No start!! Bad Fuel, HPOP, Or???????
 

Last week my truck shut down on me while hard braking to a red light down hill. Earlier during start up that day (About 15 min prior to it shutting off), she started then shut off right away, second attempt she did the same, third attempt, she started ran extremely rough for about 3 seconds then ran fine until she shut off on the highway. No start now, just cranking! I've gone through most of the no start checklist exept the HPOP steps. The FICM voltage stays at 48 through the steps. Which leads me to question fuel quality! The last time I drove her (about 3 days prior to the incident) I stopped for fuel. She wasn't too low when I fill the tank.

Here's my questions: 1) How do I find out if the fuel is bad? 2) I'm getting oil in the filter bowl when cranking, but the pressure sensor in the dash doesn't move showing there's pressure, could this be an issue? 3) I'm getting fuel in the fuel filter bowl up top, but its over filling the top (when the gap was off so I could verify I was getting fuel) I've never seen it do this before. When the cap is off, should it overfill the top? 4) What could I be missing????

Oh, when I check the ICP PSI with the key just on the on position, I see 50 -58 PSI, I've changed the ICP sensor in 2010, Oil smells fine, coolant not contaminated, air filter is good, and no leaks at all underneath.

2003 Ford Excursion 6.0 with 211,000 miles.

Thanks guys!

I'm not sure how your getting oil in the fuel bowl. To my knowledge the only place oil & fuel are close to each other is in the injectors. But the fuel rails on the stock engines are deadhead....meaning once the fuel leaves the secondary filter housing the only place it can go is to the fuel rails & into the injectors to be fired into the engine.

With ICP pressures that low, that's more than likely the reason the truck won't start. The PCM needs to see 500 psi before it will tell the FICM to fire the injectors.

The oil pressure dash gauge is an idiot light...I wouldn't put allot of stock in the lack of it's movement.

Kind of confused about your comment/question about the secondary filter housing. The fuel pump should keep pumping fuel...over running the housing if the cap is off. If it's not, that's something else to figure out once you get the engine to start. Still think you should check your ICP more to figure out what's going on with it.

KOEO ICP pressure should show some residual pressure, mine shows in the 100 - 125 range after 24 hours. If the scangauge is on while you crank, you should see it pop to the 900 range with cold oil. It won't start until 500 psi cranking. You should see no oil in the filter bowl with the cap off, because the drain is open - oil would go in, then out. Cranking with the oil filter out is not a good idea. You won't develop oil pressure with the oil filter out, and the engine won't start until there is 7 psi of oil pressure, which will put the dash gauge in the middle - if you get no pressure while cranking (with the filter in and the cap on) the oil pressure switch could be bad. You should get a lot of fuel out of the fuel filter bowl if the key is on and the fuel pump is pumping, it should definitely over-flow the top of the bowl, there is nothing going to tell it to stop pumping.

I would definitely check the cranking ICP pressure.

Brian

Sorry for the confusion, I'm getting fuel in the fuel filter housing and oil in the oil filter housing. With the ignition in the on position and not cranking, I should still be getting 500 PSI?

Thanks MC5C, how would I go about checking the ICP and Oil pressure switch? When I crank my display turns off and takes a second to come back on and it shows the pressures at 130 and falling for the ICP. I don't have one that just stays on.

The HPOP won't build HPO unless the engine is turning over. It's a mechanical pump attached to the gear train at the rear of the engine.

Oil in the oil filter housing only confirms that the LPOP is working...which is a good thing. If there is no LPO, there won't be any oil supplied to the HPOP reservoir for use in the HPO system/fire the injectors. Not to mention the whole dry bearings issue.