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'2011 Died While Driving - Stuck in Mexico

17K views 16 replies 7 participants last post by  TedWhite 
#1 ·
I was an active member on this forum for several years when I owned an F450 Powerstroke back in 2000, and now I'm back trying to help a friend with a 2011 Powerstroke, stuck in Mexico, who is not computer literate. When he told me his story, I immediately thought of the Camshaft Position Sensor which used to be problematic way back in 1999 and 2000, but thought I should check on to this forum to get some expert assistance instead of just guessing that the CPS is an ongoing story after so many years.

So here's what happened:

My friend is in Mexico with a 2011 Powerstroke that he bought in Mexico, built for Mexico, so it doesn't use DEF. (I forgot to look underneath this morning to see if it has a DPF, but I'll do that on Sunday when I see the truck again. I'm guessing there's no DPF).

So the truck was driving normally a few weeks ago. He stopped for fuel and then began to drive up a hill towards home. A mile or two up the hill the truck just died, no warning of power reduction, just died. (This is why I was thinking CPS).

Since that happened, Mexican mechanics at the Ford dealership in La Paz, and also an independent diesel mechanic, have been unable to determine what is wrong. They have replaced the fuel pump in the tank and on the rail, as well as the injection pump. The injectors have been rebuilt/serviced and two replaced. The ECM was sent to a place in Texas which tested it and declared it to be error free.

The truck has been sitting for several weeks. It will crank over but not start.

When I arrived in town I put my code reader on the truck and found 12 codes:
P0193 which is fuel rail pressure sensorcircuit high input
P0118 which is Engine coolant temperature circuit high input
P0675 which is glow plug heater cyl 5
P0113 which is IAT sensor 1 circuit high input
P0090 which is Fuel pressure reg 1 circuit
P0001 which is Fuel volume regulator control circuit open
P0676 which is glow plug heater cyl 6
P007D which is charge air cooler temperature sensor circuit high bank 1
P06A6 which is sensor reference voltage "A" circuit range/performance
P02E9 which is diesel intake air flow position sensor circuit high
P2185 which is engine coolant temperature sensor 2 circuit high
P2425 which is exhaust gas recirculation cooling valve control circuit/open

I figured that some of these codes could have been thrown purely because of the parts being replaced and the ECM having been removed.

I instructed my scanner to clear the codes but 2 remain and can not be erased. They are:

P06A6 which is sensor reference voltage "A" circuit range/performance, and
P02E9 which is diesel intake air flow position sensor circuit high

So, does all of this seem familiar to someone out there? What should we test and do to find the cause of the problem?

Thanks in advance.
 
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#2 ·
#3 ·
Wow, 157 pages to plough through, but I'm going to give it a try. Thanks for the link.

Hasn't anyone else out there experienced a complete shut down in a 2011 though ?? Hard to believe that my friend is the only guy this has ever happened to - please help if you can, because it's not good being stuck in Mexico with no easy access to a dealership.
 
#4 ·
The 6.7's have not been problem free but have not been nearly as troublesome as the predecessors. Just look at this forum you're in and the low numbers compared to the 6.0 and 6.4 6 years in.

The SWAG is that supply voltage, Vref, being shorted to something is a common cause for P06a6. Something could be the IAT sensor is faulty or the harness is pinched Vref is shorted to a 12v wire. I am not familiar with the harnesses on these engines to the degree needed to tell you where to look.
 
#5 ·
OK, I searched the various codes in the document LARRGH supplied - very helpful. The information there seems to support the idea expressed by JIMMY, that the Vref is being shorted out somewhere in the harness.

I've searched on line for harness info without any luck. If someone has information on the appropriate harness I'd be most grateful - need some color coding in order to know which wires to test. I'm going to try to work it out from looking at the connection to the IAT sensor, but it would be good to have the proper info.
 
#6 ·
With all those codes, it's defianately NOT a fuel system problem, so I hope you aren't planning on paying for all those repairs that didn't solve the problem.

That said, it looks to me like something cam unplugged. The codes with High Input are circuit malfunctions. Meaning the computer can't see the sensors. I'd be looking for a wiring issue.
 
#7 ·
Bill has already paid a dealership in La Paz for the "repairs". The truck has been disabled down here for several weeks.

I wasn't able to try cranking the engine over until this morning because the batteries were flat when I went to Bill's place a couple of days ago. Anyway, before cranking, the two codes present were P06A6 and P02E9.

After cranking for 1o seconds, during which time the tacometer did NOT register any rpm, the codes present were:
P06A6
P02E9
P068A
P064C which is glow plug control module
P0335 which is Crankshaft Position Sensor

Yes, I agree that this looks like a nasty electrical problem - there's a short somewhere.

I took a look at obvious connectors like the IAT, etc and could see no obvious signs of chafing or breaks, but I spotted a sensor of some sort near the rear top of the engine that is "loose" and has me puzzled, so I took a picture. (I've been away from Ford for a while so I can't identify the sensor myself). Could someone please tell me what it is? It is attached to an insulated wrap and then dives down behind the engine and it is easy to move around, almost flopping, as if it isn't properly attached down behind the engine.

There are 3 pictures. The first shows the engine with a red arrow showing where the sensor? is located.
The second picture is closer but the sensor? is out of focus, sorry. The third picture shows the sensor? close up.

Just wondering if this item could be contributing to the problems.

Thanks for all the help so far. Bill may have to send the truck north on a flat bed.
 

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#8 ·
Just as a SWAG....many seem to complain about the connector near the Emergency Brake Assembly. Check it to make sure it is plugged together and not loose. Might not be the problem, but worth a check.
 
#9 ·
Thanks for the suggestion Larry - can you tell me where the emergency brake assembly is located on the 2011? I apologize for being dumb, but as already mentioned, I've been away from Ford for several years so I'm not yet up to speed with the location of everything. Is the assembly INSIDE the cab or somewhere else?
 
#11 ·
HA HA HA.......sorry..old guy here....years ago it was imprinted "Emergency Brake" on what is now known as the Parking brake....hard to retrain and old dog...lol
 
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#13 ·
The part in the pic that you have the arrow pointing to looks like a harness retainer that pushes onto a stud. There should be a stud near it somewhere. It won't make any difference with how or if the engine runs unless the harness is damaged from not being properly routed or retained.
 
#15 ·
Soulpatch, I'm not convinced that BajaNomads is the right forum for this type of technical discussion. This problem needs the assistance of someone with extensive Ford late model repair experience, the type of experience that does seem to exist on this forum.

Anyway, I've been busy trying to make some progress, and here's an update:

1.
A suggestion was made that an electrical plug attached to the parking brake lever in the cab can cause problems. I checked this plug but there are no signs of any problems, and Bill, the owner, never uses the parking brake.

2.
Another possibility was a jammed butterfly valve in the turbocharger cold air tube. Apparently this is a common Ford issue on higher mileage engines than this one. So I opened up the tube to check the valve. It was OK.

3.
While checking wiring on the engine I realized that I should check that there was definitely fuel at the pump, so I removed one of the lines from the pump at the top of the engine and yes, there was fuel. While doing this though I noticed two problems with nearby electrical connectors. Both had broken plastic locking tabs, suggesting that whoever had previously unplugged them had broken the locking tabs. One of the plugs was loose enough to easily slip off with engine vibration.

I also noticed what appears to be an epoxy repair of a broken fitting, and a small diameter rubber tube pushed on loosely over the "repair". I'm sure it's not supposed to be like that because it could easily come off with engine vibration.

4.
While checking a number of other electrical plugs I found several connectors in poor condition so I've come to the conclusion that there is a lot of deterioration of electrical connectors on this engine. It has a very tired look for a 2011 engine, very dirty.

5.
There is still a possibility that the Camshaft Position Sensor is causing the problem, but I really feel that there are too many codes appearing for it to be just the CPS at fault. Every time I turn on the key and crank over the engine I get a whole new batch of fault codes. Some of them are repeats, but there are always new ones. It is definitely looking like the electrical reference voltages for many sensors is screwed up.

6.
On top of all the other issues, I noticed that there was hardly any water in the cooling system of the truck, as if it had been drained. I got a bucket and used it to add 3 GALLONS of water to the radiator and it still isn't full. How did it lose all the water?? I asked Bill, the owner, and he said he didn't know how it ended up with no water in the cooling system. Said 4 mechanics have looked at it, including one at a Ford dealership on the Baja, and none of them mentioned that there was no water in the rad. One of those mechanics, after examining the engine for ten minutes, told Bill to change the engine.

7.
I'm starting to think that the mechanic who suggested replacing the engine might be the guy who knows what he is talking about. If he noticed all of the problems I've already noticed, he probably felt that it will be extremely difficult to isolate the fault, and the general deterioration points towards taking the entire engine out, along with all it's bad connectors, rather than trying to find the problem. I've already told Bill that an engine change could be in the cards.

Thanks to those who have provided suggestions.
 
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