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I reread this and your older post trying to figure these issues out, and I am having a hard time wrapping my head around it. Please tell me if I got tbe order of events right. You started you started to have a loss of power and stall. Which code did you get P0603 or P0604? Both of which are internal memory for the PCM. Then you had low voltage around the same time. Followed by bad injectors on the odd side, and then low fuel pressure. Is that the basic order of events?
I will see if I can put these in order of occurance. To be clear this is my wife's DD I only drive it to church and if we go somewhere as a family and due to COVID I had not been driving it for sometime so I am unable to state if low voltage or low fuel pressure was an issue leading up to this.
1) Vehicle started surging and die on my wife. I showed up 1 hour later to P0604 code the 603 was wrong due to my poor memory. I started it up and drove it 30 miles home.
2) When I got home I ran the FORScan tests and those are the codes I posted in my other post.
3) It died on me a few days later as per my other post and that is when I started data logging.
4) I noticed my battery voltage was low and that lead me to cleaning up my battery terminals and grounds and that appears to have fixed the main low voltage issues. I also replaced the speed sensor on the rear end.
5) I also noticed that my deltas were getting away from me so I decided to flush the cooling system and back flush the cooler. After flushing with hose water several times I installed the evaporust and was letting it run for 1 hour to get up to temp and while wasting time I noticed it hazing pretty good out the exhaust and was concerned that it was due to flushing that I had used to cold of water when the engine was to hot. After calming down I realized it was strong diesel smell. I call the mechanic and he said he recommended towing it. So the next day I loaded it up on the trailer and it was chugging real good and was not even wanting to pull itself up on the trailer.
6) Mechanic saw the P0604 code and new I had issue with stalling and low voltage. He checked batteries and charging system and then swapped FICM's after those checked out fine. Said this got the 6.0 running better but that it was still smoking some and doing a contribution check that the main injectors were on the left side and that he recommended replacing all 4 while he was in there and I told him to install motorcraft injectors.
7) After installation he showed me the contribution and they were much better but that two on the right were either close to being out of spec or were out of spec but that I should be okay for a while to save up money and replace them later.
8) On my way home I was monitoring to check my deltas as this was the 1st time driving it since the flush. During that trip I saw the FICM voltage dropping low and when I checked my log once I got home I noticed it was 44.5V a couple times on the 40 mile trip home from the shop. Mechanic did not charge me for swapping the FICM as it was an older one.
9) I ordered a new FICM and installed it two days prior to our camping trip.
10) On the way up to campground I noticed fuel pressure started dropping twice but that was under pretty hard acceleration
11) Starting on a 50° morning the truck was running rough and smoking so the next day before starting it I ran FORScan to buzz the injectors and that was when I got low circuit on 1,4,8.
12) On way home from camping was when I had serious issues keeping the fuel pressure in the 50's and it was not until I got home and checked the log that I noticed I had the voltage dropping into the 12's.
Thing to not was on the way up camping I had full tank and go there with 3/4. On the way home I had 1/2 tank and got home with 1/4.
Just an FYI I do have a fuel pump on order as well as new filters. I will get that replaced and hopefully pull the camper around and see if I have any low pressure issues.
Since purchasing the Excursion we have put 24,000 miles on it and 3000 of those have been pulling our camper the rest are just hauling humans.
I will see if I can put these in order of occurance. To be clear this is my wife's DD I only drive it to church and if we go somewhere as a family and due to COVID I had not been driving it for sometime so I am unable to state if low voltage or low fuel pressure was an issue leading up to this.
1) Vehicle started surging and die on my wife. I showed up 1 hour later to P0604 code the 603 was wrong due to my poor memory. I started it up and drove it 30 miles home.
2) When I got home I ran the FORScan tests and those are the codes I posted in my other post.
3) It died on me a few days later as per my other post and that is when I started data logging.
4) I noticed my battery voltage was low and that lead me to cleaning up my battery terminals and grounds and that appears to have fixed the main low voltage issues. I also replaced the speed sensor on the rear end.
5) I also noticed that my deltas were getting away from me so I decided to flush the cooling system and back flush the cooler. After flushing with hose water several times I installed the evaporust and was letting it run for 1 hour to get up to temp and while wasting time I noticed it hazing pretty good out the exhaust and was concerned that it was due to flushing that I had used to cold of water when the engine was to hot. After calming down I realized it was strong diesel smell. I call the mechanic and he said he recommended towing it. So the next day I loaded it up on the trailer and it was chugging real good and was not even wanting to pull itself up on the trailer.
6) Mechanic saw the P0604 code and new I had issue with stalling and low voltage. He checked batteries and charging system and then swapped FICM's after those checked out fine. Said this got the 6.0 running better but that it was still smoking some and doing a contribution check that the main injectors were on the left side and that he recommended replacing all 4 while he was in there and I told him to install motorcraft injectors.
7) After installation he showed me the contribution and they were much better but that two on the right were either close to being out of spec or were out of spec but that I should be okay for a while to save up money and replace them later.
8) On my way home I was monitoring to check my deltas as this was the 1st time driving it since the flush. During that trip I saw the FICM voltage dropping low and when I checked my log once I got home I noticed it was 44.5V a couple times on the 40 mile trip home from the shop. Mechanic did not charge me for swapping the FICM as it was an older one.
9) I ordered a new FICM and installed it two days prior to our camping trip.
10) On the way up to campground I noticed fuel pressure started dropping twice but that was under pretty hard acceleration
11) Starting on a 50° morning the truck was running rough and smoking so the next day before starting it I ran FORScan to buzz the injectors and that was when I got low circuit on 1,4,8.
12) On way home from camping was when I had serious issues keeping the fuel pressure in the 50's and it was not until I got home and checked the log that I noticed I had the voltage dropping into the 12's.
Thing to not was on the way up camping I had full tank and go there with 3/4. On the way home I had 1/2 tank and got home with 1/4.
Just an FYI I do have a fuel pump on order as well as new filters. I will get that replaced and hopefully pull the camper around and see if I have any low pressure issues.
Since purchasing the Excursion we have put 24,000 miles on it and 3000 of those have been pulling our camper the rest are just hauling humans.
OK thanks, I'll go through my thought process in order.
1) The P0604 code is internal to the PCM, common cause are bad batteries or low voltage. After it was cleared has it returned?
2) i went through you older post and reviewed your codes. P0404, P1000 and P1408 are all related to your EGR delete. The P0500 was fixed with a new speed sensor correct? The P1780 and U2016 are related to the TCM and may have caused the P0604, but have they returned since clear?
3) ok
4) ok
5) Your delta issue probably is unrelated, and since you flushed the cooling system i'll skip over this.
6) ok the mechanic checked the charging system and batteries so they are ok. He replaced the 4 passenger side injectors and replaced the FICM with one he had laying around. What happened to your old FICM, what was the voltage output of it?
7) ok data point
8) The FICM your mechanic installed was already starting to fail, which can and will take injectors with it.
9) most likely the injector damage was done before you installed the new ficm
10) it could have been a bad batch of fuel which could be clogging your filter or the pump might be staring to fail.
11) the poor running cold sounds like stiction as for the low codes, could be damage from the failing ficm, or your old ficm.
Anyways, you have multiple issues that need to be looked into and corrected. I think you have had at some point a low voltage and or bad batteries issues, which probably took out your original ficm. The ficm your mechanic put it was only marginal better and already failing. Without being able to do a power balance test I would say injector in will need to be replaced under warranty. The injectors on the drivers side should be done also. Now I would the low fuel pressure situation was made worse by having compromised injectors, but without correcting that you are asking for more injector failures.
Last edited by Motohead911; Sep 17, 2020 at 11:16 AM.
Reason: need to finish
1) Vehicle started surging and die on my wife. I showed up 1 hour later to P0604 code the 603 was wrong due to my poor memory. I started it up and drove it 30 miles home.
It may have a program in it.
2) When I got home I ran the FORScan tests and those are the codes I posted in my other post.
P0261, P0270, P0282
Injectors 1, 4, and 8 low.
I'd be getting a new harness as that may be hurting FICMs.
3) It died on me a few days later as per my other post and that is when I started data logging.
4) I noticed my battery voltage was low and that lead me to clean up my battery terminals and grounds and that appears to have fixed the main low voltage issues. I also replaced the speed sensor on the rear end.
5) I also noticed that my deltas were getting away from me so I decided to flush the cooling system and backflush the cooler. After flushing with hose water several times I installed the Evaporust and was letting it run for 1 hour to get up to temp and while wasting time I noticed it hazing pretty good out the exhaust and was concerned that it was due to flushing that I had used to cold of water when the engine was too hot. After calming down I realized it was a strong diesel smell. I call the mechanic and he said he recommended towing it. So the next day I loaded it up on the trailer and it was chugging real good and was not even wanting to pull itself up on the trailer.
6) Mechanic saw the P0604 code and new I had an issue with stalling and low voltage. He checked the batteries and charging system and then swapped FICM's after those checked out fine. Said this got the 6.0 running better but that it was still smoking some and doing a contribution check that the main injectors were on the left side and that he recommended replacing all 4 while he was in there and I told him to install Motorcraft injectors.
Again, might have a tune before looking for a new PCM.
7) After installation he showed me the contribution and they were much better but that two on the right were either close to being out of spec or were out of spec but that I should be okay for a while to save up money and replace them later.
8) On my way home I was monitoring to check my deltas as this was the 1st time driving it since the flush. During that trip, I saw the FICM voltage dropping low and when I checked my log once I got home I noticed it was 44.5V a couple of times on the 40-mile trip home from the shop. The mechanic did not charge me for swapping the FICM as it was an older one.
Powerboard hurt, maybe from the harness.
9) I ordered a new FICM and installed it two days prior to our camping trip.
I'd be changing that injector harness before it may fry.
10) On the way up to the campground I noticed fuel pressure started dropping twice but that was under pretty hard acceleration
11) Starting on a 50° morning the truck was running rough and smoking so the next day before starting it I ran FORScan to buzz the injectors and that was when I got low circuit on 1,4,8.
12) On the way home from camping was when I had serious issues keeping the fuel pressure in the 50's and it was not until I got home and checked the log that I noticed I had the voltage dropping into the 12's.
You may have a voltage regulator or it's brushes going out. The regulator assembly can be changed or a new alternator.
Does the battery light come on??
The thing to note was on the way up to camping I had a full tank and go there with 3/4. On the way home I had 1/2 tank and got home with 1/4.
Just an FYI I do have a fuel pump on order as well as new filters. I will get that replaced and hopefully pull the camper around and see if I have any low-pressure issues.
I'd be checking the fuel regulator plunger before replacing an HFCM.
Since purchasing the Excursion we have put 24,000 miles on it and 3000 of those have been pulling our camper the rest are just hauling humans.
OK thanks, I'll go through my thought process in order.
1) The P0604 code is internal to the PCM, common cause are bad batteries or low voltage. After it was cleared has it returned?
2) i went through you older post and reviewed your codes. P0404, P1000 and P1408 are all related to your EGR delete. The P0500 was fixed with a new speed sensor correct? The P1780 and U2016 are related to the TCM and may have caused the P0604, but have they returned since clear?
3) ok
4) ok
5) Your delta issue probably is unrelated, and since you flushed the cooling system i'll skip over this.
6) ok the mechanic checked the charging system and batteries so they are ok. He replaced the 4 passenger side injectors and replaced the FICM with one he had laying around. What happened to your old FICM, what was the voltage output of it?
7) ok data point
8) The FICM your mechanic installed was already starting to fail, which can and will take injectors with it.
9) most likely the injector damage was done before you installed the new ficm
10) it could have been a bad batch of fuel which could be clogging your filter or the pump might be staring to fail.
11) the poor running cold sounds like stiction as for the low codes, could be damage from the failing ficm, or your old ficm.
Anyways, you have multiple issues that need to be looked into and corrected. I think you have had at some point a low voltage and or bad batteries issues, which probably took out your original ficm. The ficm your mechanic put it was only marginal better and already failing. Without being able to do a power balance test I would say injector in will need to be replaced under warranty. The injectors on the drivers side should be done also. Now I would the low fuel pressure situation was made worse by having compromised injectors, but without correcting that you are asking for more injector failures.
1,2) They were all still present on the scan report from the mechanic.
6) We agreed getting a new FICM was best.
8,9) New one was installed within 150 miles of the new injectors.
11) Stiction show up as low circuit correct?
It was on Tow 65HP with an SCT X3. It stays here pretty much all the time except winter to help keep my wife from getting sideways in the snow as much.
Which harness?
Battery light never has come on while I am driving it.... not sure about my wife.
Can you clarify on the plunger? The brass piece that the "blue spring" rides in?
The stiction is probably left over from the 4 old injectors, the low circuit can be a bad harness, there are a couple different things going on at the same time.
Last edited by Motohead911; Sep 17, 2020 at 02:36 PM.
Reason: need to finish
So the RAM code could have been due to the programming rather than PCM voltage ...... maybe.
The injector harness, FICM to injectors.
The "battery light", poorly named, tells if the alternator output is lower then the battery voltage, or if there is excessive AC in the output from bad diodes. You can still have low output from the alternator, which can be due to the voltage regulator, poor brush contact, a poor connection at the three-pin connector on the "sense" circuit, or any continuity issue in the "sense" circuit. Any of the battery connections or ground connections can do that too. Most people post in the thread what the terminals look like so we can assess if there are hidden issues there.
Most of the time the low pressure is not the filters or the HFCM itself, even though everyone not familiar tends to jump on the filters, the least complicated items. The regulator plunger seal that is pushed by the blue or any other colored spring seems to get distorted on the newer production from Motorcraft or any other supplier, most other suppliers. With its history, its where I would go first.
No toes stepped on, you have way more knowledge about the 6.0 then I do. I'm just trying to piece the whole story together. However I am really curious about the original FICM that was in the X.
I reinstalled the damaged one after fixing the gasket and pressure readings were constant 68-72psi as I was not sure how soon I could get a new one. I found one in a town 30 minutes away and picked it up the next day. After installing the new assembly the pressure readings are maxing my 120psi gauge out (not sure if the pressure sensor is 120psi or not). Hopefully tonight I will have time to make sure the spring is seated in the pocket. If it is..... any ideas on what else could be causing such high pressures?
