I am not familiar with any monitoring software/devices for diesels. I have read about the Auto Enginuity software. It sounds like a quality product. I know that I will need to invest in some kind of monitoring device, especially at the miles I have on the truck.

 

I am trying to slow my roll on what to do next. I am trying to resist the urge to pull the valve covers to see if I have an injector that has failed o-rings. I know it could be a bad HPOP pump, a bad injector harness(?), or a bad IDM(?) so I am trying to be very methodical, especially from here on out. I had the truck towed to my house so I can be planful of my approach to fixing it. Prior to having it towed I was working on it in a dirt parking lot before/after work. Doing an IPR replacement in a parking lot with only the tools I brought was a learning moment!

 

AE is no where near as good for our trucks as it used to be. If you have a Windows laptop then you can use Forscan for free. It is available on IOS also for $5, if you prefer the android platform then torque pro is an excellent choice from what I gather. With the laptop an OBD II to USB cable would be preferable, a wifi OBD II for iOS and a Bluetooth OBD II if you go the android route. Just be aware that any adapter you get must be ELM 327 (IIRC) compatible. Our trucks do not speak the true OBD II protocol / language.

An ability to log live date would be the best place to start troubleshooting, the numbers can help out tremendously.

 

Rikster-7700 thanks for the info on the scan software. I will start doing my homework on them. I had no idea there are such inexpensive options out there. I am on the Andriod platform so I guess that narrows down some of my research.

Thanks again for the info.

 

No problem! There are plenty of threads on torque pro which will help you along the way also. Search for a member called Tugly, he has an excellent torque thread link in his signature IIRC

 

Tugly's OBDII thread is the one I linked above.

 

Similar scenario happened to me a couple of weeks ago. Truck was running fine, and then it wouldn't start. Wife had pulled it over to the other side of the camp ground we were at to do laundry. She parked it slightly nose down. I drove it earlier that day, and it was running great.

Pulled the code for the CEL, and I got a "no talkie between the IDM and PCM" code. Turned out the IDM plug had windshield wiper fluid in it. When she parked it nose down, it shifted and shorted out the connector. I was able to dry out the plug with a hairdryer, let it sit for a while and then it started back up with the same IDM in it. How did it get windshield wiper fluid in it? I had my windshield changed out the week before, and they broke one of the old, brittle connectors off the little spray nozzles next the wipers. They didn't bother to tell me...

Once I dried out the connector, it started on the first crank.

Moral of the story: I believe you have an ELECTRICAL problem from your description of what happened.

 

Thanks Nicmike for the feed back. I that has been one of my thought too. I did a scan with Torque Pro yesterday. The first time my HPOP was 2370, IPR was e5.6; ICP voltage was 2.7v, and my RPMs were 177.

The second attempt was Hpop 2170, IPR 34.0, ICP-V was 2.6. Forgot to check RPMs.

Third time HP9P 2161, IPR 34.4, ICP-V 2.6, abd RPMs 173.5.

The ICP sensor, IPR relay, fuel filter, and the CPS have been replaced. Oil is very fresh and the fuel tank is at or above 3/4 full. Please chime in at anytime but I feel like I should be looking at the wiring looms/connectors for the injectors and glow plugs as well as checking to see if the injectors are operating properly. I did purchse o-ring kits for all eight injectors since the truck has 279,000 miles on it. I plan to replace the o-rings as standard maintenace and peace of mind at this mileage. Any comments, questions, and clever insults are appreciated. Thanks folks

 

This is the key information for you right now. No smoke at all likely means nothing is being injected in the cylinders. All the other parts being replaced is not going to solve the problem, but it is nice to get all new parts in there if you are going to keep the truck It seems you have plenty of high pressure oil going to the injectors, but they are likely not getting a signal from the IDM to the solenoid to fire (inject fuel). That could be the IDM itself, or it could be a loose, corroded connection, could be wiring, or it could be a PCM issue. Need to trouble shoot those components and the wiring/plugs a bit. Troubleshooting those items is really not that difficult if you PULL THE FENDER WELL SHIELD on the drivers side out completely. You will thank me later for that last bit of advice

 

As Nicmike said no smoke is a solid clue. Do a buzz test with Forscan, see if the injectors are getting the signal to fire. If not gotta figure out why.

Getting the usual wait to start light with key on? CEL and codes?

 

While that's how things usually work on other forums, that's not how we roll. You came here for help, not to be the subject of noob bashing - and we have all been noobs before the fine folk at FTE raised us to be good netizens.

OBDII tools link in my signature and hard/no start link in my sig are powerful clicks to get you rolling again.