2002 7.3 hard/no start even on a warm day

[koryb]

I have a friend who's 2002 f550 with manual trans. truck won't start. IF you plug the block heater overnight it starts without hesitation or any other issues. If you leave it unplugged , you won't get it started to save your life! he says if he uses a small shot of ether it will start , but it litteraly sounds like it is running on 2 cylinders makes almost no noise, and there is no throttle response, until engine temp comes up.If you unplug the EOT sensor the truck will take off and run just fine but it will blow tons of black smoke for a few seconds. I know by doing this it defaults the EOT signal. We replaced the EOT sensor , but it still does this. today I pulled the glow plugs to see if they worked , all the glow plugs were working great , I even ran them through the wire/harness to make sure they were getting their power feed.Does anybody have any ideas? I am really stumped .

[Jarrod B]

check the glow plug relay?

[koryb]

Yes I checked the GPR , the wierd part is if you don't plug the truck in over night and try to start, it won't . Unplug the EOT sensor which controls injection timing and fuel delivery, (amongst many other things ) it will blow black smoke , and fire off and run like a raped ape. It has to be something in relation to that , what exactly ? I don't know.

[Jarrod B]

take the sensor off and see if the tube is clogged up.

[lineman85]

what is the eot sensor? my 2000 7.3 has same symptoms. no plug in no start. then runs horribly till engine warms up. plug in overnite starts up perfect. cant find any solutions or ideas.

[koryb]

[QUOTE=lineman85;2067881]what is the eot sensor? QUOTE]The EOT Sensor* is Engine oil Temp. and it is located on the back side of the HPOP reservoir, It measures oil temps and provides data to the the PCM for several different functions including cold start issues.

As for just starting out trying to find a solution , you should check into the Glow Plug relay to make sure it is operating correctly. and then move on.The more common issues are Glow plugs, and GPR. if those test out to be ok , then you have to start to dig deeper. Good Luck

[proteegolf]

I have a 2002 Excursion. I changed the GPCM and all 8 glow plugs. Truck will not start cold even when 50 degrees out. I am very frustrated and disappointed. It will only start when I plug it in for 3 hours. Where is the EOT located? I"m hoping that is it. I hate to change the PCM. My check engine light is on also. The truck runs like a deer when it is warm. Any ideas?
My friend put an OBD2 scanner on it last week and we kept getting error messages. I like to say I am also disappointed that Ford built all their Excursion diesels to meet CA emmission which means they all have a GPCM instead of a GPR. THis meant $150 VS $40. for me. All the F250 and F 350 trucks have GPR's. If my truck is doing it, I am sure there are many others out there with the same symptoms. Any help appreciated. Mark.

[NoRalPh]

You friends OBD-II scanner isn't up to the task.....

Our trucks are Not, strictly, OBD-II despite the connector. Unfortunately, the proper scanner isn't easy to outside professional shops (AutoZone and the like aren't going to have it either)

If your light is ON, go find somebody with the right equipment and have them pull the codes to know what's going on.....

[4x4 station wagon]

Might as well add another person to this list as I am fighting the battle as well. However mine doesnt have a block heater so I do not get to try that. For a while there it wouldnt start at all and now I can get it to light off with 3 cycles of the glow plugs. I pass all the glo plug tests and suspect the relay on that issue. Mine is a bit more complicated as it died twice while driving after leaving me stranded once. I replaced the cam sensor with no luck and now am on to rebuilding the IPR as well as putting a new ICP on it even though I unplugged it and it still didnt fire... I stumbled on this while trying to find something on upgrading the GPR to a 6.0 one. I would have sworn I have seen that before but

[koryb]

I have no such luck in fixing mine yet either , however the answer to your EOT question is ..... Your EOT sensor is located on the back side of your HPOP reservoir, next to the fuel filter housing.I am thinking that with mine I amy be dealing with a PCM issue because I have had a couple of times that the engine would start like it was supposed to for three or four days without being plugged in, but after that we are back at square one . Ihave replaced the GPR the air intake heater solenoid , confirmed the GP's work. EOT sensor and ICP sensor. At this point in time I think I would be better off to trade off the truck and buy a Cummins or a Duramax. This is rediculious. And Ford can't tell me nothing , without testing they want to change out the injectors , that is entirely too much money to guess at !