CPS failure in F350

Submitted: Monday, Sep 24, 2007 at 23:39
ThreadID: 124070 Views:4199 Replies:7 FollowUps:2
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G'day all. I know this one has been covered well and truly in the past, and Ihave all the posts on the subject in my files, BUT, I need to find out of our problem is s symptom of a due-to-fail CPS or not.
The vehicle was travelling for about 2.5 hours in hot and dusty conditions (not towing) when the motor suddenly lost power, but did not cut out completely. It seemed to "feather" for a bit, and the tacho was indicating revs of around 1000. The engine then suddenly regained normal revs and we carried on as if nothing had happened. Scarey, because we were about 30 ks from Marble Bar and it was HOT! Hasn't done the same thing again, but this morning it revved up twice by itself when it was started with no throttle at all, just the key being turned to start it.
Do any of you who have F trucks think this could be a failing CPS? I know from reading other posts on the subject that they all seem to just cut the engine out completely when they fail, so could our's be a different symptom? We bought 2 spare CPS units a while ago and they live in the glovebox along with the 6 point socket head, but we have not investigated where the unit is under the vehicle yet.......time to do it I reckon! By the way, the vehicle is a 2000 model and has done 126000ks . What do you reckon??? Some feedback on this will be gratefully appreciated.
Cheers from Jan O
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Reply By: Noosa Fox - Tuesday, Sep 25, 2007 at 02:07

Tuesday, Sep 25, 2007 at 02:07
I have 2 faults with out 7.3 Lt F250. The first time it sounded really bad when half the motor shut down due to a bad wiring connection to one bank of injectors. The second time and this was only a month ago, it was just missing a bit and lacking power. This was intermittent and seemed to come on and off with bumps. On both occasions the orange ENGINE symbol lite up in the dash.

The second time turned out to be a fault in the left rocker cover gasket that has power transferred to the injectors through electrode in the injectors.

The local Ford dealer's computer diagnostic machine couldn't pick up the fault code and it had to be put on a $20,000 Ford machine to find it.

If you noticed the engine symbol light up then it may have been something to do with the injector wiring. Not a good place to have engine problems out in your area.

Brian
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AnswerID: 572969

Reply By: F Troop - Tuesday, Sep 25, 2007 at 03:30

Tuesday, Sep 25, 2007 at 03:30
Hi Jan n Easy
I had similar problems when we left Boluia, if it was a petrol you would think it had just missed but big time, then as time goes on bigger misses and finaly engine shut down. If you have a CPS I would put it in now, if you are not sure how and there is a ford dealer near by cost you about $45.00 for them to do it for you, you can ask them to show Easy where it is etc.
But put it in now.
It's the best insurance and cheap.
See ya
Graham
AnswerID: 572970

Reply By: Rockgoc - Tuesday, Sep 25, 2007 at 07:40

Tuesday, Sep 25, 2007 at 07:40
Thanks for the advice fellas. Yes Brian, the yellow engine light did come on for a second. I hope it's not what you said it might be! The mechanics around here are dismal. We will change the CPS Graham...I downloaded the picture of where it is located and will start harrassing Easy to get and do it soon. He is reluctant only because we don't have a clue where it actually is located. Pictures are all well and good but if you really don't know where to start looking this canbe a bit off putting.
Cheers and thanks again, Jan O
AnswerID: 572971

Follow Up By: Noosa Fox - Tuesday, Sep 25, 2007 at 16:59

Tuesday, Sep 25, 2007 at 16:59
Jan,
The engine warning light amongst other things could indicate that it could be a fuel problem. It could pay to drain the fuel filter bowl, there is a lever next to the fuel filter that when moved will allow the fuel to drain out under the engine.
The fuel filter is on the top of the engine and it has a round black coloured plastic top about 120cm in diameter. Some have a square hole in the centre for putting a socket extension in to unscrew.

If I was use I would also change the fuel filter as well. The whole lot just unscrews and a new one screws in. The engine is self priming so they are very easy to change.

Brian
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FollowupID: 848583

Reply By: Luvntravln - Tuesday, Sep 25, 2007 at 18:14

Tuesday, Sep 25, 2007 at 18:14
The engine icon can simply mean insufficient fuel and nothing more!

That is what happened to us when the fuel pipe from the pickup to the pump was kinked and we asked Big Red for a little more power and instead she died with the light on!

Luvntravln
AnswerID: 572972

Reply By: Rockgoc - Wednesday, Sep 26, 2007 at 07:38

Wednesday, Sep 26, 2007 at 07:38
Yeah the fuel thing kind of cancels out though because we had just put in a brand new fuel filter a few days before. Easy is thinking about a loose wire on a sensor maybe as the road was very rough. We are still going to replace the CPS and "suck it and see".
Will let you know how it all pans put, and thanks again for all input.
Cheers Jan O
AnswerID: 572973

Reply By: eff trucker - Thursday, Oct 11, 2007 at 19:37

Thursday, Oct 11, 2007 at 19:37
G'day.
I had a similar problem with my Effy last year when travelling in the NT @ WA. The engine would "miss" like it have a fuel blockage and then increasingly it began to cut out completely but could restart a couple of minutes later. What it turned out to be was the Cam Alignment Sensor. It is about the size of a "C" size battery and is situated under the water pump. Part costs $500-$600 and is a fairly quick fix. F Trucks WA knew about the problem and I think they may have parts that are cheaper than from Ford. I got some helpful info after doing some searching on the Powerstroke Forum site.

Not sure if this is what is happening with your vehicle, but it might be worth a look. Since replacement I have had no problems at all.

Cheers
Pete
AnswerID: 572974

Follow Up By: Rockgoc - Friday, Oct 12, 2007 at 09:22

Friday, Oct 12, 2007 at 09:22
Pete we changed out the Cam Position Sensor which is what I reckon youy're talking about here. We got our's from the Powerstroke shop in the USA very cheap...from memory we got the two of them (one for spare) for about $45.00 AU altogether! Have had no more problems since the one and only time....thanks to all for the helpful hints etc!
Regards, Jan O
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FollowupID: 848584

Reply By: Downunder - Friday, Oct 12, 2007 at 00:01

Friday, Oct 12, 2007 at 00:01
A bit more on this thread.

I also had the intermittant "miss" which then led to a stall but was able to restart straightaway.

The diagnosis when I eventually got it to a Ford dealer who could use the diagnostic machine was the Injector Control Sensor was faulty.

From my limited experience you have to be able to pull and read the fault codes to know for sure what the problem is. I now have a Superchips programmer and while I have yet to use it for fault finding (hopefully I won't have to) It should make fault finding easier.
Regards,
Bill
AnswerID: 572975

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