recently had a thread about some clicking behind my dash. well my problems continue this morning. (sorry this might be long but i wanna make sure i get the details of my problem out there).

truck started fine let it warm up for 5-7 minutes cause it was 36 degrees this morning. just as i was about to get in it, it died. strange but happened before thought nothing of it, started right back up, idled fine. backed out of the drive way and the idle became real real lumpy(if you can imagine the sound of a diesel - bla.....bla......bla......bla.....) and died on me as i was coasting down my hill. stopped, tried starting again, would fire up and immediately die, happened twice before she stayed running, we it did stay running the service engine light was on. got about 500 feet before it died on me again, tried starting a couple times, would start but immediately shut down. let it sit a couple minutes, started back up, finally stayed running this time, but died on me several times trying to get back to my house. in the process of all this and when the truck would die, i would get this loud clicking behind my dash along with some gauge cluster lights blinking in rapid intervals.this problem only seems to be happening when its cold in the morning, when i leave work in the afternoon truck seems to run fine. is my fuel gelling or something?? PLEASE PLEASE HELP. i am desperate for some help. dont have a crap load of money to throw at the thing, or spend in the wrong place.

2000 f-250 7.3
only mods are ottomind chip from banks, transcommand from banks, CAT delete and, air filter mod.

THANKS IN ADVANCE FOR YOUR HELP

 

First thing I would do is remove the chip & see what happens. A loose or failing puter chip can cause a lot of strange problems.

 

I see your location is CA...how cold is it in the mornings when it does this?

Diesel doesn't usually gel until you get into the negatives. One of our Colorado members had fuel gelling issues after a night of -17 temperatures.

What kind of additives are you running in your fuel...also, did you get your CPS changed out when Ford issued the recall?

 

it got in the 30's here last night, no additives in fuel, used lucas fuel treatment like two tanks ago. replaced CPS one year ago myself

 

That's the first place I would start. Try finding out what the code is and go from there. You'll need a scanner that is compatible with the Powerstroke, or take it to a diesel shop that can scan codes.

 

Blue92 going on your description of the dash lights blinking, it sounds like you might have a bad GEM module.
It is basically the fuse panel. Ford in their "infinite wisdom" decided that there needed to be some sort of computer circuit back there that has to be adapted to the vehicle for some reason instead of a simple power bus that you can tie into and get power for all the accessories.

 

can i use any scan tool for obd 2? or is there a special one for powerstroke? problem is too that this only seems to be happening on the morning when its cold, afternoons truck runs great. could that GEM module also be causing my overdrive light to flash??

 

If you have a cheap scanner go ahead and check it with yours and see what you come up with,If you come up with nothing you may want someone with a snap-on scanner check it. Anyways I have had some sort of problems like yours and turns out it was the vss or the (foot feet throttle pedal).Don't know if that is your prop but when it happened to me my truck did'nt want to accelerate at all just throwin it out there,,,,,I would definatly check and make sure the chip is clean and tight or remove it for now?

 

the real frustrating part about this whole thing is that it intermittent. just went outside to see what would happen and boom, fired right up, drove fine like there is no problem. problem only happening after sitting at night

 

maybe check,replace your IPR or (your injection pressure regulator)

 

You're not in one of those areas that are seeing all that rain are you? Water has been know to cause problems. It's not gelling, you're way too warm for that.

 

i live about 25 miles north of los angeles raining like crazy. rained all day yesterday and truck ran fine. so i dont think its a water related issue

 

You really need to get the codes read, until then it's mostly guess work. Make sure you post your codes here and somebody can help.
Until then make sure you have plenty of fuel and plenty of oil, too little of either will shut one down fast. You could also check for fuel supply the next time it stops on you. Turn the key off as soon as it stalls, check for fuel in bowl before you attempt to crank it. You may be running out of fuel.

 

yea, checked if there was fuel when it happened this morning by opening the fuel bowl drain and there was plenty. if i could read those codes i would. but i dont think any shops are open at 4 and 5 am when i am leaving for work, and i dont have a code reader(yet).

 

The clicking relay is probably the root of your problem. Where is the clicking sound coming from? Does the clicking continue when truck is not running?