runs rough and dies within 1 mile when first started for the day

[mudkaiser]

Early 99 7.3 6speed 4x4, 200k, 4.10 gear 35" tire, TS performance 6 position chip which i leave on stock 95% of the time. The first thing i noticed and might not have anything to do with it is the air stopped working. i mean no fan, the compressor didnt come on, nothing, then driving down the road it just started working. that has happened 4 or 5 times in the last 500 miles or so.
After starting the truck cold (70 degrees in florida) and driving about 3/4 - 1 mile it looses power runs really rough for probably a minute then it picks up and hasnt done it again no matter how many miles i have driven it in the day or how many times i shut it off and restart it. today it actually shut off, sat on the side of the road a few minutes trying to start it it finally started and ran great. no warning lights, all gauges are correct. not sure where to start??
Help.....

[kaya@bernhausen]

check the codes. always
also, what color crank sensor is in there? when the vehicle won't start, cranking, does the tach move? or is it dead still?

[mudkaiser]

havent had the codes checked yet will ther be a code even if the check engine light has not come on? The crank sensor is light grey it lloks like, i had problems with that before and i replaced it , then there was a recall and ford replaced it like 40k mikes or so ago. that was my first thought but when the crank sensor was going out there was no pattern to it it just quit working when it wanted to. there is definately a pattern to whats happening now. i will look at the tack when (if) it dies again. thanks for your help.

[kaya@bernhausen]

absolutely. a code can be stored without illuminating the cel.
check the codes and go from there

[mudkaiser]

well after getting off work at 7am , (yes nightshift 12hrs) it cranked right up, i let it idle for 2 min, ran great. then headed out of the parking lot, within 1500 feet it started to run rough like on 3 or 4 cylinders, held it to the floor in neutral, it only went to 1600, then was idleing at about 500 running rough. all the gauges seemed correct. after sitting there a few min it seemed to start to run a little better, i let the clutch out n slowly started to go. still running but really rough, then the farther i went it seemed to clear up, no smoke, within a mile or so it was fine, drove 30 miles home with no problems. i will get the codes checked as soon as im off of 7 days a week 12hrs a night. so it definately only does it when its cold. hhhhhhmmmmmmmmm its not even cold in florida this time of year.....

[NoRalPh]

I'd be thinking UVCH....

Those intermittent "runs on just a few cyls" problems often turn out to be those electrical connections to the injectors.

[kaya@bernhausen]

definitely a good possibility. when it's running rough, you can try disconnecting the vch connector on one bank at a time. see if it makes a difference with it disconnected. if not, you know which valve cover to pull. problem is, more times than not, they only partially back out, cutting power to only a couple injectors. but if it dies with one bank disconnected, possible the opposite side is backing out

[mudkaiser]

not sure what uvch stands for , but the wiring harness under the valve covers is on my list as i know i need to replace a few glow plugs and was going to replace the wiring harness also. if i remember correctly i can buy a kit to replace the complete wiring harnesses and glow plugs. is there anything else in there i need to replace when the valve covers are off?

[NoRalPh]

UnderValveCoverHarness

[zrain25]

I vote for uvch also sounds like the common symptoms.


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