hard start, eratic idle, no power

[doityourself]

I'm new here, this past week I started my truck (96' f250 psd 4x4) and it was hard to start, rough and eratic idle, no power, and the check engine light came on. I've hooked up a scanner and no code is being relayed to the scanner. I'm lost and don't know what to do next.
Anyone have some advice for me?

Thanks, Jim

[mschn99]

Originally Posted by doityourself

I'm new here, this past week I started my truck (96' f250 psd 4x4) and it was hard to start, rough and eratic idle, no power, and the check engine light came on. I've hooked up a scanner and no code is being relayed to the scanner. I'm lost and don't know what to do next.
Anyone have some advice for me?

Thanks, Jim

if the CEL was on, there must be codes.....so there is some issue there with the scanners communication with the truck. without at a code, this could be a very tough thing to figure out. odds are there is an issue with the injectors, but it could be anything from conections, to o rings, to 1 or more injectors themselves......it could be a HP oil problem as well.....

was it blowing any smoke, and was there any other things that may make it a little more precise on what it was doing???

[doityourself]

no it wasn't blowing any smoke, ran great the day before.

[mschn99]

what are you trying to pull codes with??

[doityourself]

i'm using a innova from equus.

[mschn99]

never heard of it. evidently it wont communicate with your truck for some reason. check all your fuses to make sure the data link connector is powered up........also, inspect the wiring going into the valve covers for damage......pay close attention, especially to where it plugs into the valve cover itself.......Marc

[doityourself]

it powers up the scanner, but I'll check out the rest.
thanks, Jim

[doityourself]

how can I trouble shoot the injectors to tell if they are bad?
I can know I can ohm out the vavle cover connectors and I already have the specs on what I should be reading. What about the injectors ? I understand
that they are hydraulically actuated and electronically fired ? is that correct ?
if so is there has to be some type of coil or something to check on the injector itself, right?

Jim

[mschn99]

normally i would diag injectors with a scan tool and a kill box. you can do a similar thing by taking hte valve covers off and carefully disconnecting each injector one at a time. obviously you would need to put everything back on that was needed to have the motor run right witht he valve covers off. if the motor runs worse with the injector disconnected, then that injector is good. if hte way the motor is running doesnt change, then the injector is bad. if its injector o rings causing it, then its a little more of a "gut call" and there isnt any really foolproof test.....i cant garantee an injector is bad in your truck though, from your description it sounds like the logical thought.....Marc

[doityourself]

OK, I started my truck today and pulled both connectors off the drivers side valve cover.
It made no difference in the way it ran. I pulled the valve cove off and rechecked all the wiring, its OK. So I then checked the wiring harness all the way to the IDM connector and it ohmed out OK also.

So when an IDM goes bad, does usually one complete bank of cylinders go ?
I would like to put it back together and check to see if the signals are getting to the injectors, However I suspect that using a VOM would not be fast enough to catch the signals, am I right on this. Do you know what the signal voltage is for the injectors?

I also have a fluke meter with a 1000 volt hipot tester and will test the wiring with it tomorrow.

any suggestions.

Jim