1/4 tank just kept cranking. Added some diesel and started right up thought it was bad fuel gauge. Went about a mile and shut down just off. coasted went got more diesel but this time cranked but no start. anti theft light was flashing too.
Towed home started right up after tow... Starting now... Tomorrow was going to change the fuel filter....
I've been having a very erratic fuel gauge issue as of about 2 months ago. My fuel level would register full, when in fact I knew it only had 1/2 a tank or so. Then 5 minutes later it would be pegged on full. Under a 1/2 tank the gauge would read any where from 1/2 to empty from 1 minute to the next. So last week I decided to drop my tank and take a look. I was thinking maybe my fuel sender was broken, maybe a loose wire in the tank, or even that my float had dropped off in to the tank.
After dropping the tank, I removed the PK-Up and sending unit and everything was intact. I placed my ohm meter on the sending unit and it checked out fine. So I took the Pk-up and rolled back up underneath the truck and plugged it back in. I had my son turn the key on and off while I moved the float to different levels in order that it would register. It registered empty, 1/4/, 1/2, 3/4 and full just fine as I moved the float to those levels. If you leave the key in the run position and move the float, it won't register or better said, the in cab gauge will not adjust with the movement.
You have to turn the key off move the float and hold it there, then have your assistant turn the key on and the gauge will show the position that you've moved and held it at. I simply removed the plastic cover from the sending unit, and sprayed it down real good with electrical contact cleaner. I didn't scrub the copper contact area at all.
I was concerned that scrubbing might remove more than I wanted to, and really mess things up. I attached an Ohm meter and checked resistance thru out the float travel. All checked out good and I reinstalled it. So now my fuel gauge is working as it should be. I did make a video while I ohmed the Sender Unit thru it's travel, but for some reason it won't load.
[URL] ....
Having trouble getting large plastic nut to start threading on top of the fuel tank sending unit, after doing in tank mods.
It just doesnt seem to want to start threading on properly. Its always cocked when it grabs, and after a while opposite side pops up and it falls off. Not sure how to get it back on there
Dealer has new ring for 18 bucks, maybe mine is warped or dried up since 2000?
I just got delivered a 7.3L from down south. Batteries were dead so replaced both. Fuel was a couple notches above red line (much closer to red line than 1/4 tank) so I added about 7-8 gallons.
It will crank forever and ever...Won't start.
With starter fluid it starts but not strong enough to pump the pedal and rev it up to keep it idling.
I know s-fluid is bad but if I continuously spray with key turned forward it will run but as soon as I let go of key it shuts off.
20 degree weather and it was delivered to a parking lot so I cannot plug it in.
Was told to check filter cap, turn key, and see if it fills bowl with fuel....if not then it is fuel pump. Someone else mentioned that it could be bad crank position sensor? Does this sound like fuel pump?
So my 7.3 started sputtering and lost power, died on the side of the road. I wasn't far from home put about 8 gallon of diesel in the tank with a couple of fuel jugs and it fired right up.
Gauge was reading 1/8 of a tank and low fuel light did not come on. (low fuel light comes on when you start) Gauge came up to about 1/2 after putting fuel in.
What happened? Gauge was always reliable and low fuel light always did work. Only work done to fuel system was had new tank straps put on a couple of months ago.
From diagnosis we are pretty sure we have clogged fuel pick ups in the tank of my 99 7.3 Dually. So in I go to clean and repair or replace depending on what it looks like once we get in there.
We have most of the fuel out of the tank, pumped out just over 30 gallons.
I don't have a lift so this is being done on the ground, any easier way ? The bed bolts look pretty rusty and funky but we have been spraying them down with Kroil, the magic elixir, for a couple days to see if that will ease the removal of the fasteners.
Take the Bed Off and work with the tank in the frame or drop the tank out and work away from the truck ?
2005 F250 Superduty Crewcab 4x4 6.0L diesel/auto
Wife drove the truck before me and bunched the floor mat under the pedals. I didn't notice the mat issue when I drove the truck today. I accelerated fully after doing a left turn onto a busy highway. The motor spun up hard with the accelerator floored but because of the mats, the pedal stuck all the way down. I was approaching stopped traffic while under full acceleration and I shut the engine off and pulled over to the shoulder all while braking hard ( it was a hell of a ride!). I freed the pedal and restarted the engine.
Now, despite a bit less than 1/2 tank of fuel (I have the 38 gal tank), the dash readout was showing "Low Fuel", the gas gauge was below E and the engine was running like it was running out of fuel. I turned the engine off again and left it off for 1/2 hour before restarting it but the gauge and engine still behaved the same. As I drove to the nearest diesel station, the engine was not running "right". Of course the station I pulled into had 1 diesel pump and the pump was broken.
Because I thought I might actually be out of fuel, an understanding stranger took me to the store to buy some gas cans and then to another station to get 6 gallons of fuel. I got back to the truck and added the 6 gallons of fuel. When I turned the key on, the fuel gauge immediately came up to 1/2 tank. I then drove to that other station and added another 15 gallons of fuel to fill it. This confirmed that I had about 18 gallons of fuel in truck when the "Low fuel" warning occurred.
So, what the heck was going on with the fuel gauge? I am sure the "Low Fuel" warning is tied directly to the gauge but why was the gauge reading low? Is it possible that the "Key-off" while under full acceleration followed by hard braking had confused the ECU? I am just trying to figure out if I have a fuel sender problem or a confused computer that corrected itself. Until this incident, the fuel gauge has never been a problem but the wife messing up the mats has been an issue!
So my truck felt gutless somtimes, wouldn't start Every couple days , and Fuel gauge stops at half tank won't show full, so I went n bought a new fuel pump..... Well shoot nothing changed . I guess my next move is pull the dash off n fix gauge? It used to be a reliable truck . Now Im not comfortable to let wife drive it . I also pulled the chip to see if that had to do with not starting, also theft light blinks normal. I'm going to get some connector grease n redo all of my wires to c if there's just connection issues.
View 6 RepliesThe installation of the new 50 gal. Titan tank went well overall. Start up was smooth with no leaks but the fuel gauge is showing empty with about 45 gallons in the tank.
The sending unit was properly oriented ("clocked") so I'm guessing the electrical connector is not secure at the top of the sending unit. Not sure I can reach the connector without lowering the tank somewhat.
For the second time in 6 weeks My 2004 F250 Powerstroke has run out of fuel with the gauge showing a 1/4 tank. First time it was just under a 1/4 showing I had it towed to dealer and they told me it had sucked in the filters requiring replace and flush of system. The told me that this happening very often and I would be replacing all of the injectors at my cost. I told them that I didn't want this to happen again and to check out the fuel gauge and sending unit and replace if in doubt. Well they checked it out and found nothing wrong, told me it was accurate and should not be an issue again. Now 6 weeks later on the Friday night before a holiday, it did it again, this time with over a 1/4 tank showing. I really don't want to spend 6 grand replacing injectors and would really like to trust my truck again, getting to the point that I'm nervous at 1/2 tank.
View 9 RepliesMy fuel gauge acted pretty weird today. When I left my house today it was just above half a tank. I was sitting in traffic quite a bit and then looked down and it was below the e. I knew it wasn't empty so I kept going. Got to work. Went for lunch and it said full drove about 5 mins to eat and it went down to half a tank. What's going on? I am thinking of the fuel sender or wiring?
View 3 RepliesTwo years ago I acquired a very very nice 2001 F350 DRW crew cab. The person I purchased it from put a Remanufactured 7.3 in it and set the truck up to pull wedge trailers. He put 25K miles on it and put it on Craig's list where I found it. It just turned over 300,000 miles.
One of the changes he made was to install a 70 gallon fuel tank in the frame rails below the bed. He told me that when the gauge reads EMPTY there is still 20 gallons in the tank. I remember him telling me that this anomaly is due to using the stock Ford pickup in the larger tank.
I have never filled the tank because so far the truck is used locally. I usually put 10 to 20 gallons in and when it gets to E I do the same fueling.
Then one day I turned the key on and the needle went up and beyond the full indication.
I can get under it and maybe the tank has some name or model number on it.
The truck runs fine, but the gauge concerns me. Eventually the truck will be making round trips from Chicago to our retirement home in Santa Fe, NM. It would be nice to have a working fuel gauge!
I have spoken to the person I purchased the truck from. He installed the tank as part of a complete upgrade that included a re-manufactured 7.3. The fuel tank is a 67 gallon Titan mounted between the frame rails. He believes that the original Ford sending unit was installed. That means it has 300,000 miles on it. I had the truck on a lift yesterday and it is a very tight fit. The garage said the best way to do the repair is to remove the bed. Six bolts, disconnect the tail lights and the 7 pin trailer connector and it is off.
So, my questions now are... Should I stay with a new Ford sending unit or are there better ones to install? Are there any other updates to the fuel delivery system that should or could be done at the time?
Well besides the pyro breaking friday BEFORE live tuning,and the exhaust leak I gained on the way to Texas(not inpart of the pyro not working). Now the fuel gauge is stuck on full. It looks good,200+ miles and still on full. Could it be the gauge,or possibly just the sending unit? Maybe a fuse?
View 14 RepliesI bought an Autometer 4763 gauge that didn't come with the correct fittings to plumb the sender into one of the extra ports on the back of the bowl. I went to the Ace hardware store right across the street and they didn't have anything (not surprised) and then Napa. They couldn't find a fitting to match either. He found that the plug threads are 7/16 20 tpi and the sender is 1/8" NPT. He suggested getting a 7/16 20tpi bolt, drilling it rifle-style, and then tapping it for a 1/8" NPT. The alternative, and what I ended up doing, was to use brass fittings to tee it off one of the supply lines to the heads. I ended up going that route but wanted to know if I should have looked harder for the right fitting.
Here's a pic of what I have now. I've test fit it, and it seems to work although I will need to insulate the hard lines because they rub due to the offset.
I've had an ongoing issue with my fuel gauge reading incorrectly, and now I'm trying to fix it! Basically, it will change all over the place while I'm driving (not erratically, but definitely moves occasionally). I recently fixed my overhead display, but the "miles to empty" display doesn't seem to be very consistent. It will read 450 miles to empty, and then the next time I look at it, it will have dropped 100 miles or something (after minimal driving).
So I'm wondering where I need to begin looking to fix this problem. I've replaced the dash cluster using Circuit Board Medics, so I'm fairly confident that's not the issue. I've read that it can be the fuel pump or the fuel tank sender, but how to check if these are actually the problem or how much time it will take. Luckily, I've never run out of fuel and been stranded, but I need to fix this or it's only a matter of time!
Looking for pics of where/how they mounted their fuel pressure gauge? I'm getting ready to install one.
View 11 RepliesI recently had my fuel gauge stuck on full and at around the same time, my left rear brake light doesn't work. I do have LED brake lights in the rear so I am not sure if that changes anything. I thinking something with a ground or is it possible that these aren't even related.
View 2 RepliesI have an 02 f250 230,000, first 7.3. I've owned it since Oct and put less than 6,000 miles on it. I have another cold crank no start. New glow plugs and Glow plug relay last weekend. Worked fine that weekend. It sat all week, then crank no start fri night, it was like 70 degrees for the high that day. Plugged it in over night and it started. Did not fire right up cranked it for a couple seconds. I drove it all day, started every time. Valve covers have 5,000 miles on them. Fuel Filter heater fuse not blown. But don't know how to check it for sure. And don't know where to go with it from here. Getting frustrated with crank no starts. No troubles found.
View 2 Replies I got a 2000 7.3l with 400,000 miles on it that decided to just not start anymore after I parked it for a couple days. Its always been a hard starter due to needing glow plugs but I can deal with that. it doesn't even try to fire anymore. I replaced the CPS (my tack bounces when cranking). The ICP has oil in the plug so I just unplugged it for now till I replace it.
I pulled the IPR and cleaned it really good and bench tested it with 12 volts and could here it clicking so I put it back in. I can get under the drivers door with the key on and hear the fuel pump running. I gain oil pressure on my dash gauge when cranking. I check all my fuses. my WTS light comes on . I just don't have any fancy scan tools to make this easier. Also just cause I was feeling lucky I just went out and bought 2 new batteries for it yesterday so we are good there.
I have a 1997 F350 7.3 with standard xmission. Have not messed with it since Oct of last year. Then it would crank but no start. Now when I turn the key there is no wts or nothing the gauges move, and tach moves when cranking, but nothing else.
The cam and crank pos sensors have been changed. The high pressure sensors changed. Now when I hook it to the AE it says cannot connect to truck. Where I need to start? Have checked all fuses that I know about.
Friend's 2000 7.3 wont start, just crank and crank tried to fire but nothing in the cold leave it plugged in and it starts leave it in a shop over night and it starts with a shot of either, he is a truck driver and the truck will sometimes sits for 6 weeks at a time this time 2 weeks before I touched it. He wanted me to install a fuel pump so I did and started the following:
Cracked fuel lines to see if I had fuel psi at both heads
I tested glowplugs they all read at 0.3 on all 8
I have power to harness as the same at both sides of the relay
RPM tach jumps
Oil psi gauge rises
Using my phone I can read hpop and 2000 at cranking (how accurate that is im not 100% sure)
All fuses good