Engine wont start unless its plugged up and runs rough

[tubbed71]

Hey everyone I'm new to the forum. My name is David and I just bought my first powerstroke a couple days ago. I am having a few issues with it but I dont think it's anything major or atleast I hope not. If the block warmer isnt plugged in at night it will not start the next day. When I do plug it up and drive it, it runs rough almost like its skipping and has no power. If you drive it slow and take it easy it does ok but I dont. When I get in the throttle it sputters and finally starts to go but still feels like its not running on all 8 cylinders. I just did the oil change and fuel filter along with the air filter. Any help would be great because I want to drive this truck and I'm scared to at the moment.

[jmast]

theyll be someone on here who prolly knows more then me chime in but it sounds like you need the newest flash from ford good luck with it and like i said someone more knowledgable will come along soon...

[tubbed71]

What do you mean by flash?

[powerhoghp]

I think he was referencing the 6.0 in which rough cold starts were easily fixed by having the ford dealer reflash(update) the computer. However, there may be one for your 7.3, but i doubt it would help. Now, are you waiting for the wait to start light to go off?

[tubbed71]

I had no idea they could update the cpu. Like I said I'm new to the diesel stuff. Tonight will be the first night that I havent plugged it up. I got it saturday and the guy told me if I didnt plug it up it wouldnt crank. I been wanting to mess with it and change the fluids so I kept it hooked up. I checked for codes in the computer but it said no codes stored so no luck there. I drove it 400 miles saturday and when I got closer to home it started jerking like it was misfiring or somethen. All I know is that it doesn't have all the power it should and it sputters.

[tubbed71]

Originally Posted by powerhoghp

Now, are you waiting for the wait to start light to go off?

Yes it stays on for a few seconds and goes off but thats after I had it plugged up so I'll try in the morning and see what happens

[optimus]

Are you getting any smoke when it starts sputtering and missing? if so what color sounds like you have an injector problem one or two bad ones or the injector drive module could be failing. you really need to find some one with a good scan tool that can run diagnostics, or if you have some $$ to spare order yourself an auto enginuity scan tool from the link below thats the cheapest I've found.

AutoEnginuity PC Scan Tool (USB)

[tubbed71]

Yes it smokes when it starts sputtering and I think its white but I cant remember. I will drive again when I get home today and see. I will try and start it this morning since I didnt plug it up last night and see what happens.

[huntnfish]

I have a 7.3L 2002 in my 2002 Excursion. 331K original miles. My engine started the same no plug-in overnight no start in the morning 6 months ago. I replaced all the glo plugs at 305K. If I forget to plug-in over night the engine will start if I plug-in for 30-45 minutes. Slow start, lots of black smoke and in 6-8 miles till it's running at acceptable power levels and has a good sound. The dealership deisel mechanic is leaning towards injector replacement. However, he has no specific evicence that the replacement will solve the problem. About 6K ago I started adding the Lucas diesel addative trying to clean-up the injectors. I'd like to analyze this with the group to achieve a difinitive fix-up. I talked with a guy over Memorial Day fishing on Lake Erie. He said he had the same problem with one of his 7.3's and he replaced the glo plug relay as his fix-up. I replaced the glo plug relay in June for $ 225 with no success. Is the no plug-in ---- no start-up one of the symptoms of the impending engine re-build? Anyone had a similar experience? Anyone solve this problem without an engine re-build? Specifics please.

[tubbed71]

Ok. I got home today and plugged it up for about an hour. It wouldnt start. I kept on trying over an over for about 5 minutes and it acted like it wanted to but wouldn't. As I was turning it over and it kind of sputtered a little I gave it some throttle and it fired up. It ran like crap and if I let off the throttle it would die. I let it run for a couple minutes and it got to where it would idle on it's on. It was skipping like crazy and shaking the truck. I let it run for a few more minutes thinking maybe it needs to warm up but it never cleared up so I just shut it off. Now when I plug this thing up over night it cranks right up the next day no problem but still isnt running just right and lacks in power.