I dunno whats wrong, but it sounds expensive

[dieseldude73]

Today after a long hot day at work, I had just gotten in my van, cranked the engine and was enjoing the a/c, when all of a sudden, my V8 decides to be a V5, although I didnt know it at the time, I just knew it went from smooth to barely running. I had my laptop and scantool, but had no faults, ran the KOER test (Didn't wanna do the KOEO test not knowing whether or not it would start back up) and it said system pass. Limped the 28 miles home (never realized how hilly it was around here, and really regretting the 3.55 rear). Ran a contribution test and #1, 3, & 5 are dead. I'm about to run the KOEO test, just had to get in out of the heat for a few mins. (Ran the heater just in case the half of the engine that was working was making extra heat). I'd place my bet on the IDM, any takers?

[dieseldude73]

Ok, results are in for KOEO test:
P1298 IDM Failure
P1293 Injector High Side Open-Bank 1

Does it boil down to IDM failure?

[blageurt]

It also could the the engine harness connectors and/or the UVC harnesses on that bank are toasted..Smell the oil cap...If it smells burn't they are fried...

[van_350sd]

The first thing I would do is change the Cam Position Sensor. CMP./CPS.

What one do you have in your van?

[dieseldude73]

Blageurt, thats an interesting method, I'll try it.
Van 350sd, I think its the black one, I'm not sure, but in the 5k miles I've put on the van, it hasn't had a single misfire or skip, its averaged over 20mpg, and the tachometer on my APCM is still working, so CMP is fine.
I suppose I'll dive under the doghouse this weekend and do some poking around

[dieseldude73]

Finally got to work on my own project for a little bit. Injector buzz test revealed that all 8 injector solenoids click, but the R/H bank is alot quieter, and got the codes for IDM failure and bank 1 high side open again. Checked over all the connections and everything looks tight, clean, and doesn't have a burned smell (it has a pleasant clean oily aroma). Pulled the IDM and the case itself looks like crap, it has some ooze coming out of a vent on the side and a couple of the pins have some corrosion at the bottom. I read somewhere that the IDM powers the high side banks individually, so it makes sense to me that whatever powers bank 1 inside the IDM bit the dust setting both codes. I guess at this point, my question now: is there some high performance IDM I need to look for, or is there a certain model year that's interchangable and performs better? Not that it didn't have enough oomph before, but I might as well upgrade while its out!

[djtho1]

Mine just did the exact same thing while towing the camper. Thank god I have the quigley conversion, 'cause I had to use low range to limp it to a good area. Mine was an IDM failure. It was running on four cylinders, making noise and black smoke, but no power at all. My ford dealer carries that part in stock, if that tells you how often they fail. They replaced it, and my van is alive again. However, it was painful, about 1300.

[dieseldude73]

Buhhh! Yeah, hopefully I can find a good rebuilt one for less than that and put it in myself, if not, its gonna be parked a while. I've seen some for $120 on eBay, but I don't trust that at all. I'll check a couple injection shops near where I work, and I'll see if I could get some kind of discount through my shop, 1/3 the company's fleet are International and about 1/2 are Sterling (Ford branded before Freightliner took over), so there should be some dealers willing to cut a deal.

[djtho1]

If you find a deal, please let us know. Apparently, this is piece that fails fairly frequently, so any cost savings would be a good thing.

[blageurt]

Nothing wrong with e-bay as long as you get an OEM IDM....As far as the rebuilders they are like 225 ... I bought one from DIPACO for like $ 350 US , 4 years ago and it is still OK... You just have to keep looking and you will find a decent one for 200 at most. The already "Modded" ones are like 50 bucks or so more .... Dipaco gave me a 1 year warranty ...

[RockinOnDiesel]

I've had this go on me four times in the two vans I've owned. After thinking I'd fixed the previous failure with a new module, the new one left stranded me in the middle of California and I had to load $20k in band equipment into a Uhaul on money I borrowed from my parents and then drive 1000 miles home alone. Too bad it's so common!

Sounds like yours is purely just weather though fortunately and your wiring might not be bad. Most suggest shielding it from the elements or using RTV to seal it up in the future. Smell the cap like blageurt said, and you can also test all of the wiring under the valve covers with a multimeter.

For a how to on testing the wiring, hit up this link: GB Remanufacturing - Tech Bulletin #103

[djtho1]

Rockinon has a point. I have not had this problem, but my dad has. Where the wiring harness passes through into the valve cover, it can rub and cause a short. For him, it caused an injector to intermittently not work. Could be something else to check, but I think you still likely have an IDM failure (sorry, the other repair was quite a bit cheaper, as long as you have someone who can find it)

[dieseldude73]

Well yall, I found a heckuva deal at Turbo Diesel & Electric Systems (there's a couple of their shops around the southeast) and came out to $308.11 with tax, thats half of what the local dealership would've charged my shop, which was about $100 less than what they would've charged me! It says refurbished in USA, and comes with a 1 year warranty. Best part is, my van's running on all 8 cylinders again!! Whoo-hooo!