First time poster here in need of some assistance for my 2005 F150 Lariat 2WD, appx 55,000 miles. No issues to date except one maddening one.

3 times over the past couple of months I have had a situation where the vehicle will crank and crank but will not start. It doesn't sputter, catch at all or anything. I can crank the thing for half an hour until the battery dies but it just won't start. If I leave the vehicle sitting for a couple of hours and try again, it will start immediately and run perfectly.

The dealer has no idea of what to do and says tow it in and we'll look at it. Last time I had the issue, I spent $150 towing it in and by the time they looked at it, it started right up - no issues, no codes and ran perfectly.

Trying to find some common link and it seems like each time it happens I am cold starting and it is extremely hot outside. Vehicle sits outdoors and I live in S. Florida, so temps can be extreme.

Any ideas? Not too cool when you can't trust your truck to start.

 

look into the leaky injector TSB. one of the indications is that the vehicle won't start after shutting off until it has sat for a while and the gas can evaporate

some faulty injectors in the 2005 models stick open and flood the cylinder

 

Crap dude....You got me...especially with no codes, and being as sporadic as you say. And then it just starts... I'll ask around at work today. I'll call a FST guy I know for Ford, too.

 

Would a crapped out fuel pump throw a code? A fuel pump on its way out can act like that, stuck one minute, fine the next. If/when it does it again, see if you can hear the pump run when you turn the ignition on.

 

OK - it happened again. Drove to a friends house in Nashville while we were on vacation. Temp was a very hot 100 degrees. We were there for about 2 hours, ready to leave and had the no-start issue - a little sputtering and actually ran rough @ low RPM for about 15 seconds before dying. Outside temp reading on the truck gauge said 111 degrees. Tried for almost an hour but no luck starting. We pushed the truck into the shade and waited about an hour and it started right up - outside temp on gauge now showed 99 degrees. This time, the check engine light stayed on and I was able to read codes with the help of a local auto-repair shop. Got a 191 - Fuel Rail Pressure Range and a 1233 - Fuel Pump Module Offline. (Did I get the descriptions right?) So, any new ideas? The repair shop said maybe a fuel filter issue but I'm not buying that - truck runs perfect other than the extreme exterior-temp issue. Another easy answer might be needs a new fuel pump but I'd really be concerned spending the big $$ for that when possibly some other heat-sensitive sensor is throwing things off, impacting the fuel pump and then having it throw off some erroneous fuel system codes.

Wife and kids are fed up and say go buy a new truck, so maybe I should just shut up and be happy. But I'd really like to solve this mystery, so any help would be much appreciated.

 

I'm still going with the fuel pump, but change the fuel filter first for the heck of it if nothing else. Even if you hear the pump running, it's not necessarily building the proper pressure.

A friend had a Blazer that would not start intermittently too, and they nursed it along not realizing what it was until the pump just finally would not build significant pressure. It ran a whole lot better once a new, strong pump was installed.

 

i've had my 04 just stall on me before. like sitting at a stop light, it will start running rough for about 2 secons and then just die, and i have a hard time getting it started. It has only ever done it like 3 or 4 times in the past 2 months so it isnt regular, but it is kind of embarrassing sitting at a stop light trying to get my 4 yr old truck started...

 

Did you buy the truck used if so do you know ware it came from I bought mine in Kansas city but originally was from michigan. The reason I ask this if the truck came from a place ware road salt is used or you drive ware road salt is used your fuel pump driver is probably corroded and shorting out. To check drop your spare tire and look up at cross member on the frame and you will see a box with a plastic top metal bottom on it pull it and check for corrosion. Also it could be like Tylus said some of the 05s had faulty injectors and Ford extended the warranty on them to 11 years 120k miles.

 

I'm with Seasprite. Your Fuel Pump Driver Module may be acting up. It's a $100.00 item and it will cause the symptoms you are describing. Before I bought one I would also pull the fuel rail sensor out and crank over the engine. Only do this when you are having the problem with the truck not starting. Turn the key and see if gas comes out of the fuel rail. It should be under about 50 lbs. of pressure so the fuel will really come out if the motor is getting fuel. If you have no fuel coming out of the hole on the fuel rail then I would replace the FPDM. These can corrode and short out. Mine did and also took out my fuel pump. My truck acted just like yours and this was the culprit.

 

Thanks for the tip on the driver module. I'll take a look and keep you posted. I did purchase the truck new and have had the truck S. Florida its entire life. I have used the truck a number of times to tow a jet ski to a salt-water ramp. Never backed in more than a couple of inches past getting the rear tires barely into the water and I always spray rinse up under the truck when I'm done. Maybe all the action has had too much water getting to the module but I'm still baffled why it appears this is a high exterior-temp issue. Any tips or photos of where to find the fuel rail sensor to check fuel pressure next time I have the issue?

 

I don't have a picture but it is located on the right fuel rail. The fuel rail looks like a chrome tube that goes the whole length over the top of the spark plugs and fuel injectors. I would say the rail or tube is 1/2" in diameter. The sensor is located on the right rail and it is held in place with 2 screws. I hope this helps.