Ford 7.3L diesel troubleshooting?

Sean O'Connell · **Posted:** Mon Nov 16, 2009 10:28 pm

is the ses flashing or does it turn on solid and turn off shortly after?

Karl Shultz · **Posted:** Tue Nov 17, 2009 3:33 am

Sean O'Connell wrote:

is the ses flashing or does it turn on solid and turn off shortly after?

On solid, for a few seconds, and then right back off again.

Kevin Butler · **Posted:** Tue Nov 17, 2009 8:05 am

'01 Excursion does have mechanical odometer.

Be at Performance Chassis for Saturday's Track Staff meeting and I"ll bring my AutoEnginuity - it reads every electrical component in the truck plus codes. I'm assuming it will read a '99?

Kevin Butler · **Posted:** Tue Nov 17, 2009 1:29 pm

Yeah, looks like I got '99-'03 Powerstroke coverage.

Karl Shultz · **Posted:** Tue Nov 17, 2009 2:11 pm

Kevin Butler wrote:

'01 Excursion does have mechanical odometer.

Be at Performance Chassis for Saturday's Track Staff meeting and I"ll bring my AutoEnginuity - it reads every electrical component in the truck plus codes. I'm assuming it will read a '99?

Kevin, you're the man. Lunch is on me on Saturday.

Karl Shultz · **Posted:** Sun Nov 22, 2009 9:30 pm

Update!

With some excellent help from Kevin and his Auto Ingenuity software and cable, we isolated it to a specific code that Whitney's Actron wouldn't read. The code pointed to a p1316, "Injector Driver Module codes found." This was a start. A bunch of poking around on the various Ford diesel forums revealed to me that it is extremely common for a loose connection at the "Under Valve Cover" harness, which drives the injectors and the glow plugs, to cause this code and the conditions I had.

So, off with the intercooler plumbing, the intake, and some miscellaneous bracketry, and guess what? The harness was only partially connected, just like the internet led me to believe. Rather than simply reconnecting it, I replaced it with the one I picked up at the International dealer, which is supposed to be revised, and much less likely to come free again. The truck drives great - starts easier, and runs smoother than it did before the fix. I'm not 100% sure it's "fixed" yet, as that will only be revealed with some driving around, but so far, so good.

If the passenger side needs to be done, that's a whole lot less easy. The oil filler neck, a BUNCH of wiring, the alternator, and some other "mysterious diesel stuff" needs to come off before the valve cover can ge reached. So, fingers crossed that this was the fix. Happily, it is often just the driver's side that does it, for whatever reason.

Mark Vitacco · **Posted:** Fri Jan 22, 2010 5:09 pm

I just noticed your post. I have code reader for the 7.3
Was your year part of the cam sensor recall? If that was it you would
be stuck on the side of the road by now.

Karl Shultz · **Posted:** Fri Jan 22, 2010 5:41 pm

Mark Vitacco wrote:

I just noticed your post. I have code reader for the 7.3
Was your year part of the cam sensor recall? If that was it you would
be stuck on the side of the road by now.

Yep, mine was covered under the CPS recall, which I had done a few days after I bought the truck. So far, the truck is behaving itself perfectly well; SES light hasn't come on since I replaced that UVC harness.

One valuable lesson I learned during this exercise is to buy parts at the International dealer, rather than the Ford dealer, when possible. I don't remember the exact number, but at Ford, the harness was over $60. International had it for $40. Next time I need something mundane like a fuel filter, I'm going to check them out again.

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Ford 7.3L diesel troubleshooting?

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