Originally Posted by bashby

VOM= volt/ohm meter, correct. OK, you provided fuel and it still wont start, so it is either not geting spark all the way to the plug or your timing is out (Chain jumped) When you pull the coil wire do you get GOOD spark? It should be able to jump about 1/2" gap to ground. If you have that, pull a wire off a plug, stick a screwdriver in it and hold it to ground and crank... watch for spark, it wont be as strongi also hav as it was at the coil wire but close to it. if no spark or weak, replace cap and rotor. It could be wires also but I'm assuming you dont want to spend money if not neccessary. If you do have good spark to the plug, pull a couple and make sure they arent gas fouled. Oh yeah, welcome to FTE

Originally Posted by WoodHeat

Hi Ya'll! I'm new to the forum and to working on trucks.

I have a 1985 F-250 V8 5.0 L EFI (Type N) Duel tank, Manuel 5 speed transmission, with 4WD. I have problems with not having her start reliably. The issue started with not starting after the truck is hot. It has now progressed into just not starting at all. On the rare occasions that she does start, it runs and idols rough. Additionally, the power is low.

When the FSM tells you to use a 'VOM' to measure ohms or volts, its talking about a multimeter, is that correct?

The Haynes manual says that the issue lies in my electrical or fuel delivery system. It may be some of both and frankly I'm overwhelmed with the problem(s) because I'm new to working on anything other than a motorcycle. I need to be able to use it this weekend too.

There is no problem with the engine cranking & the voltage at the battery is a little over 12 Volts.

I sprayed starter fluid in the air intake and the engine did NOT fire even for a couple of seconds. That particular issue indicates to a couple of people more knowledgeable than myself that it could be a bad coil. They said that after it gets hot it could be unable to produce spark any longer. However, when I pull the plug that goes to the distributor cap I get spark even when its hot (about 105 ° F).

While I had her propped up I started the engine and allowed it to idle for over 10 minutes. Then she sputtered out and died. It sounded like an engine does when it runs out of gas. Tried to start it again but all I got was cranking. So I decided to start troubleshooting the fuel system.

I found out that my truck is one of the lucky few EFIs that didn't come with a fuel pressure diagnostic valve on the fuel rail. But I decided to start by troubleshooting the high pressure fuel pump on the rail.

The first thing the FSM says to do is disconnect the connector from the body wiring harness and measure the resistance across the body connector. I did so and got a value of about 8.5 ohms. Because it was higher than 5 the manual said to verify ground on each wire. They both ground without issue. (I get the beep sound from my meter.)

Does that mean the 8.5 resistance isn't a problem?

I then checked for continuity between the pump terminals and it has continuity as well. The next step was to see if I'm getting 12V at the pump for 1 second when the key is first turned on. The problem is that I'm not sure of the readings...

If the multimeter is set to auto find the range (starts at mV and then scans to see if it goes up to volts...) I think I see 12 V. I'm not sure because it flickers on and off so quickly that I don't know if its showing 12 mV or 12 V. If I force the range to only show Volts I get what appears to be a brief change but nothing that lasts for at least a second.

So, does that mean the voltage is within specification or not? If not the manual helpfully tells me to: 'check the electrical circuit and repair as required'. In the table of contents, it shows that I'd need the engine/emissions diagnosis manual to troubleshoot that kind of issue (which I don't have).

Am I even on the right path or should I be looking somewhere else?

Originally Posted by WhatsAChevy?

First of all, Welcome to FTE and your own thread.
Before pulling the spark plugs, I would look into a couple of things first. Check ALL of the cable connections at each end to insure that they are clean, bright and tight. Next, I would look to the ignition module to insure those connections are squared away as well. Are you able to jump start it off of another I've been vehicle?

Originally Posted by 1986F150six

That is commonly referred to as the starter solenoid [heavy duty relay].

Originally Posted by Gary Lewis

In the pic above you can see a burned mark on the positive battery cable where it attaches to the solenoid. It looks to me like the wire inside the terminal isn't well connected to the terminal itself. So, jumping to the battery from another vehicle will provide no help. Replace that cable and I think it'll start.

Originally Posted by kr98664

When you turn the key, is the cranking speed normal but the engine still won't start? Or is the cranking speed slow?

Those are two different problems, with different troubleshooting.

Originally Posted by Aidanw

I've read about the solenoids failing but my friend just said that it looks fine