Hi I have a 2004 F350 6.0 with 80,000 miles. It takes about 8 seconds of cranking before she fires up @ 30*F. When is does start there is just a very very small amount of black smoke and it kinda runs a little rough (like it's not firing on all cylinders) for 5-10 seconds and then runs great! There is no issues once it's running.

This truck is stock and has 15w40 oil (I know that lighter weight oil would be better but I just bought my truck and the dealer just did an oil change the day I bought it). I have added Rev-x…..this marginally helped it out (knocked a second or so off the cranking time). Also, I did the FICM test: key on 35v for just a couple of seconds as the glow plugs engaged, start (can't recall but seemed normal), and running at 45.9v (constant).

So NO white smoke…minimal black smoke (barely noticeable) during start and runs great after. Note it starts much much better after being plugged in all night and the cranking times are about 2-3 seconds when it's been turned off and on during usual running around town.

I know there are lots of cold cranking stuff on this forum and many others but I have yet to find the exact issue. Any help would be greatly appreciated!!! I'm thinking Glow plug issue????

 

How old are the batteries? Ficm volts seem low and batteries are critical to keep maintained. I would make sure batteries are up to par for their ratings. Also when cold its going to take a little longer, mine has over 200,000 and always longer in cold. Mine smokes when cold too but not in summer. It's just everything getting going usually

 

Thank you very much for the info. I just purchased a battery tester and will check the batteries. Also, I can purchase the half of the FICM board that gets soldered for $180. I know it won't have the "Atlas 40" programmed into it like Ed would do but I would be getting a new board not just a repaired one. Any thoughts?

 

I have been told a quality repair uses better components to upgrade failure prone components. I have been thinking about a 58 v ficm from swamps with a tune just for the cold starts and more power. . .like a lot of folks here I keep looking for a little more . . I love the better throttle response with eds power hungry tune. . Keep wondering how higher volts and 80 hp tune would work. . Will definitely keep my ficm for a backup if I do try other one. $180 is cheap and will help you rule out ficm as issue. . I would try that if you didn't want bigger one or if money is tight only because mine never drops below 48 volts ever.

 

Alright I ordered the Half Shell off Amazon ($117). I know Ed has some amazing reviews and would like to go with him but the budget was the deciding factor. If I knew for sure it is just the FICM then I would have probably have gone with Ed but being the fact it could be more…..glow plugs etc. I figured I should save some money for some other repairs if needed. I will certainly keep you posted when it arrives and I get it put together!

 

Just curious - is this one you ordered?

Dorman 904-229 Fuel Injection Control Module

 

If it's just a power issue you can do half shell. Ed tests the rest of the ficm and u can eliminate the entire ficm for a few dollars more. Ed replaces the components on the board that are known to fail and resolders the board, hence better than original.. . Just my $.02

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The half she'll is just a power supply, was wondering how so cheap

 

Yes BKMAC that's the one

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Alright, I finally had some free time to install the FICM half shell. The part appeared to be pretty solid……"didn't have that cheap feel" (this is from my untrained eye). The truck starts a lot better. At -10C (without being plugged in) I let the glow plugs cycle for one minute then started cranking. It took 6 seconds before she fired up. I'm not sure if this 6 seconds of cranking sounds normal??? Still seems like a lot of cranking time before it starts. Before it would have started but the cranking time has been reduced and it felt like it had a mis for about 10 seconds before which is gone. I also noticed the throttle response has improved as well. I was tight for time when I changed the part so unfortunately I didn't have time to check the volts afterward. All in all for the money I am very happy! Do these cranking times seem normal now? What are you guys/gals getting for Cranking times?

 

My 06 starts in 1 1/2 seconds.
Before I fixed a High Pressure Oil Leak it was taking 5 seconds. Right after I fixed the leak it was taking 2 1/2 seconds.
Now that I just put in new batteries it takes 1 1/2 seconds to light up every time.

 

Hmm what kind of High Pressure Oil leak? Is there any other symptoms? Was it hard to fix? Also what kind of oil are you running Bustedknuckles?