rdgreene

[rdgreene]

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Hello i am new to the diesel truck. I have a 1997 f350 crew cab drw auto, truck has high mileage 390k.Was working good when i got it in august, now not so good. Started one evening idled fine, when started down the street it felt like it was running out of fuel, and missing, went about another 50 feet then quit. Cranks over ok, cranking rpm is good, white smoke from exhaust when cranking. Will start if held to the floor, runs like a bag of crap will not idle and only ran long enough to get it back to the driveway. Now it sits waiting for me to repair. When it starts, after holding the throttle to the floor, it seems to be running only on the right bank, the left side manifold stays cold. Has no power at all. Now what i need is some help in figuring out how to check the system with basic tools. No scanners in my tool box for working on diesels. The dealer is happy to charge 3hr min shop time to check the truck and i seem to think thats just a little too much with a flatdeck charge on top. Any help is appreciated. R Greene

 

[Mike]

Welcome to the site Mr Greene,

I think you might have an under valve cover harness burnt. Pull the injector/glow plug connector plugs apart on the bank you suspect is not firing and see if any of the pins look burned, hot, melted etc etc... If so, I believe that might solve your problem.

 

[Russ]

OBTW Welcome to OB enjoy your stay

 

[poolguy]

Stay with these guys, they are the best! Oh, welcome to the site.

Chuck

 

[94f450sd]

where are you located?you may have a member like myself that has a scantool living close to you that is willing to help you out.

but yes it sounds like burnt wireing.the IDM(injector driver module)will shut down the bank of cylinders with burnt harnesses to save itself if there is a short circuit.take the oil fill cap off and sniff inside.you should also be able to smell a burnt wireing smell through it if the harnesses are burnt.

 

[h2odrx]

so how do those things get burnt? when i first read it i was think no fuel?

 

[FordGuy100]

so how do those things get burnt? when i first read it i was think no fuel?

I always thought that the glow plug wiring goes through those harnesses, and gauge of wiring for the glow plugs is to small, and the wiring gets hot, and will eventually melt. I have had to change a set of these under the valve cover harnesses, and it was kind of a PITA. Those back valve cover bolts near the cab are a pain to get at.

 

[Mike]

so how do those things get burnt? when i first read it i was think no fuel?

Justin has it pretty much nailed, glow plug wiring will melt and cause a short which in turn takes out an injector wire and then the IDM shuts the fuel down to that side.

 

[colotow]

first thing is probably to get a good manual for the truck

also, be careful working on electronic injectors, they run DC voltage, not AC, and if you get fingers in there with the key on, you can get fried.

if you don't know if/when it was done, might be a good time to change the injector o rings while you have it apart, you're 75% of the way into it already. with that much mileage, if they haven't been done for a while, they're probably due. it's not hard, just read the directions carefully and be gentle popping them in and out. don't forget the step about removing the plug in the head to drain the oil galley before removeing them

good luck, plenty of older posts on here about everything you are trying to do, many with pictures.

there is a member here, sells a manual the older members consider the powerstroke bible, be a good place to start

 

[tonkadoctor]

And it's 140 vDC from the IDM firing the injectors too ..... Yes ........ I said 140 it's not a typo.

I agree it's prolly a burnt UVC harness. May want to put new glow plugs in too while you have the valve covers off so hopefully you're good for a couple years when done..... Use Motocraft BERU plugs only, best price is usually autozone for them.

 

[rdgreene]

i would like to thank everyone so far for the information, wasnt expecting this kind of response, and knowledge, havent had time to check anything yet except for the oil level.it is full. will pull the valve covers tomorrow evening to see what kind of gremlins we are dealing with. thank you. Richard

 

[Mike]

The connectors are between the valve cover and fuel cannister so you really dont have to pull the VC's to check for burnage. Just unhook the connectors and look inside the shells to see if the pin(s) are charred. There are two connectors on each VC. Each connector sevices two GP's and two injectors.


Heres a pic of the location.

 

[FordGuy100]

And it's 140 vDC from the IDM firing the injectors too ..... Yes ........ I said 140 it's not a typo.

I agree it's prolly a burnt UVC harness. May want to put new glow plugs in too while you have the valve covers off so hopefully you're good for a couple years when done..... Use Motocraft BERU plugs only, best price is usually autozone for them.

And if your going to do this, be careful about taking out the old glow plugs. Sometimes the heads will swell up, and when you take them out they will fall down into the cylinder. I learned that the hard way....A quick glow plug change on my dads old 95 went from taking out glow plugs, to wow this glow plug is a real PITA to get out, to oooooooh crap were's the tip, then I tried getting that tip out trying to use a magnet going through the hole for the injector tip, then I had to pull the motor and take off the heads. Yeah that sucked. Be warned

 

[rdgreene]

Good evening, well i started to check out the wiring in the engine compartment on the truck this evening, removed the left side valve cover to look at the connectors and wiring. pulled the harnesses off the injectors and glow plugs. inspected the wires and terminals. all in good condition nothing burnt or chafed. reinstalled the harness to injectors and glow plugs, then decided to see if the truck would start, cranked over ok then slowly picked up a cylinder or two then ran on 4 the right bank, then it started to pick up the left side, after a few minutes it was running on all 8, seemedd to be running ok. so i reinstalled all the parts that were removed. when i tried to start it again it cranked over very fast and not a kick out of it. then tried it again and it started but had a miss, reved it up a few times and it seemed to clear up a bit,so i am sitting in the truck scratching my head and thinking i have a possesed truck and think i should get rid of it, then it just quit like you shut off the fuel. tried to restart and it just cranks very fast and no sign of wanting to start. now i am really starting to scratch my head. any ideas out there thanks R Greene

 

[tonkadoctor]

Take the plug out of the HPOP resevoir and check the oil level. It should be 1" from the top. If there is no oil in it fill it and try again.

Still sounds like an electrical or electronic problem but checking the oil there will help rule out one cause of not starting.

The injectors are fired electronicly by high pressure oil.

Also, Did you do a continuity test on the UVC harnesses, If not unplug the connector at the valve cover and start checking them.