I have an 04 that I'm having a continuous stating problem with. I noticed a couple of month ago that it was cranking longer before starting. Then when the weather turned cold a couple of weeks before Thanksgiving it completely failed to start. Called a mechanic that works for me ( I'm a Public Works Director) and he walked me through changing the fuel filter and I was able to start it. It ran good for the next couple of days then wouldn't start again.

I had it towed to the local dealer and they said that #5 cylinder injector was dead and replaced it. It worked fine again until last Sunday when it wouldn't start. I checked my batteries and the one on the driver side had a dead cell so I replaced that and it fired right up and again ran fine for the last week.

My testing equipment also said I had a bad alternator but my batteries are staying charged so I haven't done anything there, yet?

This morning it again wont start but turns over strong.

Any clues or tips to help would be greatly appreciated.

Sorry for the long post and being a newbie..

 

bridges,

at first read, I'm assuming you have a CTD. Gas engines don't have external fuel filters, and they have 1 battery. My first guess is that you may have lost the lift pump in the tank-----check to see if you have fuel pressure to the high pressure pump. Also, find out if any DTC's have been set, this will give a good indication of where to start.

Weedahoe has a FSM for free download to help you work your way through troubleshooting.

 

Sorry I didn't put that in but yes it is a CTD. Had the hi-lift pump replaced about March 2012. I assume the shop ran FP checks when they diagnosed bad injector.

I don't have any specialized tools here at the house.

My nephew who is a Powerstroke Tech had me listen to see if I could hear the fuel pump when I turned the key on but I couldn't hear anything except the clicking of the heatergrid.

Don't know what the DTS is.

 

Sorry about that DTS meant to type in DTC

 

DTC's are the error codes reported by the engine management computer. These can be accessed -----if there are any-----by turning the ignition to on three times without starting the engine, or turning it over, leaving the ignition in the "on" condition on the 3rd cycle. The DTC codes are illuminated on the odometer. Then you go to the Service manual or I believe the DIY section of this forum and look them up.

Your 04 also has a "fuse box" under the hood with a bunch of relays in it. One of these relays energizes your fuel pump, and it may be bad. Find it, switch it out with any of the other ones and see if that gets the pump working---assuming it isn't since your didn't here it run.

 

I'm just going to ask (since you said you work for public works), and it may sound ridiculous, but do you sometimes fill your tank up with the "industrial" grade diesel fuel that you'd normally put in the front loaders and other heavy equipment at work...?

If you do, then you might have some issues with clogged fuel lines, fuel filter, and/or injectors. The industrial grade fuel generally isn't filtered or brought to anywhere near as high a standard as normal diesel you'd get at a local gas station.

There is also the possibility of some moisture and/or water in your fuel tank, so you might need to put some "diesel-dry" in there to get the water out.

Have you checked the heater... maybe it's not getting enough power to heat the air up prior to starting... especially since this was all brought on by colder weather.

The cold might be playing a factor in more ways than one as well... Where are you from? Does it get below 20 degrees on average... Below Zero maybe? Diesels generally have issues with cold weather starting, and when the temperature gets to a certain point it gets even harder, or sometimes impossible to start the truck... A block heater can help with this.

 

I only use highway grade fuel. I did manage to pull the DTC's and it came back that #5 &6 showed a malfunction on injector sensors, a battery thermal protection sensor ( probably from cranking it too long) an the last was either a bad alternator or loose connection.

I had it towed to the shop and will see what they say today.

 

What were the actual DTCs? (just curious)

 

Had the same kind of problem with mine. If you can't hear the lift pump running I would start there. It is a plastic pump inside a plastic tank. Behind the left front wheel is an electrical bulkhead connector. That's where the lift pump gets power and ground. On mine it was getting ground intermittently. Sometimes it would work sometimes not. As soon as I took that connector apart and cleaned it up it's been fine ever since.