Quick job got out of control

run6.0run · March 7, 2014

Hello guys,, I am wondering what everyone else would've done in this position.

I had a 2003 550 6.0 2wd come in. The customer was 80 years young. He wanted a serp belt,, coolant flush, and a cold start issue looked at. He thought his block heater was not working. Ok,, good deal. I pulled the pass wheel well to expose and inspect the block heater and cord. It ohm'ed out good also. So it was the end of the day,, I plugged it in and went home. Came back and the ect was 135,, eot was somewhere around 120. So I felt the block heater was a non issue. I then ran koeo. Got the GPCM code,,, (I really should have those numbers memorized, I bet all of you guys don't need descriptions huh). I then ran tests Af16-19,,, I think those were it. (Going off memory). Hooked up the jumper and condemned the GPCM. Ok good,,, Fired it up for the first flush n test drive w/vc9. 50* difference!!! Ok,,, oil cooler. I ran koer and the truck ran HORRIBLE during it. I got ICP intermediate and ICP low. It's an 03 btw. There was also a bunch of racket from the front end. After inspection both uppers and one lower BJ was bad. The steering linkage was fairly tight but there was knocking at the pitman to gearbox connection. So I called the customer. He was a little freaked out. He brought it in for a seemingly little inspection and repair and now it's definately not that. I got approval for the oil cooler,, check the egr cooler off the truck, and he surprised me when he approved the hpop. I told him his is GOOD, but with the failure rate if the 03 hpops and the koer test results,, it is a perfect time to replace it. Labor was $65 I think at that time. But if it goes out later,, it's about $650 labor. The next day I talked to the customer again and he was concerned about how high this repair is going,, compared to the little job it came in for. Oh,, the truck had gold coolant in it,, but the customer said he has been losing coolant,, and has been topping it off with whatever coolant he got from the auto parts store. The degas was completely full btw. I also was noticing a stumble at idle,, power balance #2 inj. Holy crap when will this truck quit showing me things wrong.

The customer kept approving repairs,, and complaining about the repairs. He approved the sway bar end links,, and the gearbox and pitman arm (end links were dry rotted), this truck only has 89k mi on it.

After exposing the hpp reservoir screen,, it was broken,, and with the extent of repairs,, I also put in an ipr and icp. This customer is 80 and I could tell that it wasn't about the money,, and he would have zero tolerance if after all this the ipr craps out. I also tested the icp circuit btw before any hpop discussion. I ohm tested it while shaking the harness around. It was good. At this point I'm ready to quit digging in his wallet,, I did the ball joints,, they were shot,, but I left all the other steering and suspension as is and noted that it would need reinspected at a later time due to the customers concerns about the extent and the cost of this repair he has now. Again ,, not just about the $$$$,, I think it was more about him being blindsided with all this news. Oh,, making it worse,, got it all done,, fired it up,, ran 5 mins n died. No PCM, no Ficm, no fp. Wtf now!!! PCM short,,,, vref short??? So I unplugged the fan, no dice, then ebp!!!!! Bingo!! Exposed the pigtail and found it got hot and started to melt the wires about an inch from the harness. Ok,, I repaired the wires,, actually taped them up because none were burnt black. Plugged it back in,, fired it and same thing. So then I left it unplugged and all is well.

Correct me if I'm wrong guys ,, isn't the 03 using inferred ebp?? Iirc ids was showing input for it without it even plugged in. I told the customer that we could put a hundred dollar harness holder (new ebp) in it,, or just run it as is. plus with all his complaining,, and his skepticism about needing all these repairs,, I told him,, if there's anyone that doubts the short,, go ahead and have them plug in the ebp. I know it's not the protocol at all,, but the truck ran perfect. Should I call him back in and replace the ebp?? I guess my main question is,,, does the 03 run inferred ebp?? I have the calibration in the log. Thx for listening guys.

Keith Browning · March 7, 2014

Some 2003 trucks had the inferred EBP calibration only if it was flashed. BUT - just because the PCM is no longer using the data from the sensor, the sensor is still plugged into the harness and connected to the PCM. You can still read the PID for diagnostic purposes. So, it stands to reason that any fault with this sensor or its wiring that can affect VREF in particular is going to cause problems - specifically with the EGR valve position sensor and the ICP sensor because those three sensors share their own VREF circuit from the PCM.

Aaron · March 7, 2014

I had a commercial safety inspection go like that the other day. Everything I touched just turned into absolute shit.

run6.0run · March 7, 2014

Some 2003 trucks had the inferred EBP calibration only if it was flashed. BUT - just because the PCM is no longer using the data from the sensor, the sensor is still plugged into the harness and connected to the PCM. You can still read the PID for diagnostic purposes. So, it stands to reason that any fault with this sensor or its wiring that can affect VREF in particular is going to cause problems - specifically with the EGR valve position sensor and the ICP sensor because those three sensors share their own VREF circuit from the PCM.

So there's a chance the vref short was/could've been the source of the icp codes in koer? Hmmm,,, well crap!!! I did remove the harness and fold it forward to remove the intake for the oil cooler. You've got me thinking now. Was the short present before the repair??? Or did I cause it??? Did I change the hpp because of a freakin wire??? The customer stated he has never had a no crank issue before.

mchan68 · March 7, 2014

Anthony, I know you're not to interested into digging any further into this guy's wallet like you say, but how much is an engine harness in your neck of the woods? BTW, the part number is 3C3Z-12B637-BA for a 2003 F-series in case you're wondering.