Ford F250 Diesel electrical problems

betsyg16

My husband has a 97 Ford F250 diesel. Great truck
but, this week wouldn't start. A reputable diesel
repair service told him it had to go back to the
Ford dealer because no one other than Ford has the
codes to figure out the electrical problem. Could
this be a scam of Fords or does this mechanic not
know much about diesel engines and doesn't want to
admit it.

0patience

I would wonder how reputable the "diesel" mechanic is.The 97 has the same OBD2 system as the cars,it is just configured differently,but a standard OBD2 scanner will access the system.Does it sound like it wants to fire?When was the fuel filter last changed?Diesels are real finicky when it comes to the fuel filter.Does the gloplug light switch on and off constantly?If it does,it may be a gloplug problem.Also,the gloplug system pulls a lot of juice from the battery,so if the battery is low,all the cranking in the world won't fire the engine.First,make sure the battery is up and good(load test at parts store),then turn the key on and listen for the clicking,when the clicking stops,crank the engine,if it sounds like it wants to catch,repeat and if it sounds like it tries harder to catch,then put the battery on a charger and repeat.If the engine fires then,you still have a bad battery.Both batteries must be up and good to energize the gloplugs and fire the engine.Also,if you have an ohm meter,you can test each gloplug by removing the plug wire and putting one probe on a good ground and the other on the tip of the gloplug,if you have continuity,then the gloplug is good,if the needle doesn't move,the gloplug is bad.Hope this helps.

0patience

If you can wait until this weekend,I'll post or put a link to the codes for the diesels.Find another mechanic.

betsyg16

I will get more info from hubby, he ended up towing it to ford dealer and still hasn't heard back. He bought a new cellanoid and that wasn't the problem. He is pretty sure it has to do with glo plugs, but sure is worried about how much Ford is going to charge on this. THis mechanic told him
that the gov. has forced ford and others to give codes for cars but not diesel trucks. He loves this truck, but sure doesn't want to end up at dealer all the time. We are trying to find a good manual for this truck got any ideas. Ford F250 97
Diesel Powerstroke 3/4 ton. Betsyg16

bobs5

www.helm.com

This company sells shop manuals for many vehicles.

bnormann

From Topic # 1445, some additional info...
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

My husband has a 97 Ford F250 Diesel with about
60,000 miles on it. This week it wouldn't start,
just all of a sudden. We suspected an electrical
problem such as cellanoid or glow plug connection.

He took it to a reputable diesel engine repair
shop. The guy had it several hours and finally
called and said he could not detect the problem
due to fact that Ford does not release the codes
to diesel trucks and he is only guessing and
cannot pin point the problem. Also its a new 7.3
engine and the Haynes manual we bought for it has
about 10 percent of info on it and is basically
useless as far as we can tell. Can anyone comment
on this. Betsyg16

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Your host, Bruce

0patience

The Ford diesels use the same system as the gas engines,the codes are different,but any shop that has the computer program for the gas engines should be able to pull the codes for the diesels.Any OBD2 scanner should pull the codes and give you the code numbers and if it won't give the definition,post the code numbers and I will get the definitions for you.They'll be something like PO140 or p1040 or something like that.

dieselkid1

Came Back from a 5 day vacation to my 1996 F-250 diesel that would not start. I tested the glow plug relay and tested the batteries all were fine. I drained the fuel filter and added some fresh fuel still the truck would not start. I had the truck toed to the ford dealer. After the first day they did not know what was wrong. The tech center told them the camshaft positioning sensor and oil pressure regulator was bad. After replacing these items the truck would start but then cut-off. They replaced the electronic control module and now now it runs fine but sounds totally different than it did. I have 96,600 miles and this is the 2nd ECM replaced. The tech center believes the truck was subject to static electricity off a lighting bolt. All was covered under the 100000 mile engine warranty out of pocket expense 40 for towing, 100.00 deductible

montanacabin

I am looking at a 93 F-250 XLT w/ a 7.3 L diesel. I am not all that savvy on Ford diesels, anyone have any goods or bads.