Truck up and quit!!

[rednexx]

I was driving down the highway going away for the long weekend going 65mph towing the toyhauler through the mountains and the engine just quit runing. No check engine light, nothing. Pulled over to the side, tried starting, but nothing. All the gauges were at normal, egt at 1050, boost 20+, fuel pressure 60#'s. It did get quite hot climbing one long steep hill (almost into the red) but that was 45 mins before she died. Changed the cps and still no go. Pulled out the DP tuner, still nothing. Checked pcm fuse, tha was good. I called a tow truck to come and pick up the truck and trailer and got it off the highway. A good friend hopped into his dodge and loaded our 78 1 ton chevy 350 onto a borrowed trailer and came 200km to get me back on my way (arrived at 12:30 am). For the hell of it I tried to start the ford and guess what, it started. I didn't run very well to start, but it cleaned up after about 20 seconds and then ran like a top. It was about 85F outside when it quit and cooled right down when if finally fired up. Drove it onto the trailer and continued on my way with the chev in the morning.
Any ideas what the problem may be??

[F350_6]

When the engine quit was it more of a key off type of shut down, or did it sputter and die? Did any of your gauges or dash lights act different when the truck wouldn't restart?

You can start by checking the wiring harness that runs over the drivers valve cover for chaffing issues against the valve cover, or against a metal bracket above the valve cover. A short to ground in this harness can cause a key off type of stall with a no start, then be fine later.

[rednexx]

No, when it quit it was just like shutting the key off. All gauges seemed fine, no lights on, everything seemed normal. I believe the tach was still working. I had to keep it in gear to have brakes and steering until I was off the highway so that's probably why I still had oil pressure, tach and no warning lights.

I will try checking the harness for any wear through tonite.

Thanks for the input.

[rednexx]

Well, I checked the harness briefly and nothing seems to be obvious. I fired it up and headed home. It seems to be like it's missing but not that bad, just not quite normal. Still no check engine light or anything out of the norm. I'll have to keep poking around until I can get a code reader or scanner to see if there are any codes stored.

[IPFreely]

Originally Posted by rednexx

No, when it quit it was just like shutting the key off. All gauges seemed fine, no lights on, everything seemed normal. I believe the tach was still working. I had to keep it in gear to have brakes and steering until I was off the highway so that's probably why I still had oil pressure, tach and no warning lights.

I will try checking the harness for any wear through tonite.

Thanks for the input.

.................My truck will do this from time to time for no reason! Watch the number light in the DPTunner reader ; it will go out when the computer looses its signal . Simply , turn off the ignition and immediately turn the key back on and the number should reappear and you should be fine . , ipf

[SuperDutyFiver]

I've been chasing a similar problem with my excursion-problem is its gotten worse and worse til I have no restart at all anymore-after lots of reading Im thinking theres something we're all missing-this problem gets dismissed as a CPS problem by many when its not...

[rednexx]

I have the DP tuner totally dissconected right now. That was the second thing I did on the side of the highway. Pulled the PCM and took the tuner right out thinking it may have come loose or was making a bad connection. A couple of times it seemed to want to fire, but it would idle at 500rpm for about 5 seconds.

When it did finally fire up some 5 hours later, it ran just like a flooded gaser would, missing and running rough.

I drove it 15 miles to work this morning and it seemed to run normal except for the lack of DP tuner power(wow what a difference!)

Maybe this will shed some light on where to start looking.

[F350_6]

That almost sounds like a fuel issue where you got air in the rails and it ran bad until the air cleared out. Checking the filter wouldn't hurt, but since the fuel pump is electric, I could see this causing it to stall suddenly and be fine later. Unfortunately the only way I know to diagnose this would be to wait for the next time it stalls and check the fuel filter bowl.

Just a word of caution. The chaffed wires I mentioned above could also result in an empty fuel bowl. I discovered the fuel pump was not my problem about 10 miles after replacing it. It was those wires shorting against a metal bracket above the valve cover.

[rednexx]

Just reinstalled the DP tuner and fired it up. Put it on #5 (140 extreme) and gave it a couple of wide open throttles. She quit again! Fired it back up, it would start and then die. Put it back to 1(stock) and it still won't go. I got a couple of little start ups and it would idle at 500 for a few seconds, the die again. Now it won't start up at all. I pulled the harness connection off ontop of the valve cover and had a good look and all looks good. Taped up the wires that were touching the valve cover and reinstalled the junction block. I'll check the fuel bowl for fuel, but I have a fuel pressure gauge that says I'm getting 62#'s at the bowl.

[F350_6]

Still no check engine light? Most of the sensors that would cause this type of thing should set a light. A short to ground in the PCM circuit can cause this without setting a light (will set an 0603 soft code, but so will the tuner), but you checked the wires in the most common place. You could also check for chaffing at a wiring harness over the drivers side shock, or the ignition wiring inside the steering column.

You may be getting to the point where a scan would be helpful. To get the most of this, you would need to remove the DP and disconnect the batteries to clear any codes. You'll probably still end up with an 0603 type code from the batteries being disconnected unless you drive it long enough to clear that one.

Are you sure your check engine light bulb isn't burned out?

[rednexx]

Ok, I opened the fuel bowl just to make sure that I was getting fuel. Took the filter out and gave it a blow. All clear. left the cap off and turner the key, yep the fuel pump is running. Put it all back together and fired it up. Ran again. Reved it up a couple of times, and it quit again. Fuel pressure still at 62#, no check engine light. The light does come on when i first turn the key on so I know that it's not burnt out. It will fire up a couple more time after that, and die every time I rev it up to 2-2500 rpm, then it won't fire up again.

[klhansen]

If it was OK without the chip installed, then returned after you reinstalled the chip, I'd be suspecting the chip.

Give Diane a call or PM her with a link to this thread.

If it's a bad chip, I'm sure they'll take care of it for you.

Make double sure you're getting good contact on the PCM with the chip.

[rednexx]

Got the codes scanned today.

P0603 - internal control module kam err
P0478 - exhaust pressure control value high
P0470 - exhaust pressure sensor ciucuit fault
P1211 - icp pressure above/below normal.

I know the EBV sensor is plugged so that would be the P0470 and the P0478 may be caused by my EBV brake.

The mechanic said that the ipr may have a torn or split o-ring. I took out the regulator to investigate and the o-rings look good. Is there any way to test the ipr???

Once the codes were cleared, we hooked the DP tuner back up and kept spiking the throttle, but couldn't get it to thorw any codes or quit so I don't think it has anything to do with the chip.

[rednexx]

Any more ideas on this intermittent gremlin??

[PStroked444]

How about the plug behind the led selector. The F5 switch. If that is just a little loose it could do those things. The connection could be intermittent...a vibration or bump could make it do weird things. JMO