Truck cranks, but won't start

[realfstkid]

So I went out to the truck this morning, turned the key, let it sit for a few seconds until the glow plug warning light went out, then cranked it over. The engine cranked over nicely, but it won't start. Yesterday I drove it to Home Depot and back, never had any problems.

This same thing happened a few weeks ago and I pulled 2 codes from it. P0404 and P0405. I couldn't get it to start, and ran the battery down til it wouldn't turn. I towed it to the dealer, they charged the batteries and the damn thing started right up for them, throwing a bit of smoke in the beginning, and then working fine. They ran some tests on it, the tech checked everything he could on the HPOP and the rest of the engine, and the only thing he found was that the #4 injector was "weak" although it passed the buzz test and everything. He ran the truck for a while and tested ICP along the way, and after that he concluded that it definitely wasn't the HPOP.

He recommended Cetane Booster for the injector, so I bought a bottle ($9) and have used it with about 35 gallons of gas so far. The only other thing he could think of was that maybe a chunk of soot or whatever crap gets caked on the intake broke off and was clogging something, but he said that was a leap.

So this morning, I tried to start it and it wouldn't start. I only tried 3 times, then let it sit for about 4 hours until I came home for lunch. Tried again twice (trying to conserve battery power) and still nothing. Any ideas what I should try next? I've also noticed that the truck gets bad mileage, about half freeway driving (70-75 mph) and half city (truck unloaded completely) yields 13 mpg. I just bought this truck on the cheap from a shady dealer, and am just trying to get all the kinks worked out before I start doing some minor mods (EGR Delete, Turbo-Back Exhaust, AFE Stage II Intake).

Thanks for the help,

Christian

[dbkerley]

Mine was having similar problems recently and it turned out to be the underhood relays. Mine is much older and likely that doesn't apply to yours though.

Bump til someone smarter comes along.

[realfstkid]

anyone? I just checked and there are no codes. Where was that relay you had the problems with?

[realfstkid]

anyone? bump

[wriott]

cps??? see if you can get it to fire with a "LITTLE" starting fluid, if it tries to take off then your truck isnt getting fuel.

[dbkerley]

In the fuse box under the hood the IDM relay was my problem.

On mine, the diagnosis / problem order seems to go something like this:

Scan and clear codes each time so you can tell if your are getting close

Check CPS
Check CPS again
Check fuses
Swap relays around (I added this one after this latest fiasco)
Check fuel pressure
ICP voltage
UVC harness
engine harness

BTW, your mileage seems about right without any mods. Also, I'm not big on using starting fluid as it may screw up your glow plugs. I used a gas soaked rag over my intake filter and got it hitting off that. I tried the ether before someone told me about it affecting the plugs and may have messed up a couple.

Just noticed someone else mentioned starting fluid. They may be right. I was just trying to be cautious.

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Last edited by dbkerley : 06-23-2009 at 05:35 AM.

[wriott]

i agree about the starting fluid, just use a LITTLE, i have found its better to have two people, one to let the glowplugs cycle then start to crank over. as its cranking over someone else gives it a LIGHT shot of either. i know its not good but sometimes its the only way

[Goose350]

bad ground on the ficm maybe.

[realfstkid]

Originally Posted by Goose350

bad ground on the ficm maybe.

Do I have to pull the FICM to check this? Is there an easier way to see?

[realfstkid]

Ok, I have lots more information.

I recently purchased the Auto Enginuity Scan Tool with the Ford Enhanced Package, and I have to say, it is amazing.

I managed to pull a few DTC's off the vehicle that weren't coming up with a generic scanner. At first they were:

P1876 - Transfer Case 2-Wheel Drive Solenoid Circuit Failure
B1483 - Brake Pedal Input Circuit Failure

I took the connector off of the brake pedal position sensor, and played around with the thing, and then plugged it back in, cleared the codes and re-pulled them.

Next I got this:

P1876 - Transfer Case 2-Wheel Drive Solenoid Circuit Failure
P1000 - OBD Systems Readiness Test Not Complete

I crawled underneath the truck, and the connections to the transfer case looked like they were on snug.

I also tried starting it after playing around with the brake pedal position sensor, and I recorded the following with the scantool. The batteries are pretty much dead at this point, so I have them hooked up to a slow charger and will try some more troubleshooting tomorrow.

Here are the numbers I got from the starting run:

Time                     ICP (PSI)          Time            RPM         
                                
 08:55:33.765        3.97          08:55:34.031        0         
 08:55:34.359        3.4            08:55:34.703       0         
 08:55:35.031        3.4            08:55:35.312       0         
 08:55:35.625        3.4            08:55:35.890       0         
 08:55:36.203        258.33       08:55:36.468       189         
 08:55:36.812        258.33       08:55:37.078       192         
 08:55:37.406        264           08:55:37.687       142         
 08:55:37.968        270.8         08:55:38.250       151         
 08:55:38.578        262.86       08:55:38.843       149         
 08:55:39.171        259.46       08:55:39.437       58         
 08:55:39.765        47.59        08:55:40.031        0         
 08:55:40.359        23.23        08:55:40.640        0         
 08:55:40.984        14.73        08:55:41.250        0         
 08:55:41.578        11.9          08:55:41.859        0         
 08:55:42.187        9.06          08:55:42.437        0         
 08:55:42.765        7.93          08:55:43.031        0         
 08:55:43.359        7.36          08:55:43.625        0         
 08:55:43.953        6.23          08:55:44.234        0

Also see the attached file for another run with a lot more variables but a lot lower sampling rate.

Hopefully someone can help me out here.

Christian