Hey guys, I am on a cross country camping trip with my excursion and having some issues and could use help ASAP. I pulled in the other night after a great day of towing with no issue. When I came out to start my excursion the next morning it had a really rough start with a ton of white smoke (cold unburnt fuel). It was clattering badly and sounded like it was not running on many cylinders. Things cleared up within 10 seconds and it ran a little rough for the next minute or two but then no issues the rest of the day. I had actually thought that maybe I sat too long with the key on while waiting for my parents to get ready (several minutes). It was about 50F out so should have been an easy start but likely needed the glow plugs on. This morning it was a little warmer out but still under 65F and it started better but was still a hard start. Cleared up and ran fine rest of the day. Starting up during the day once I am warm usually sends out a very small puff of black smoke.. I wouldn't have even noticed if I wasn't being overly ****. No noticeable issues or check engine lights, idled smooth with no shaking.

I am on my phone and don't remember what all I set up in my profile but I do have 2001 7.3 with stage 1 single shot injectors with a DP-tuner and I have the dumb California GPCM as opposed to a glow plug relay. I think I have some issue going on with my glow plug system but I am getting no check engine lights which has me confused. All my glow plugs are motorcraft and were replaced last year with my injectors. Brand new fuel and air filters before I left 2 weeks ago. I am getting a lot more black smoke when running even at lower throttles and it does not clear up if I get on it hard in max hp tune but I am assuming that is because at 7000-8000' there is less oxygen for my engine to use, my typical altitude is 1500-2000 where I live.

My questions are as follows:

1. Does the black smoke running even at lower throttles concern anyone? I think it is a none issue but comments are always appreciated.

2. Shouldn't I see some check engine lights if my glow plugs or my glow plug controller is not working correctly? I disconnected both connectors and got 2 codes that I could get rid of by plugging it back in and clearing codes. Seems like multiple glow plugs or maybe even all of them are not working well. I thought the purpose of the California glow plug module was to make sure it had better diagnostics on the glow plugs!?!?

3. Is there a way to troubleshoot the California glow plug module? Seems like very few people know how on the forums. I am limited in tools but do have a multimeter with me. I am in Yellowstone National Park now and I don't think I can source one easily to "try a different one". I plan on ohming out my plugs tomorrow when it's light out and the engine is not so hot.

Thanks for any and all help you can provide.

 

Wish I knew more to help

1. Check your battery voltage with key off, then key on not running (see glow plugs are working/drawing power), and wait until they go off and your voltage goes back up.

This will give you a battery check and confirm your GPCM is working and at least some GPs are drawing power.

2. Take a look at your UVCH connectors, make sure nothing came loose

3. What is your fuel level? Hutch mod? Bad fuel?

4. You just replaced fuel and air filters? Check air filter for restriction, piece of plastic back sucked into the filter, leaves, etc. See what your filter minder shows (sucked closed?) What filter setup are you running? What filter brand did you put in?

5. Elevation. All I know is it wreaks havoc with engines under load. I didn't think it was a big deal for starting, though?

6. Bad fuel? Take a look at your fuel filter. Make sure it is okay, the inside or outside orings didn't roll, give the center post a little push, make sure it isn't stuck (filter out), shine flashlight to see how much crud is in the bottom of the bowl. Maybe open the drain and let about 3-5 secs of diesel flush through (sediment and/or water)

7. Camper/trailer? Are you hauling one? If so, disconnect the camper plug for a bit before trying to start. Maybe it is drawing power to a breakaway battery or house batteries?

8. Oil level? Our trucks love to leak, LOL. What kind of oil are you running, and did you confirm the dipstick level?

Hopefully someone will chime in who can help field-test your GPCM/GPs, but this should get you started finding and ruling out some things.

Good luck

 

Sounds like glow plugs to me. I wouldn't worry too much about a little black smoke it is a diesel without 2017 emission controls on it. If you have the capabilities try plugging it in at night and see if it helps. Actually, two hours before start up would suffice. If that cures it it pushes it more towards glow plugs and/or relays.

 

Thanks for the replies - keep them coming.

I too think it's glow plugs, just seems weird to have lost so many when they are relatively new. If I threw a check engine light from my GPCM or I had a GPR which could die without a check engine light I would think it's an easy fix. It's the California GPCM that has me a little confused, my other 7.3 at home has a GPR and Ut has failed before.

For Ex-PACanper, lots of good ideas here and I will comment.

1.grewt idea, was on my todo list this morning.
2.i doubt this is the issue because it runs well after starting and I did the $0.50 mod when I changed injectors and glow plugs last year. Still it's a possibility
3.no hutch mod and fuel level was about 1/2 tanks. Could be bad fuel but again it's only at starting that I have a real issue.
4.i run the ford heavy duty AIS with the Donaldson blue filters. I did check the filter yesterday and it looked pretty new. Filter minder was 1/2 and I reset it.
5.i am not seeing a huge effect of elevation but then I'm not trying to push my vehicle. Only thoughts on the elevation would be the excess black smoke which seems to make sense.
6. Filter was brand new a week ago but I have run some Diesel Kleen on this trip and the last time I did that was about a year ago. All my fuelups have been at truck stops so I figured the fuel was getting high turnover. I only have ULSD fuel at home so it's all I have ever run. On this trip tho a lot of stops only have had #2 and or 5-20% bio. I was a little concerned about the bio since I have never run that, I figured it was ok for the 5-10% and the one time I put 20% in I diluted with ~1/2 tank of ULSD that I had got from home. I don't think fuel is the issue but maybe the extra solvent/cleaning has plugged my fuel filter in a weeks time...good idea!
7 yes to hauling the camper but it wasn't connected when I had the issues. I should add that my hard start is not a slow crank speed but rather it won't "fire" and the jeep when it does I am a clattering smoke factory for multiple seconds. I do not suspect battery issues at all.
8. I now all about oil leaks on my f250- she has 318k and runs stong but leaks a decentralized amount. This ex is my baby and has 181k on her. I have checked the oil and it's still where it was when I changed it before the trip. Looks like it's just staying to get a hint of black in it, otherwise it looks like new oil. I am running amsoil 5w-40 diesel oil.

 

Fuel filter looked really good with no sediment.

Battery voltage went from 12.5/6 off to 11.7 with key on not running and slowly worked its way back up to 12.4 but it didn't jump back like it fell down. Anyone know what to expect if my glow plugs turned on?.

 

Your voltage drop and recovery seems normal.

Mine drops from 12.3ish (while off) to 11 (while the glow plugs are on) and then slowly rises back to 12.6 as the alternator does its job.

 

11.7 sounds high to me if glow plugs are activated. Mine drops down to 10.8 or so but that is with the vacuum pump, fuel pump and glow plugs running and I know that my batteries are dwindling. But, if I start at 12.3 and glow plugs are activated it drops below 11.

 

Hmm...if the voltage isn't dropping enough, the draw isn't enough, so all the GP's aren't lighting off...maybe half?

The GPCM has a green and a black plug. One for each bank.

If you want to check, unplug one at a time and do the key on voltage check.

Whichever bank does NOT make the voltage drop as much as the other, has a problem with GP's or harness, right?

PS- don't forget to push in the release clip, on the side towards the firewall near the wire end of the connector. Just squeeze it and the connector will pull right off. If you don't know this and don't do it, then you'll have to be hopeful the connector will stay on with a broken connector latch (FYI. mine does, LOL)

 

Which way are you going when you leave Yellowstone? I live just outside Sheridan, WY and have a small home shop with tools if you need anything. More than welcome to stop by.

 

Thanks for the offer, that is really awesome if you. I am actually headed down to Dinosaur National Monument tomorrow and leaving headed out the west towards Salt Lake. Really appreciate it tho. I have some tools, just not a lot. Wish I had a scanner and I could run a buzz test and check glow plugs! That stuff is at home, sigh...

I fell like I should be ok driving since it runs well and restarts easy once it's warm. Crossing my fingers she will make it all the way back to VA.

Thanks again, really appreciate the hospitality.

 

I plan on going out and doing this exactly. The yellowstone NAPA had both the fuel filter and the GPCM in stock so I bought those. I just don't understand how/why if it's my GPCM it isn't throwing check engine lights.

Will post some voltages both with and without the GPCM connected, disconnected, and 1/2 connected.

 

OK i did some testing and here is what I found.

I replaced my fuel filter even though it was really brand new and looked great. I did test to see how long it took to fill my bowl from empty to full without a filter in it and it would have taken about 6-7 seconds. Seemed like it was pumping a nice good stream. Not sure my issue is here.

As for the GPCM testing - I did not try the new module I got because I am not convinced it is the issue and I dont want to be stuck with a $160 module I dont need. Without the GPCM plugged in my battery voltage dropped from 12.45 to 12.3V when the fuel pump kicked on. If I plug my GPCM in while doing that it drops to 11.7V. I tried unplugging a single connector on the GPCM but I dont think that works since the voltage stayed in the 12.3V range. I then decided to disconnect the driver side UVC plug to disconnect 4 glow plugs and got a voltage of 12.1V. If what I read is correct then I think my voltages should drop a little more because it supposed to be a heavy load ~100-180A per other forum posts. My batteries are top notch sears diehards but they are a little old (3-4 years). Starter seems to spin real good so I dont think this or batteries are an issue just yet.

What is weird is that with the GPCM disconnected I get codes, then with the UVC connector unplugged I get codes for the 4 glow plugs. All these can be cleared and dont come back if things are plugged in. All in all it seems like this module is working at least as far as the PCM is concerned.

Does anyone have any experience with this modules failing where they maybe dont put out enough voltage/amperage to the glow plugs and they dont heat effectively however it is enough that they dont throw codes in the self test? With the white smoke and hard start when cold (first start of the day) it sure seems to me that my issue is glow plug related. Anyone want to try and convince me to roll a $160 GPCM dice?!?!

For tonight I plugged into the campsite so I should have some really nice warm oil/engine in the morning... if I dont get any smoke and am using my old GPCM I would think I have somewhat of a smoking gun towards the GP system.

The only other things that could cause white smoke would be an injector oring issue but I think I would see issues with that when driving and not just on a first cold start.

Thanks for all the help so far, everyone's input is always appreciated!

 

Sounds like the GPCM to me. I have the relay but when I stopped one night to sleep in a rest stop, mine wouldn't start either. It was the relay. With your's it only takes a few glow plugs to stop working, meaning maybe only a couple coming from the GPCM aren't working. It took forever for me to get it started. If you plug it in say over night or three hours and it starts right up, I'd say that's your problem.

 

You can check the amp draw when glow plugs are working with one of those amp meters that goes around the cable. Your current draw should be on a cold engine about a peak of 188-192 amps then drop down from there. If it's not maybe you have glow plug snags. If they've just been replaced I'd suggest your california part

 

Just so you know, all Excursions have the GPCM and not just excursions that were sold in CA. I have it in mine and I bought my X new in NM.

As for testing the GPCM, I haven't seen or heard of any special troubleshooting Technics besides of what you have already done. What kind of oil are you using?