Random no start, 6.0 Ford diesel

[Twoxentrix]

Originally Posted by Railvan

By the way, driving it with the turbo hose off was interesting. It took miles to get up to freeway speed without the boost. Off of a stop it would VERY slowly gain speed but it actually ran at freeway speeds OK.

Interesting....I blew the turbo hose on a long steep uphill climb in West Virginia. Boost hit 29, then a huge air release ensued for just a couple seconds. Hair on the back of my neck stood at attention, I immediately pulled off the freeway and coasted about 500ft shy of the hill crest. Initially had no idea what it was, but after a good inspection under the van (and no visible fluid issues) I felt comfortable restarting. That's when the issue revealed itself. Foot to the floor and in first gear I still couldn't get the van to climb off that hill. I made about 75ft of progress, then called a tow.
Amazing how little power exists when the boost disappears Very surprised you were able to achieve that kind of speed...maybe It was my weight (11.800lbs) and the remaining (slight) uphill grade???

[Railvan]

In case anyone just can't sleep without an update: The van started today.

I had not tried to start it in a couple weeks, and today it was mid-30's temp and snowing off and on here. I put the key in the run position and let the glow plugs warm up cycle go through once, then turned it off and back on to let it run through again. Turned the key to the start position and held it for maybe 10 seconds. It coughed twice, cranked a couple more seconds, then fired up. It was a "rough start" if that makes sense. Not a quick smooth fire but it did start.

No codes in the ScanGage still. I drove it for half an hour and parked it. It started right up twice after that.

W T F... Lol...

Well, guess I'll go ahead and order the engine wiring harness.

[daveb]

I actually lived with mine starting and stopping or coughing for several months. A couple backcountry trips had me worried but it never left me stranded. Guess I was lucky. During that time SMB did some scheduled work and I told them it might stop. Sure enough Peter called and said it died on the freeway. I asked if it restarted and they said it did and no more issues for them after that. I got used to driving in a lane easy to get off to shoulder just in case. Sure sounds like you're experiencing a harness issue.