So frustrating!

[tanya]

Well the nasty below 0 temps have me about to pull my hair out. Truck starts and runs fine in the garage. But if you take her out for a drive she will not run and then will not start. I had it towed in to the shop the end of the week and they said it was just gelled fuel and it ran fine in their garage but would not run outside.

Now it has Red Alert and #1 fuel for the most part in the tank I got more because they said that is what I should do. I started it up today ran it for 15 minutes in the garage it was running fine not rough and just idling fine so I headed to town which is about 4 miles and it died and would not start and run long enough to get it home.

I can understand gelled fuel making it hard or not start and making it run rough but after it getting the engine warm having it die seems odd and of course there is now enough additive in it that it should not gel.

I had to have it towed to the shop for the second time in a week.

Any ideas guys?

Oh have the oil system shut off due to having trouble on the diesel side and not wanting it to die with oil in it.

Tanya

[tanya]

I forgot the guys at the shop tested the GPS and they are fine as is the heater in the fuel filter.

Tanya

[Clay]

did they test the fuel pump pressure?
My first thought when i read this was the heater in the fuel bowl but you said it was good?
Was the truck up to operating temp when it died?
Might need to think outside the box here...may not be related to the cold at all. Something like the cam position sensor...injector harness...did they scan it for codes?

[Jack_Toepfer]

Did they say where the fuel was gelling? That is pretty hard to diagnose... unless the filter bowl is empty, then you know it isn't getting to the filter. Then you pull the line from the pump to the housing... if that is dry you know it is behind or at the pump itself. And so on.

I don't park inside and I'm not running a single additive, and my truck is starting just fine in Buffalo.

I understand your frustration. I was with a friend of mine a couple years ago, and she had the same thing happening on her truck. We were running fine... then rough at a light, and then stalled in the middle of one of the busiest intersections in the area. The dealership wasn't far away, but they said the same thing, she was gelling.

I wouldn't think your fuel would go from fine to dead in 4 miles though. Sounds like you're seeing adequate flow for idle and not for load and then it isn't priming enough for a start. Is your fuel filter clean?

[triplemoutdoors]

Well the nasty below 0 temps have me about to pull my hair out.
Tanya

BELOW ZERO? Thats why I live in Texas!

[tanya]

Okay let me see if I can answer the questions may take me a couple of posts. It has been below 10 degrees for the past two weeks many days our high has been well below 0.

It has a brand new filter first thing we did even though it was very new to start with.

They have not said exactly where they think it was gelling just that it was. And of course they pull it into their nice warm garage to work on it. So it runs fine in there.

Will have to ask about the fuel pump pressure.

Yes they said the filter bowl heater was working.

Yes when it died this last time it was already up to temp.

I understood that they did a scan but will double check.

Today they totally dumped my tank to put in all #1 fuel and they ran it on idle for a while called me to come get it I asked did they drive it oh yes two miles down and back on the highway. I said keep it and drive it cold tomorrow after it has been cold.

Oh and they still can not figure out why there is no warm fuel returning to the tank.

They are making me feel so confident that I am going to be safe and make it where I need to be. If there were any place else less than an hours drive I would be taking it else where.

Clay will ask some more questions tomorrow. I of course do not always know the questions to ask. Thanks to all of you.

Tanya

[tanya]

Okay I have been reading on the Powerstroke Forum which might be more harmful and good for me.

Could an IPR valve be causing this and would it make it so there is not a lot of fuel returning to the tank?

Tanya

[SwellMel]

Okay I have been reading on the Powerstroke Forum which might be more harmful and good for me.

Could an IPR valve be causing this and would it make it so there is not a lot of fuel returning to the tank?

Tanya

The IPR regulates the high pressure oil pressure, so no it has nothing to do with the fuel return. I think it might help to crack (loosen) the fuel return line on the drivers side of the fuel bowl, see if you are getting any return flow to the tank, then try blowing air through the return line to the tank, you'll be able to hear it at the fuel fill cap.

keep us updated....

[Clay]

Off the cuff of course, I think you may have a week fuel pump and the cold is bringing the problem to the surface. How many miles on this pump?
Really need to know if they found any codes when they scanned it and need to know fuel pressure.
A week pump thats not delivering fuel properly would explain lack of returned fuel. But im not sure it woul dmake it die outright, i would expect it to stumble quite a bit under any acceleration and then smooth back out once you let off the throttle.
Did it not start up again after it died?

No fuel leaks anywhere? A prepump leak would cause it to suck air and we all know what air does in a diesel fuel system.

get back on PS.org and send a PM to a guy named Scuffy thats not his complete screen name - has some numbers in there as well but if you type scuffy in the PM TO: box, it will find it.
Tell him i refered you to him and explain what your issue is. Hes one of the sharpest ford tech i know. I tryed to get him to register on here but i think hes just too busy to mess with another forum.

[greasyX]

Tanya, see my post about my diesel pump dying,perhaps could shed some light on your situation.I thought it was a bad cps except it staggered before dying..............greasy

[tanya]

Hi all. I got my truck back this afternoon after 5 so I did not get a print out of all that they did but they still say it was simply gelled fuel and that when they drained the tank and put #1 fuel in the tank. It ran fine coming home and I took it out on the highway for a few miles to see if it seemed to stay fine.

I am still not entirely convinced that was all it is but for right now she is running fine. Will let you know if it does it again. Thanks to everyone for the ideas and help with questions to ask. I feel like I know nothing when it comes to problems with this truck.

Merry Christmas

[Fordnut74]

Tanya- Glad to hear that you are up and running again. However I will have to back up Clay on this and think you may have a fuel pump issue as well. Your professional sounding mechanics should have checked the fuel pressure straight away. There is even a conveniant fuel pressure test port on the V3 that will allow even the most basic mechanic to test your operating diesel pressure. Even with the #1 fuel, you may still be low on fuel pressure and perilously close to being back in the same spot. Stock fuel pressure spec for these trucks is 54psi. More is fine, less is not. Good Luck!

[tanya]

Thanks Jason they tell me they checked the fuel pressure as well as things like the heater in the fuel pump ran a scan for electrical problems and checked the glow plugs. I am still not convinced that it was just gelled fuel but it has run fine the couple of times I have used it but it has been warm the last few days almost up to freezing. I went out to pay for it today and get the paper work but they still had not done the billing. (Very much a small town around here.)

Tanya

[Clay]

it but it has been warm the last few days almost up to freezing.

You didn't really just use those two words in the same sentence?

Did they tell you what fuel pressure was?

[tanya]

Yes Clay I did use those two words in the same sentence and believe me I meant it when it is 17 and the wind is not blowing it feels like a heat wave. The day I sat in my truck waiting for the tow truck it was -4 at one in the afternoon and the wind was blowing like crazy.

No they did not they are supposed to send me a print out when they send my my bill.

Tanya