[Chupacobra]

First of awesome site and I'v used it numerous times to enducate myself about diesels. My name is Omar and i have a 2004 (2003 engine) 6.0 with 180k, stock tune and absolutly love this truck!!

Ok so heres the deal.. The truck had a slight miss at idle on cold starts. once it warmed up in 10 min she'll be just fine. One day i notice she lost all power and wasent thr same truck anymore also some times at WOT she'll smoke white.. well i keep on driving and knew its time to pull the injectors. so about a week ago i turn her on, let her idle for about 8-10 min's like every day, head out the drive way and as soon as i give her some throttle she's somkin' like a train (except its white lol). turn around, park her and take the cobra to work

When i get home from work i pull the injectors and send them to a buddy. he tested them at diffrent temps, spool valve speeds, ect ect ect and they all came back fine.. soooo im kinda lost.. no idea what it could be

i tested the FICM before hand and it tested out at 48v where is should be.. any advice will be helpful as this is my very first diesel truck i ever worked on

 

[kc2kgt]

It could be your fuel pump. You will need to have it tested as well.

 

[Chupacobra]

really? why would it smoke white if the pump was bad, i understand it will have a loss of power but dont get the smoking part..

 

[jbthomp]

really? why would it smoke white if the pump was bad, i understand it will have a loss of power but dont get the smoking part..

if the fuel pressure is lower than it should be then it will smoke white. white smoke means either not enough fuel is getting into the cylinders or it can be steam from a failing egr cooler. any coolant loss?

 

[Chupacobra]

May you explained why it tuning lean it will cause white smoke? Just trying to educate myaelf yes it has had a little coolant loss.. very tiny bit since I bought it but its never smoked..

 

[jbthomp]

the burning of diesel fuel in an engine is a complicated chemical process but here is the short version. white smoke means that there is raw fuel entering the exhaust. this can be caused by low fuel pressure because there is not enough fuel in the cylinders to produce complete combustion so some remaining fuel enters the exhaust and burns off (white smoke).low compression can also cause white smoke for the same reason. i know this sounds backwards. basically in a diesel engine black smoke means too much fuel and white means not enough. could also be coolant but if you are not using enough to notice then thats probably not your problem

 

[Chupacobra]

Alright.. thanks. I find it pretty cool that not having enough fuel will not allow the fuel to combust. Could it be the FICM shorting out.

Now that I think of it it could be the pump. I did notice the truck only buck and lose power when the truck is on load..

 

[Chupacobra]

BTW I had a lot of fun pulling the injectors and turbo, its nice getting away from working only on SBF's and modulars. But it wasn't have bad as people say.

 

[dieselmac]

Keep the EGR cooler in the back of your mind. As mentioned, coolant leaking into the exhaust will cause white smoke also. A quick check would be to pull your EGR valve and see if it's wet /sticky.

And don't let the small drop in coolant foll you. 1lb of water will make ~1600lbs of steam. This is diluted by the mixture being 50% coolant, but you get the picture. A little bit of liquid makes a bunch of steam.

 

[Chupacobra]

Keep the EGR cooler in the back of your mind. As mentioned, coolant leaking into the exhaust will cause white smoke also. A quick check would be to pull your EGR valve and see if it's wet /sticky.

And don't let the small drop in coolant foll you. 1lb of water will make ~1600lbs of steam. This is diluted by the mixture being 50% coolant, but you get the picture. A little bit of liquid makes a bunch of steam.

its dry as a bone.. I'm taking it off and welding her shut so no more cooler

 

[Evel486]

Did you check your FICM voltage cold? Often a FICM will test 48v when warm but be much lower on a cold engine.

 

[Chupacobra]

Did you check your FICM voltage cold? Often a FICM will test 48v when warm but be much lower on a cold engine.

Yes, tested fine cold.

Even when the engine is at operating temps at WOT it will make no power or blow white smoke.

 

[bismic]

Good FICM voltage does not necessarily mean that the FICM is good ......

 

[1badf250]

Good FICM voltage does not necessarily mean that the FICM is good ......

how can you tell then??

 

[bismic]

You rule out as many of the alternative possibilities as possible, and then (if you have no other suspects) you send it in to someone who can actually command it to generate the voltages under a simulated load situation.

In this case, if the injectors are fine, then it is still likely to be the FICM.

I would like to see the ICP values though - just to ensure the high pressure oil system is healthy. More than likely it is though - since it runs well when it is at temperature.

 

[Chupacobra]

FICM is getting sent out and reciving a reflashed one that operates at like 6something volts