Ok so here's a little background...

Yesterday morning I am getting in my truck to leave for work. I turn the key and get a rapid clicking sound. Sounds like it is coming from the dash somewhere. I turn the key to the off position, then back on. No sound and she starts right up. I drive the 45 minutes to our PT field. (I'm in SWAT school.) We finish PT and head back to our training center. Truck starts right up, no problems. I get done for the day and go to leave. Keep in mind it is about 45 degrees and raining at this point. Truck starts and I leave work. I get about 5 minutes away and truck just dies. My first thought was CPS failure but no sputtering, no lugging, no nothing, just off. I turn the key off and back on and I get that same clicking sound. Moving right along...

I try and pinpoint the source of the sound. I narrow it down to the fuse panel under the steering wheel. I then call Clay to see what he says. We get it narrowed down to relay #303, IDM relay. Clay walked me through some troubleshooting, and switching and pulling relays failed to produce the desired results. Obviously we couldn't exactly diagnose it over the phone and with no AE or no tools, changing out an IDM or anything else would be dang near impossible. However, what I did figure out is that if I put pressure on the fuse panel it would start. I got on the road again for about 5 miles and shuts off again. Put pressure back on the fuse panel and it starts. This process was repeated several times until I could limp to the parking lot of my dads field office. I considered a little trick I learned from some Marine Corps mechs, but I didn't know what the adverse effects would be. (pop the cover off the relay and put a small piece of credit card in the contacts to keep the relay open) What we did however was take a metal rod and put one end on the fuse panel and move the drivers seat up until it was wedged in there. I made it the 30 minutes or so home and parked it.

Alright now that I have given you all a description in explicit detail any ideas?

 

Good luck Chris, I have no idea, subscribing..

 

Take the bolts holding the whole assembly on out and check the plugs leading to the panel. I haven't heard of them working loose, but from the sounds of it, it is possible one is loose. Check the pins for the relay which you said was clicking to see if maybe they are loose.

 

Chris, I gotta agree with camodown on this one. It sounds like defective relay or loose connectors in the panel, pull it and check. Sounds like a real PITA. Good luck.

 

Chris, could you have a water leak at the lower left side of the windshield. Those electrical connections don't like water, this has been known to cause problems. You did say it was raining, just something to check.

 

Based on cool temps and moisture you discribe.. I'd look for oxidation at a ground connect and examine all multi-connect harnesses for the 'green' appearance inside and out of all mults..and feedthroughs. good luck.

 

I checked the connectors on the relay. All relays were solid. Also forgot to mention that when I left for work and it did it the first time it was not raining and hadn't rained in several days. I'm leaning more towards loose connector. I have to wait until this weekend cause I'm too busy with my SWAT classes. If you guys have any other suggestions, throw em out there. I'll keep you guys posted.

 

Alright well I just dropped my truck off at the dealership since I couldn't fix my problem. I took the fuse panel out and snugged everything up. No such luck. We'll see how much this is gonna cost. I guess my plans of getting tires and such with the ol' tax return have gone out the window.

 

I saw you say in another post that you had to replace the fuse block....if you dont mind me asking...how much did it set you back. i had to replace mine and was just wanting to compare prices. mine was about $500 parts and labor

 

Have you cleaned you battery terminals recently? I had this problem a while back and cleaning them and using an anti-corrosion spray seemed to fix it. No problems in 1-2 years.

 

What did you dealership find was wrong with your truck? I seem to be having the same issue with mine....