I was on the interstate last night doing about 70. I got on her a little bit to pass someone and then it just shut down. I clicked it into N and then looked at the gauges. They were all bouncing around and then they were all back to normal and the rpms were at idle. I tapped the pedal and she was running. I put her back in D and went home. My first thought was the CPS. However when it shut down the gauges went a bit hey wire, every thing shut off for a second like an ignition module problem. Would this happen with the CPS? I haven't checked for codes yet and she's running fine. Any thoughts?

 

Everybody's bad cam sensor experience is a little bit different. I think it's the best starting point for you...and you'll have your spare if it isn't the problem.

Ignition module problem.......hehe, sounds like you've worked on a small block chebbie before.

 

CPS gets my vote.

 

How many miles are on the truck???

 

Did the battery light come on when this happened and go off after it started back up. Wouldn't go buying a CPS yet !!!!!!

 

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the truck is an '02 with 46K on her. I didn't notice if the battery light came on. It was as if the whole system shut down for a second. Then Im coasting in neutral and shes purring at idle. I didn't have to refire her, the guages were all reading normal at that point. I just clicked her back into D and went on my way. Hasnt't happened agian since.

 

My 2002 F 250 is in the shop, even as we speak, because the engine just quits and you never know when it's going to happen. This is the second time for the same problem. The first time was about 6 months ago and the truck was still under warranty with ~22k and 2 yrs. 10 months at the time. I was concerned that my Banks Stinger Plus system might be blamed but that wasn't the case. When the truck quit it wouldn't restart and had to be towed to the dealer. They replaced the cam sensor chip, it was covered by warranty and I thought everything was fine. Foolish me.

A couple of weeks ago, the same thing started to happen again. The truck would just quit but start right up again. I never noticed what the gauges were doing; getting started again was my top priority. Fortunately we weren't in much traffic and on collateral routes at the time. This happened a handful of times, usually when we went over a washboard road or just hit a bump in the road.

It became serious while towing our 5th wheel in traffic on an interstate at about 55-58 MPH. The engine just quit! We lost all power but still had steering and brakes. I tried to restart in gear but nothing so I put it in neutral and tried to restart but nothing. 4 wheelers and 18 wheelers were zipping by like unguided missles. We were lucky and coasted without incident to the side of the road where I was able to restart after putting the truck in park.

Needless to say, I'm not a happy camper; we could have been killed. We got home w/o further incident and the truck is in the shop. The dealer is saying that Banks may be the problem but Banks was installed when they corrected the problem the first time. If it's the cam sensor chip again Ford will cover it because there's now a history for that problem with this vehicle.

We're anxiously awaiting the outcome. For economic reasons we hope it's the cam sensor again but more importantly is the truck going to be safe to drive. We feel very lucky, the interstate experience gave us more gray hairs than we care to count.

We're still waiting for a call from the shop and still in limbo.

Isn't this why Ford recently had a major recall with their new 6+ liter diesel?

Jaybird

 

I had a similar problem in my 99.5 F350 PSD, Dually, Crew Cab auto with Western Diesel chip. When I got her home, I drained the fuel filter and replaced the filter, which was quite dirty. Cranked her up and haven't had the problem since.

Tom

 

Ardvaark1965 (Tom) ...Welcome to FTE..

 

Thanks. I appreciate it.

Tom

 

I finally heard back from the dealership about the possible CPS failure. They had me pull the Banks chip on Saturday and today ran a diagnostic test on the ECU. The results showed there was no problem with the cam position sensor. If that's the case, I wonder why they replaced the CPS the first time back in Oct, 04? They knew from experience then that the CPS fails and the diagnostic test usually doesn't indicate a problem but they replaced it anyway. After all, it was still under warranty. Now the trucks out of warranty, so they pull the chip, do the diagnostic and it shows no problem so Ford isn't responsible for a new CPS. I believe they're tacitly putting the blame on the Banks chip and want me to run the truck for several weeks w/o it to see what happens. Maybe nothing. I feel, I'm being hung out to dry because the only sure thing about a CPS is not if it will fail, but when. Since this most recent failure was an intermittent one, it could happen at any time. Could be tomorrow, next week or months from now but it will happen. CPS failure is the Achilles' heel of the 7.3 L PSD and an albatross they've been dragging around their neck for years.

Any comments appreciated.

 

Buy a new CPS online (it's cheaper that way) and put it in your glove box. If you don't carry tools in your truck put a 10mm socket and rachet in the glove box also. If you get stuck just change it on the side of the road. NO towing fee, NO overinflated cost for CPS from stealer. NO hourly rate from stealer.

 

I agree and plan on getting a spare for the glove box. I'm sure I can replace the CPS but I'm not aware of where the #9 fuse is under the hood that some suggest needs to be disconnected first.

I'm also concerned about the part the Banks chip may or may not play in this.
Is anyone aware of performance chips causing the engine failure by contributing to the CPS problem?

Thanks

 

I had same problem with mine hit a little bump like cattle guard and truck dies. Also noticed that chip was always really warm. Talked to guy I bought chip from and he said to use a pick and bend the tabs on chip for tighter fit. Well that worked for awhile and then started to die again. So pulled chip and got a programer took care of problem. Not quite the same performance but at least doesn't die on freeway anymore.