this post was submitted on 17 Sep 2024
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Automotive Repair
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In the shop, under the hood, and between the valves. A place for showcasing busted knuckles, discussing the regrettable career choice, and finding out where the tick noise is coming from.
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i came to suggest the fuel pump, and then after I started reading your comment I was literally going to suggest leaving it turned on so the pump could prime before trying to turn over the engine, haha, so you're on the right track.
I wouldn't try listening for the pump, I'd be surprised if you could hear the fuel pump anyway, they're super quiet. it's a slow siphoning of a small amount of fuel, and I'm not sure what the diagnostics sound for that would be.
is there any difference in the ignition sound if you keep the key turned on but not igniting for 10-20 seconds before trying to turn it over?
leaving it in the on position before turning it all the way over should give the fuel pump time to get fuel to the engine if it's failing and isn't delivering the fuel at the rate it should.
also, I always have one of those $30 code checkers from Walmart in my car.
they can point you in the right direction, and I've saved a lot of time using one of those.
I have a OBD2 scanner, but nothing new has popped up actually. I just got this truck a couple of months ago and I've been slowly clearing error codes. There's still only one left and it's an evap sensor that needs to be replaced, but it's kinda hard to get to. So my plan was to do it when I replace crossmembers in the bed.
Edit: But thanks for confirming. I just wanted to make sure I wasn't missing anything that I should also be checking
got it.
yea, the fuel pump would definitely be my first check in those circumstances.
best of luck
Fuel pump is changed. Truck is not starting, I've read that possibly it's the fuel injectors.
Thoughts?
have you already checked the spark plugs?
I'd make sure the whole ignition process is working first before messing with the fuel injectors or more complicated processes.
The starter motor is a couple bolts out, transfer wires to the new starter, put the bolts back in and the battery can even be charged properly and there can be something wrong inside the battery itself so that it won't supply the proper amount of voltage to the starter.
There's no corrosion or visible damage on the battery terminals right?
you could get a new battery from Walmart, make sure that the new battery doesn't start the motor either, and return the battery as the wrong model If it doesn't work.
difficulty starting could be the fuel injectors, but they don't usually all fail from one day to the next, that's usually more of a build up over time.
If I understand your circumstances, one day the truck just stopped starting normally.
is that correct?
that sounds more like a single point to failure to me.
does it sound normal trying to turn over or is it stumbling over itself?
like when you turn the key, is it a steady regular starting or are there irregular starting noises?
If you can accurately diagnose that sound, that'll be a huge hint as to where you should be looking.
if it wasn't the fuel pump, which is what I always look at first because they fail so regularly in every vehicle, and you're getting regular starting noises, but it's not catching for an unknown reason, I'd double check the battery first, make sure none of the spark plugs are burnt out or damaged second, and then look at the starter motor.
have you already checked the spark plugs?
No! But I did check some of the fuel injectors with my volt meter and all the ones I checked seemed fine so I kinda nixed the injector theory and moved into spark plugs, just got back from the store with a new set.
There's no corrosion or visible damage on the battery terminals right?
Battery is brand spanking new as of two months ago. And also running as expected with the volt meter.
difficulty starting could be the fuel injectors, but they don't usually all fail from one day to the next, that's usually more of a build up over time.
I definitely agree on that one, I just was lost after the fuel pump fiasco
If I understand your circumstances, one day the truck just stopped starting normally.
is that correct?
Very much so
does it sound normal trying to turn over or is it stumbling over itself?
It sounds perfect aside from the not actually starting thing.
got it.
ignition coils spring to mind in that case also, and you have to remove them to get to the spark plugs anyway on the f150
a bad ignition coil could cause the non-sparking issue.
spark plugs, ignition coils, starter solenoid, then starter motor is the order I'd go.
If you're going to replace all the plugs anyway and you have the cash, replacing each ignition coil as you go rather than popping the old ones back in isn't going to hurt, especially if the truck's near 100k miles.
spark plugs are more likely to fail and fail sooner, so if you want to try switching them out first, also no harm there.
it'll end up being whichever is at the bottom of your checklist, of course, but the sudden failure has me leaning toward a single electrical point of failure rather than fuel delivery.
I think at this time I'll swap out the sparks. Just as I've already done so much. Coils will be on my list though.
I had tried everything I could think of and ended up taking it to a shop.
They ended up fixing it in a day.
The issue? The grounding wire was corroded.
whoa!
congratulations, I'm glad it's working again.
thanks for letting me know, now I'm watching F-150 videos about corroded grounding wires.
not an uncommon problem, apparently.