Late3187

2001 F150 supercrew 4WD, driving down the road at 40 mph, engine shuts off, wont start, everything seems to be working electrically. No warning, no sputter, just died going down the road.

Jbrew

Check fuel pressure.

Late3187

How would I check the fuel pressure? Do you think my fuel pump has gone bad?

Jbrew

With a fuel pressure gauge.

Not yet.

jethat

fuel first. Spark second. Diagnostic 101.

Late3187

Thanks, its raining, its dark, its 35 degrees, and the truck is outside on the driveway, after I pick up a test light tomorrow, I will update again.

white89gt

Just the engine shuts off? Or all power? I've seen all power go due to a bad ground.

Late3187

The engine just died at 40mph, pulled over, all dash lights, head lights everything worked, cranked the motor, many times, would not start. Called the tow truck, now its sitting in my driveway, OBD2 showed no faults, checked the fuse box/PDB, no burnt fuses. I'm off to the auto parts store for a test light, to test the injectors. The truck has 72K on it and I was coming back from a 60 mile trip, 2 miles from home it just dies, I'm at a loss, I was hoping maybe someone has experienced this and would know what would cause this.

Jbrew

Fuel pumps usually last at least 90,000 miles.

First check your inertia reset breaker behind the passenger side kick panel. Reset it if tripped. Start the truck and watch for it to trip again. If it's not tripping, -

Don't crank more than 3 seconds (the PCM will shut the fuel rail down at 4 seconds)..That's consecutive seconds.

Turn the key to run (don't crank the engine yet). Key on, key off 5 times, pause between and listen for the fuel pump to charge the lines. Attempt to start.

Still no start, - key the ignition to run, get under the fuel tank and smack the bottom or the side of it (if you have a guard/skid plate). Smack it with something fairly hard and listen for the fuel pump to energize and prime the lines. It usually will as long as the key is to run if it hasn't yet. If smacking the tank works, truck will start. Pump is bad.

____________

I don't think it's the fuel pump. My guess is the Crank Sensor went out since it just died out of the blue like this. If this is the case (probably is) you most definitely won't even get that engine to even stumble until you replace the sensor. It could also be the Cam sensor...same deal but not as common as a crank sensor fault. So if you hear the fuel pump energizing when you key on and the inertia breaker checks out, - the odds of the Crank Sensor going out just went way up...it's common.

Jbrew

We haven't told you to do that. Never the less, if you don't have a test light (or a noid) it's a good investment regardless. You should pic up fuel pressure test kit. Make sure it has the Ford fitting.

But don't screw with the light yet, no need to at this time, keep it handy though.

We have lots of experience, - check inertia, fuel first. Then we can use that light to check the crank sensor. If you haven't invested in a fuel pressure kit, you can still go through the checks I've described in my last post. This one should be an easy fix.