I just bought a 2006 F250 King Ranch. This is my first diesel. I like the truck with a few exceptions. Gas mileage is not very good 11-14mpg. The truck takes a while to get started approx 7-8 seconds. When the truck is cold, it will run rough for a few moments but will smooth out. I am worried because it has not been very cold yet. I am looking to find out why it is taking so long for it to start. After I fix that I will work on the mileage issue. One other thing about the hard start, I replaced the fuel filters and for the 1st couple of starts, it started pretty easy 1-2 seconds, then it went back to the hard start. Does anyone have any suggestions. I have 97K on the truck and I am too cheap to take it to the dealer and have them tell me they cant fix it.
Later All,
Thanks
Kevin -

97k it should still have diesel engine coverage. PM me the VIN and EXACT mileage and I can confirm this for you.

It sounds to me like you have a weak FICM - I have seen a lot of this lately. -

Big Angry Hillbilly's Sig:

2008 F-350 4x4 Off Road 6.4 PSD 23+ MPG
Ford Powerstroke Dealer Technician
310-S Ontario Motor Vehicle Mechanic
Windsor, Ontario, Canada
Modification Friendly Dealer Technician - Just don't try and hide it from me.

i dont have enough posts to pm

mfg date 12/05
vin 1FTSW21P36EC23756
mileage 97166

I am assuming the ficm is the fuel injector control module. What controls the ficm and what causes them to go bad. At the dealer, how do I direct them in that direction??

thanks -

They should be able to pinpoint it fairly easily if they have a competent diesel tech.

Make sure you drop the truck off the night before - so they can duplicate the COLD hard start complaint, and don't give you any bullshit runaround with "we couldn't get it to act up/unable to duplicate customer concern/no problem found"

WARRANTY COVERAGE INFORMATION
PART NUMBER: 12B599 (IDM MOD ASY-FUELINJ)
REPAIR DATE: 11/08/2009
REPAIR DISTANCE 97166 Miles
COUNTRY: USA
STATE: MI
IS COVERED UNDER - EMISSIONS DEFECT WARRANTY

VIN
1FTSW21P36EC23756 INQUIRY DATE
11/08/2009 INQUIRY TIME
16:23:59
WARRANTY START DATE
01/11/2006 BUILD DATE
12/05/2005 SALE MILEAGE
00006 -

I would like to add, the hard start is not specifically COLD! The temps have not been bad. It seems it is definitely evident at the first start. Most of the time it is with all starts. Anyway, I will send them in the ficm direction. -

Weak batteries (not voltage) but cranking power are the place to begin. This happens just before you get a 'weak FICM'. Then it's a downward spiral

IMO... A weak FICM is allot worse than a dead FICM.

But..... Hell, Big Angry does this stuff everyday so follow his lead. I'm a weekend wrencher at best. -

LocoMike's Sig:

Crew Cab Short Bed,2003 early build 6.0
EGR Delete Manifold from FCDP,CCV Reroute from LOWES
FICM custom program from IDP,SCT custom tunes from IDP
EDGE Insight with EGT,BB mod to the FPR
35" tires (no lift) yeah it's tricky,2" aluminum wheel spacers [/I][/B]

OMG!!!! Dropped off my truck last night so it would be there bright and early. I got a call around noon from the service guy. I called them back a little later. Initially they told me the voltage in the batteries was bad and they needed replaced. I told them "good" the batteries were brand new from Ford in January and should be under warranty. He told me "hold on". When he got back on the phone, he told me the batteries were not bad. This confused me. He told me the truck was done and ALL they had was the diagnostic charge. Must admit, this kinda pissed me off. I asked to speak with the service manager and he told me all of the tests checked out fine. I asked him specifically about the batteries. The batteries at full charge were around 12.5 volts. When the key is turned on it drops to around 11.? volts. When it comes out of the ficm it was measured at 48 volts. I started scratching my head. Being totally confused now, I started asking questions and referring to my posts on the internet about the problem. I asked if there was a specific test to test the ficm. He told me no but it would normally throw a specific code. He assured me the computer has not caught any codes, but when they put the scan tool on the batteries it said it was a "little low". I was told the truck should turn over take between 3-7 seconds on start. He said mine took 6 seconds which is acceptable. Back to the batteries, they were bought from a Ford dealer in January. Unfortunately the fella I purchased the truck from passed away (probably from dealing with Ford dealers). I was told the warranty only covered the original owner, he asked if I had the receipts. (how would I have them, the guy I bought the truck from is DEAD (no disrespect,RIP)) I told him I did not have the receipt but was confident I could get them.
They want to keep the truck overnight again so they can check it again in the morning. I need some ammo!!!
Is there any way to test a weak or failing ficm???
How do I direct them towards this problem, is there anything else we should be looking at??
thank you in advance -

sorry this bump is all I can help with BUMP -

crewed powerstroke's Sig:

2006 F-250 crewcab long bed 4X4 6.0 liter S&B air filter SCT LIVEWIRE with tunes from IDP MBRP 4" Turbo Back exhaust; THANKS to DIESEL BOMBERS , and MBRP