It sounds to me like you have water in your fuel. If it were me I'd try some of the Heat I mentioned earlier. Heat and Sea Foam are not the same thing. The Heat will displace the water (get rid of it). You may have enough water in your gas that you need two bottoles of the stuff. It want hurt it to try it and may be all you need. Sometimes it is possible to pump a lot of water into your vehicle at these gas stations. It happens all the time.

 

i have now put 2 bottles of the iso heet which the store said is better then just the normal heet. i also added gas at a different station and i'm still haveing the same problem every day.yester day it was 20 out and i laid a hair dryer on the driver side fuel rail and covered the entire engine with a blanket. last night i parked it with the blanket on it and of course no start this morning it's 32 out now and the hair dryer has been in the same spot as yesterday for 4 hours and still no start.i love my truck but this is really getting on my nerves as i'm on a time limit as far as hunting goes and still need 2 more deer to get thru the year. i've checked spark at the coil and i have fuel at the shrader valve on the fuel rail(that isn't frozen) i even unhooked the battery to reset the computer hoping that would do somthing but that didn't help either.tomorrow is soposed to be even warmer so we'll see what happens then. i'm just getting to the point of looking for a different truck if i can't rely on this one any more.do you think the cold could be affecting any of the sensors?

thanks
jason

 

You said your check engine light was on. Have you checked to see what codes are being thrown? If not, that would be my next move. Some of the parts houses will check them for free. Get your fuel pressure checked as well. Insufficient fuel pressure could cause your problem. When was the last time you replaced your fuel filter? It does sound as though it may be something cold related and if that's the case, its most likely related to the electrical system. Something could be shorting out or not making good contact in that cold weather. I know its frustrating as all get out, but just keep on checking things out, take your time and try to eliminate as many things as possible. You may have to do a little parts swapping before you find out what it is, but eventually you'll nail it. On the other hand, sometimes you just have to admit that some things are beyond your capabilities and you should probably just cough up the money and have a good, reputable mechanic check it out. I've had to do that more times than I care to admit.

 

no i haven't been able to read the codes yet cycling the key won't work on my truck and the closest place to get it scaned is over 30 miles away. today it is 45 and it still won't start so i'm really starting to think it's somthing more then just bad gas.i'm waiting for a guy to come look at my snowmobile so if it buys it i mihgt just bite the bullet and buy a code scanner so i can check it sooner

thanks
jason

 

well since it still won't start i went out and bought a code reader. i am pulling the following codes. i have a nice blue spark and the plugs and wires are new. any more ideas of what can cause it not to start. the most i'm getting today is when i let off the key it fires once or twice every now and then

thanks
jason

p0300 random cylinder misfire detected
p0301 cylinder 1 misfire detected
p0303 cylinder 3 misfire detected
p0304 cylinder 4 misfire detected
p0305 cylinder 5 misfire detected
p0306 cylinder 6 misfire detected
p0307 cylinder 7 misfire detected
p0783 3-4 shift malfunction

 

Have you tried replacing the coil? Have you atleast removed the distributor cap to look at it and the rotor? When was the last time they were replaced? Have you checked the fuel pressure with a gauge?

 

the cap roter plugs and wires were replaced less then 2 months ago so no i haven't pulled the cap again (i guess that will be the next thing i do) i did pull the plugs and all still look to be brand new and all have spark. i don't have a fuel pressure gauge but when i push on the shrader valve it sparys out 3-4 feet

jason

 

well it's fixed i bought a new coil yesterday and it fired right up. we hit atleat -7 last night and when i went out this morning again it fired right up. still a little starnge to me that i had spark i guess just not enough for it to run. thanks for all the help guys i was really starting to go crazy. but on the good side i got a new tool out of the deal ie the code scanner.

thanks
jason

 

That's good news. Glad you got er fixed. Now what you need to do is clear those codes and then put some miles on the truck and recheck again to see if you are getting any more.

 

i don't drive very often in the winter time since i'm laid off till march and we mainly use our van. but i have driven about 40 miles so far and no check engine light so far and it has started right up every time i've tried it even when it was negative 7 out so needless to say i am one happy camper. thanks again for the advice somtimes multiple heads are better then one. i was getting very close to transfer the plates back onto my ramcharger

jason