2000 F250 Super Cab. 4x4, exhaust, intake, tunes, harpoon/hutch mod, BTS trans, egt/pyro/trans temp gauges, over 370k miles.

Yes, I have issues and I need HELP... lol.

First, I know that I have a bad alternator. I already have the lifetime warranty replacement alternator from Auto Zone. Maybe the bad alternator/ low batteries are responsible for some of the other issues too. I know, replace the alternator and see what happens... I'd like to get the backstory on why this happens even if the alt fixes it.

Issues:

1. Alternator. The bad alternator had a broken clip on the plug that would often let it come loose and I would get a tell-tale battery light until I pushed the plug back down. Would I be correct to assume this would kill my alternator faster? I tested it at Auto Zone and the diode test failed and whatever else is tested failed the test. However, my batteries never have completely died/ truck shut down while driving. I guess the alternator was just good enough to keep them a little charged? (sometimes after it sat for a while i'd have to charge pass. side batt to start. Don't the voltage have to meet a certain level for the truch to do anything - starting wise?) Sometimes when I try to start it, the door locks lock and the dash lights act up. What do you think??

2. Starting/alternator. Sometimes when I turn the key to start, nothing happens, not even the relay clicks.. I'll turn the key again and the relay on the fender will click, but no-start. I can jump the fender relay with a screwdriver and it cranks and starts. I thought this was the neutral safety switch because I'd adjust the little alignment lines on it a little and it would start normally. Also, if I'd push the shifter more to the left (in park), sometimes that would let it start. I replaced the NSS and it seemed to fix the problem for a while, but now it's back. Maybe the NSS wasn't the problem. The connections at battery and starter are tight. What do you think??

3. Transmission? This also may be an electrical issue due to bad alt./ low batteries? (It has stopped doing this for a while) It's a BTS Transmission. The TOW/HAUL light on the shifter was blinking. Word on the street says this means that I have tranny/ torque converter problems? Also, one time after I had unloaded a heavy trailer load and I was driving away up a steep hill, the tow/haul light started blinking again and the truck lost power and slowed down/ hesitated going up the hill. I turned off the truck and re-started and it went back to working normal again. Total, the light has flashed about 6 times and the truck has lost power/ stuttered twice when the light came on. Again, this problem "seems" to have gone away, but I still wonder about it. What do you think??

4. Leaks/ turbo. It's always had a small leak - about a dime sized spot per week. Lately, it's gotten worse. Also, when I used to start the truck, the turbo spinning up was pretty faint and quiet. Now, you can really hear it whirling up. Sounds cool, but the bearings probably don't think so. Could this be a sign of pedestal leak or ebpv leaking? Maybe that oil that was supposed to be in the turbo when starting had leaked out from the pedestal or ebpv and that's why it spins up so loud now. Either way, the leak is now about a softball size puddle per day. There's oil on the starter and oil drips off the low part of the tranny. Also, within a month or so, the intercooler/ turbo pipes and boots have gotten covered in oil mist. They'd been pretty clean for a couple of years before this. I'm working on getting my pressure washer/ scrub brush working so I can clean the truck up again and look for the leaks. What do you think??

5. Steering/ brakes. This is the latest joyful surprise occured with all of the previous issues active. After getting the truck started (#2), I wanted to take it for a spin to stretch it's legs because I've been driving another vehicle for about a month (hot rod cclb 6.0 psd) and I just enjoy driving this old, smelly, ugly, smoky, loud, contraption... I had been driving through the neighborhood for abt 5 min with no problems, got on the access road to abt 45mph, some jackwagon in a new suburban pulls out right in front of me so I hit the brakes at first, but then let off to accelerate around him. When I did the braking and acceleration, I noticed the truck skip and lose power big time for about .5 second (kind of felt like how the tow/haul light issue happened). Then about an hour later, I was in a parking lot and had stopped at a stop sign, then I started to slowly turn and drive left at about a 90 deg. turn and the brake pedal vibrated - went to the floor and lost brakes - and the truck shut down. I turned the truck off and restarted it and drove it home and parked it. It's still doing this at times. What do you think??

6. motor knocking. It's had a little clacking/ knock sound going on/off for years. I think it's the #8 injector not getting enough fuel at first (I've taken it to Ford for a diag. and they say they see no problems.). I have a PHP Hydra and it seems to knock on all tunes/stock. The knock usually goes away after shifting into gear and driving. BUT, yesterday I started it up to take it to a spot where I can clean stuff with dawn and diesel to look for my leaks, and it ran like *****. It had the original knock that I think is the #8 injector and also sounded like there were 2 or more knocking injectors with it. Soooo, I hear a bad alternator can kill a FICM... IDK how long my alternator has been bad, so it may have been doing a number on the FICM without me knowing. Maybe a bad FICM could have caused the issues w/ prob. #5, idk. What do you think??

Ready to get the rig back into shape... or should I just set it on fire? All advice appreiated! Thx.

 

I forgot to include that I had Auto Zone check for codes and they found none. However, whenever the scanner was plugged into the odb port, the truck immediately started running rough, kind of like the PHP "whisper" tune - just quieter and uneven running.

What do yall thnk about any of these issues? Sorry for the long post btw...
Thanks!

 

Replace the alternator, charge up the batteries, and then do a voltage drop test on the positive cables from the alternator to the batteries and the primary battery to the starter. Also check the ground cables and connections. The connector on the alternator is the voltage regulator. The battery light will come on if the voltage is too high or too low, so you may have fried the alternator and the powertrain control unit. Any scanner from any parts store will point you in the wrong direction. Get the forscan lite app and buy a quality Bluetooth adapter like BAFX.

 

The only thing that will really "kill" an alternator is heat, be it from working to hard trying to keep up with a maxed out system or under hood temps getting and staying elevated.

There are a handful of possibilities for the no crank condition. Battery connections, bad grounding, sloppy gear shift, shift cable, transmission range sensor, transmission range sensor connector, ignition switch, and junk starter come to mind.

If the light comes on for the OD switch it means there is a transmission related code detected. As previously stated no parts store scanner will work correctly on these trucks, so the best and cheapest option we have is the Forscan or Forscan lite apps and a compatible OBD2 dongle. All the info for Forscan and the proper dongles can be found in the tech section up in the stickies section.

The only real way to track a leak is to start w/ a clean slate. Get everything shiny and clean, then put a layer of paper towels in the valley, and take her for a little cruise. If it's deep in the valley then you may try an endoscope to snake into the nooks and crannies.

Steering and brakes are enter connected via the power steering pump. A good synthetic fluid flush has fixed a lot of issues for a lot of folks.

 

100% agree on getting a nice, clean power supply restored. Electronics depend on it to function properly and until that is accomplished, nothing else can be trusted.

 

I am surprised that AutoZoo was able to read any codes... The OBDII scan tool communication protocol is not the same old typical OBDII. Also, I would not try to read or clear codes with the engine running. I only do this or recommend doing this with the ignition ON and the engine OFF.

Udusth78 has you on the right path to success, but I had to comment on your signature.

ABSOLUTELY CLASSIC MOVIE AND LINE!

 

On the OD flashing a good thing to check is the wire inside the steering column. It can wear and short out.

Here's a good thread on the subject.