As you might remember, I started a thread the other day in reference to a truck that I was attempting to get running. Today the weather was about perfect and I had the time so I tore into it. This truck has been sitting for over a year without being started. Prior to this, the PO had gotten water and crud in the fuel. Dropped the tank and cleaned it and the mixing chamber thoroughly. Put clean fuel back in. Pulled the fuel filter and cleaned the fuel bowl of all the accumulated crud. Ran about a gallon of fuel out the drain to make sure that the fuel lines were flushed. Getting a good flow of fuel out. The batteries in the truck are a little old, but I tried to compensate for that by hooking up a charger with a jump start boost feature on one battery and hooking to another 7.3 with heavy jumper cables to the other battery. New starter. The engine seems to be turning over much slower than it ought to be and there is a clicking noise from under the hood while cranking. Pulled the codes and came up with:

P0740 exhaust backpressure sensor
P1118 no description
P0603 KAM error

I know that the KAM error is caused by the batteries being unhooked, and I don't think that the backpressure sensor should affect starting. I don't, however, know what the P1118 code is. I do have the fuel bowl heater unplugged and have checked all the fuses. I am getting a little bit of white/grey smoke from the exhaust while cranking. The batteries are on the charger overnight to see if that will help things. What am I missing here? Oh, yeah, the truck is an early '99 F-450. Any help and ideas would be greatly appreciated.

 

I wouldn't concern myself with any codes until you have good batteries in there. Remember, you have to have at least 10.5 volts when cranking. Until you get that, you will just be wasting your time.

 

I am going to put a brand new set of batteries in it tomorrow and see what I come up with.

 

Have you changed the oil yet? Remember oil is the life blood of the injectors. Having it sit for a year or more, make sure the oil in the HPOP is full, and consider synthetic oil to help things get started after sitting so long.

 

I did fill the reservoir with fresh oil, but I didn't think about changing the oil in the engine quite yet. I was hoping to get the thing started and then change the oil. Will it really help it that much to have fresh oil in there now?

 

Good point. A year of setting can also allow moisture to gather. Might be a good idea to change it out. Fresh everything is always a good idea.