No start 03 7.3

[zankof]

2003 f350 7.3L Stock minus a diablosport economy tune.

Okay, so I went on a long road trip this summer across canada, drove 10000 miles in 3 weeks. My truck ran like a top the whole time, never missed a beat. Got home, parked it for a week and drove the wifes car because I was too wiped from vacation to unload the truck so I could drive it to work. Went to start it the next weekend and had issues getting it to start. but it started.

fast foreward a couple of weeks. weather turns colder, (38 degrees today), Have trouble starting truck again.

Figured might be something with the glowplug system, so I pull out the multimeter, find that i have two glowplugs that are completely dead. GPR was good.

Replaced bad glowplugs, put truck back together and it still wouldn't start.

Did some research that indicated it might be the ICP. when I unplugged it it started. Ordered a new ICP and went to start it. Would start with it unplugged this time, still won't start with new ICP installed so I guess now i have a spare ICP.

No codes show up after cranking.

Batteries are good and show 12.3 V and don't drop down below 11.1 when cranking.

ICP is showing more then enough presure and jumping over 500 PSI almost immediately.

RPMs peak at 580

Truck sounds like it wants to fire but never quite does fires up.

Scanner shows that my manifold air temp rises to over 80 degrees C

Fuel bowl is full and both my pre pump filter and the underhood fuel filter.

Oil is new and up to proper level

Getting puffs of dark Black smoke from while cranking.

Not sure where to go now, any help would be very appreciated.

 

[Dmstrucks02]

How did the wires look going to the ICP sensor?

 

[silverpsd_06]

Ipr maybe?

 

[zankof]

Wires to the ICP look good, Getting a good signal to the PCM from sensor.

I have to check my IPR, but as I was reading, would that make it so I didn't get much HP oil at all and wouldn't get smoke because the injectors wouldn't fire?

Thanks, for your help.

 

[Charles]

Dark black means you can probably stop worrying about icp, computers, fuel pressure and the like, because it's obviously putting fuel in the hole. The black says the compression is there and the timing is proper.

How's the air intake looking? Any chance the intake tube is collapsed or something stupid? Black smoke conceptually means well timed fuel, of adequate quantity with a deficiency of airflow.

Squirrel build a nest in the air filter???

lol

 

[zankof]

Air tract is clean, I have pulled it pulled all apart during the process of getting the new glow plugs in.

 

[jdeeg4276]

Can you buzz test injectors?

And smoke while trying to start?

Aftermarket alarm?

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk 2

 

[jdeeg4276]

Cheap and guessing the scam sensor is bad?

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk 2

 

[zankof]

No after market alarm, just ford factory command start,

Tried the Cam Sensor,

Don't have anything to buzz test with.

 

[Charles]

If it's black smoking what more do you people expect from the engine control system?

If it's putting the fuel in the hole, at the right time, and in a high enough quantity to produce black smoke, what is the thought process of sensors and buzz tests going to help? All those things are what you do when it's not putting fuel in the hole and you're trying to figure out why.

For instance..... if it had no smoke.... then I'd want to verify a bunch of stuff, because it isn't firing any fuel at ALL...

If it had blue smoke, I'd want to know fuel pressure because something is making the injection late, or the compression is down/ glow plug system down causing a cold cylinder unable to fully burn the fuel.

If it was white smoke I'd say stuck nozzle or some other means of injecting way too much fuel, or injecting fuel 360* of rotation.


But black smoke means there is fuel, and it's not too early, too late, or too much.


Have you fired it on ether to see if it would fire and idle once lit?


I would almost want to yank a valve cover and verify that I had intake valve actuation and my lifters weren't all pumped down or something dumb.


Take a video of the tailpipe from about 20 feet away if you don't resolve the issue. That might help people. Plus just hearing the engine spin over is often useful in understanding what might be wrong.

 

[CSIPSD]

Charles...

Water injection... Whats that fluid you run?

Sorry, tried to send you a PM, but...

Thanks!

 

[Charles]

Charles...

Water injection... Whats that fluid you run?

Sorry, tried to send you a PM, but...

Thanks!

I was running the water soluble cutting oil from Napa. But now that I have my own mill and have started doing some basic machining myself I have become aware of a myriad of other options out there. You can get water soluble "coolant" for milling and turning that are thin and simply stave off corrosion.

Check out like "kool mist" for one. Or "Noga cool", or Trico.....

There are a zillion water soluble fluids for use in machine cooling that serve to keep metals from corroding that aren't oily. I don't know if they would work better or worse, but it's something to look at.


On Edit:

 

[CSIPSD]

Thanks Charles...

To the OP'er...

Sounds to me like an injector issue, worn poppets will not allow the injectors to fire properly when cold. I have this exact issue with my truck, once warm its fine, but if the air temps are below 55*... Its plugged in, or long crank and rough running for a few miles.

My cores have over 500k on them, and have had about every injector builders hands in them. I'm just living with it until such time as I can afford a new set of hybrids.

 

[zankof]

Oh I really hope it isn't injectors. Issue for me is if it is that I live in canada, and it won't be staying about 55* much for say, the next 6 months

 

[CSIPSD]

Oh I really hope it isn't injectors. Issue for me is if it is that I live in canada, and it won't be staying about 55* much for say, the next 6 months

Cant say for sure, how many miles on the truck?

Do you know the history of it?

Oil changed regularly or was it a maintenance whore?

I just skimmed the thread, I'll go back and read it thru now...

Was looking to get Charles on the water question... Thread hyjack... LOL

 

[zankof]

truck has 240,000 km, about 150,000 miles. Oil has been changed regular since i bought it. I got used at 4 years old with 80000 km on it. I have no record of the history before that, other then knowing where it was registered, that it was a lease and that it was a farm truck before I bought it. got it started yesterday because it was warmer so I guess I am going to have to drop it off at a shop for some proper diagnostics.

i read somewhere to check the fuse for the fuel heater. How big of a deal does that make for getting the trucks to start at lower temperatures.

 

[Big Bore]

Thanks Charles...

To the OP'er...

Sounds to me like an injector issue, worn poppets will not allow the injectors to fire properly when cold. I have this exact issue with my truck, once warm its fine, but if the air temps are below 55*... Its plugged in, or long crank and rough running for a few miles.

I was thinking injector o-rings since it ran fine till he parked it, then when it got colder it won't start. I'm with Charles, use some ether on it. Disconnect GPR, or just let it cycle and wait for it to shut off and the plugs to cool down, and give it a good shot right in the intake. Bet it will start fine the rest of the day once it's warmed up.

 

[Big Bore]

i read somewhere to check the fuse for the fuel heater. How big of a deal does that make for getting the trucks to start at lower temperatures.

I've run without a fuel bowl heater and cold started in well below zero without one. You don't need glow plugs till it starts getting below 30*, and you don't need a fuel bowl heater at all. I don't even plug my truck in till it gets around 0*.

 

[TARM]

I think what also needs to be considered is that when he disconnects the ICP sensor it fires up but when its unplugged it does not. New ICP sensor same thing. Wires good. Other than the off chance he got two bad sensors I would think this further supports
worn injectors.

Run a buzz test and contribution test to start with if you have or can get a scanner. Then pull the VC and see what's what. My guess @ 150K is worn poppet valve or seat maybe worn armature. The oil is especially when its cold and thick in not flowing thru the poppet and thus no start. Unplug the ICP sensor higher pressure forces more thru.

Try plugging in the engine warmer for a couple hours and see if it starts up.

Dave @ Swamps put out a good tech paper on diagnostic for injector issues. Here is the link: 7.3 Injector Diagnostics by Swamps

Seems to fit your symptoms especially with it turning colder out add in.

Poppet or Armature doesn't really matter to you as both mean injector rebuilds or replacements.