1996 Powerstroke Dies Intermittently

[Chris Hill]

Hello,

I have a 1996 F-250 powerstroke diesel. The past couple of days, it has been running fine, then dies. It dies like the key has just been turned off. Luckily, the truck has restarted every time thus far and I have not been stranded. It will die momentary, less than a second or two. Only once did it die enough I had to restart the truck with the starter motor. The truck has missed/died 5 times the past two days. Please help me solve this issue.

Since it’s a diesel and they way it’s dying, I REALLY think I have an electrical issue that is interrupting the signal for the injectors to fire.

The battery idiot light (looks like a battery and is red) has been VERY sporadically flickering the past couple of months. Generally it will flicker on a bumpy road. Again, the voltage has been rock solid and the truck has run well until this point. I’m not sure if the idiot light flickers when the truck dies yet.

When the truck dies, the head lights and dash lights do not dim. I’ve checked the battery terminals and ground straps to the engine and they appear to be good. Also, the voltage meter on the dash does not move, it stays 14V. When the truck is running, the volt meter reads approximately 14V.

I’m thinking I have a loose ground somewhere, but have no idea where to look other than the obvious points on the battery and negative terminals on the engine. The part that puzzles me is when the truck dies, the volt meter does not change. If you have any ideas on what to check, please share.

Thank you,

Chris Hill
270-933-2054

[Rich Aman]

Chris,Check all the grounds around the batts,( the 10 ga. wires that run off the neg cables),also a quick connect that gets batt acid in it on the pass side10 ga ground cable.
If all looks good replace the ignition switch,over the years i've seen a lot cause trouble.
Good luck
Rich Aman,1631 G/S

[Steve OB]

Try this site. It seems to be pretty informative.

http://thedieselgarage.com/forums/

[JHeath]

try the CPS (cam position sensor) on the front cover just below water pump. A very common PSD part that does exactly what you're describing when it goes bad.

[Rob Petrie E395]

Originally Posted by JHeath

try the CPS (cam position sensor) on the front cover just below water pump. A very common PSD part that does exactly what you're describing when it goes bad.

X2 Cam sensor is almost always the problem most ford dealers stock them due to their frequently going bad

[Eric Merryfield]

Originally Posted by Rob Petrie E395

X2 Cam sensor is almost always the problem most ford dealers stock them due to their frequently going bad

My 96 powerstroke had the same problem, last month, and it liked to die going around turns (not good for a rollback!), I suspected a lot of expensive, dramatic things.....

The local diesel shop swapped out the cam position sensor for me and its as good as new.

I purchased another one from Wabash Ford off ebay for something like 15 bucks for the dash for a spare.

You will need a 10 mil wrench.

You might want to call the ford dealer first before you schedule it, the part according to them was $150 bucks.

[art leong]

Another helpful site is
http://www.thedieselstop.com/

[Pat Cook]

Cam Sensor.........put the latest level in it.....

[Chris Hill]

Thanks for the replies. I'll try and get a cam sensor tommorow.

Could the cam sensor cause the battery idiot light to go off?

I also need to change glow plugs. Any recomendations of brand to use?

Thanks,

Chris

[SSDiv6]

Originally Posted by Chris Hill

Thanks for the replies. I'll try and get a cam sensor tommorow.

Could the cam sensor cause the battery idiot light to go off?

I also need to change glow plugs. Any recomendations of brand to use?

Thanks,

Chris

Chris, you can get the Autolite Glow Plugs at the following website:

http://www.sparkplugs.com/results_ap...1&AAIA=1354643

They are great to do business with.