Hello all,
I really enjoy this forum and the wealth of knowlege and experience shared here. I'm having an issue with my truck that you all may have some ideas on.
I have an '04 F-350 SRW LB/SC with a build date of 05/04 with 91K miles on it. Aside from some small issues over the past 5 years, the truck has been very reliable for me.
Until.... This winter....
Episode #1: On a January morning that was about 28 degrees, I get into the truck to go to work and about 3 miles from home in stop and go traffic and the engine abruptly shuts down. It did not cough, wheeze or stutter it just shut off like somebody turned the key off. I had to restart it 3 times before the engine kept running and I could return home. I immediately drove it the 10 miles to the dealer where they looked at it later in the afternoon, kept it overnight then told me the next day it's running perfectly -- no codes and figured it was "frozen fuel" since it ran perfectly after being in their warm garage for the night. Note about 3 weeks prior to this incident I had taken it to them for an oil change and at the same time the water-in-fuel light was on and they drianed it for me.
Episode #2: In mid February (average cold day about 35 degrees) I was driving home on the highway doing about 70MPG when all of a sudden the engine was about to die. The Water-in-fuel light came on along with the glow plug indicator. I quickly pressed the gas pedal to prevent it from stalling while driving, which did seem to work. It did this two times within about 15 seconds of each other. Each time I was able to save the engine by quickly pressing the accelerator down to give it more fuel. It didn't stall while driving but it sure came close.
Episode #3: One week ago (night time low was about 19 but daytime was 45), I got in the truck to leave in the morning. Started up the engine and noticed a very loud knocking sound. I'm not a mechanic by any means but it seems like the sort of sound when a cylinder isn't firing (I had not plugged the block heater in this night). However, the engine was running and I let it warm up a few minutes before departing. I backed down the driveway and as soon as I put it in drive and drove about 5 feet forward the engine completely stalled (again like somebody just turned the key off). It took four long restarts (with a clicking sound on some of the restarts) before the engine would stay on long enough for me to drive back into my driveway. This same day (later in the day and after I plugged the block heater in for a few hours -- just in case), I drove about 20 miles to a friends house and did not have any issues driving there. However, when I left later that evening to drive home (the engine wasy completely cold again by this time), I started the engine and it abruptly died about 15 seconds after ignition. It restarted easy but then died a 2nd time about 1 minute later. On the 3rd attempt I was able to put it in gear and drive home 20 miles without further incident. The next day I made an appointment with the dealer to look it over again and I needed my 90K maintenence done at the same time. They kept the truck for two days and were unable to find ANYTHING wrong with the truck. Aside from the maintenance, they did clean the EGR valve, replaced a CAC tube and tested the injectors.
Episode #4: Two days after my 90K maintenance I was driving to work, which is a 26 mile commute on the highway. The last stretch of road I was driving about 40MPH and the engine started to stall just like Episode #2. I was able to save it from totally stalling and made it to my workplace parking lot. At the end of the day (engine had time to go completely cold again) I started the engine and within 10 seconds it died. After a restart and attempting to put it in drive to leave it stalled again. I restarted the engine a 3rd time and let it idle for a few minutes and was able to drive the 26 miles back home without incident. I called the dealer earlier in the morning and the service advisor immediately said I needed a new FICM harness. I researched this and noticed this is a recall to address wire chaffing.. I wonder why didn't they do this the other day????
This last Friday, I drove the truck without incident to the dealer where they did wiring tests and determined I did not need a new FICM harness because their tests for that issue came up negative. Nor can they pull any codes. They also said I did not qualify for the harness recall because my build date is later than those trucks affected. I did agree to let their diesel mechanic drive the truck over the weekend and he'd have his diagnostic computer if it acts up. Of course, the truck ran perfectly over the weekend. I picked up the truck this evening and it drove without incident.
So, I'm at a loss here. I've read alot of messages in the forum that seem to point towards a FICM issue, wire chaffing or HPOP problem. However, my dealer cannot seem to correlate these issues with what I'm experiencing nor can they reproduce them.
Thank you for reading this long post and I would appreciate any insight from the members of this forum.
I really enjoy this forum and the wealth of knowlege and experience shared here. I'm having an issue with my truck that you all may have some ideas on.
I have an '04 F-350 SRW LB/SC with a build date of 05/04 with 91K miles on it. Aside from some small issues over the past 5 years, the truck has been very reliable for me.
Until.... This winter....
Episode #1: On a January morning that was about 28 degrees, I get into the truck to go to work and about 3 miles from home in stop and go traffic and the engine abruptly shuts down. It did not cough, wheeze or stutter it just shut off like somebody turned the key off. I had to restart it 3 times before the engine kept running and I could return home. I immediately drove it the 10 miles to the dealer where they looked at it later in the afternoon, kept it overnight then told me the next day it's running perfectly -- no codes and figured it was "frozen fuel" since it ran perfectly after being in their warm garage for the night. Note about 3 weeks prior to this incident I had taken it to them for an oil change and at the same time the water-in-fuel light was on and they drianed it for me.
Episode #2: In mid February (average cold day about 35 degrees) I was driving home on the highway doing about 70MPG when all of a sudden the engine was about to die. The Water-in-fuel light came on along with the glow plug indicator. I quickly pressed the gas pedal to prevent it from stalling while driving, which did seem to work. It did this two times within about 15 seconds of each other. Each time I was able to save the engine by quickly pressing the accelerator down to give it more fuel. It didn't stall while driving but it sure came close.
Episode #3: One week ago (night time low was about 19 but daytime was 45), I got in the truck to leave in the morning. Started up the engine and noticed a very loud knocking sound. I'm not a mechanic by any means but it seems like the sort of sound when a cylinder isn't firing (I had not plugged the block heater in this night). However, the engine was running and I let it warm up a few minutes before departing. I backed down the driveway and as soon as I put it in drive and drove about 5 feet forward the engine completely stalled (again like somebody just turned the key off). It took four long restarts (with a clicking sound on some of the restarts) before the engine would stay on long enough for me to drive back into my driveway. This same day (later in the day and after I plugged the block heater in for a few hours -- just in case), I drove about 20 miles to a friends house and did not have any issues driving there. However, when I left later that evening to drive home (the engine wasy completely cold again by this time), I started the engine and it abruptly died about 15 seconds after ignition. It restarted easy but then died a 2nd time about 1 minute later. On the 3rd attempt I was able to put it in gear and drive home 20 miles without further incident. The next day I made an appointment with the dealer to look it over again and I needed my 90K maintenence done at the same time. They kept the truck for two days and were unable to find ANYTHING wrong with the truck. Aside from the maintenance, they did clean the EGR valve, replaced a CAC tube and tested the injectors.
Episode #4: Two days after my 90K maintenance I was driving to work, which is a 26 mile commute on the highway. The last stretch of road I was driving about 40MPH and the engine started to stall just like Episode #2. I was able to save it from totally stalling and made it to my workplace parking lot. At the end of the day (engine had time to go completely cold again) I started the engine and within 10 seconds it died. After a restart and attempting to put it in drive to leave it stalled again. I restarted the engine a 3rd time and let it idle for a few minutes and was able to drive the 26 miles back home without incident. I called the dealer earlier in the morning and the service advisor immediately said I needed a new FICM harness. I researched this and noticed this is a recall to address wire chaffing.. I wonder why didn't they do this the other day????
This last Friday, I drove the truck without incident to the dealer where they did wiring tests and determined I did not need a new FICM harness because their tests for that issue came up negative. Nor can they pull any codes. They also said I did not qualify for the harness recall because my build date is later than those trucks affected. I did agree to let their diesel mechanic drive the truck over the weekend and he'd have his diagnostic computer if it acts up. Of course, the truck ran perfectly over the weekend. I picked up the truck this evening and it drove without incident.
So, I'm at a loss here. I've read alot of messages in the forum that seem to point towards a FICM issue, wire chaffing or HPOP problem. However, my dealer cannot seem to correlate these issues with what I'm experiencing nor can they reproduce them.
Thank you for reading this long post and I would appreciate any insight from the members of this forum.
