FordExcursions.com Forums
David Haile
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• Fort Collins, CO, USA |
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• Registered on 12/12/2002 |
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• 9 posts |
• 1 Vehicle
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 Posted:11/21/2003 11:34 |
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2000 Excursion PSD with 90k miles - About two weeks ago I left the truck idling for about 10 minutes in a friends driveway. When I got back in, the OD light on the shift column was flashing but everything else seemed normal. I backed out of the driveway and when I put the transmission in "D" the engine died immediately! When I tried to start it, it sure seemed like it had a dead short when I turned it to the ON (not crank) position. It would crank very slowly and not for long. So - towed to dealer, they put in new batteries (old ones were good - one year old - I kept them in case they were wrong, which they were) and replaced an ABS sensor in the differential (??). Problem appeared to be fixed. Two weeks later - it is baaaack! I spent $483 for them to spend quality time with a newspaper and not fix my X.
This time I'm doing my own diagnosis then will take it back to them and have them refund $$ for battery replacement after I know what the problem is. I don't want those yahoo's fumbling around at $75/hour. Since I suspect the glow plug circuit, I disconnected the power from the glow plug relay. It takes quite a bit of cranking at 27 degrees (5 seconds vs. near-instant with glow plugs), but I hope it will now be fine and I can declare the source FOUND.
Q's - could be a shorted glow plug. Is that a difficult thing to replace? I think the glow plugs are in the V of the engine and require a lot of stuff to be removed to get to them. I have the manuals on CD - haven't gone to the trouble to look it up yet.
David Haile
Fort Collins, CO |
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Dave Sullivan
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• Kitchener, XX, Canada |
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• Registered on 2/27/2003 |
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• 199 posts |
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Posted:11/21/2003 11:42 |
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Not sure how you came to the conclusion of the shorted glow plug but I think you can probably either do a current check with the plugs connected or do a resistance check on each individual plug disconnected.
I would expect that the manuals will tell you how to check them.\
Dave.
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David Haile
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• Fort Collins, CO, USA |
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• Registered on 12/12/2002 |
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• 9 posts |
• 1 Vehicle
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Posted:11/24/2003 10:46 |
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Update - I did my own diagnosis on Saturday and determined that it was definitely not anything to do with the glowplug system. After fully charging the batteries and removing the supply to the glowplugs, I put a meter on the batteries and noticed they were rapidly dropping in voltage. After 5-10 minutes of idling in the driveway the batteries were down to 8V! I think it is an intermittent short inside the alternator/voltage regulator.
I dropped it off at the dealer this morning, they took a look at it, then Lo and Behold found that the alternator was bad! The problem is they want to charge me another $340 to replace it on top of the $483 I spent two weeks ago financing their new boat instead of finding the source of the problem! Last time they replaced an ABS sensor and the batteries. I think the ABS sensor problem was related to low voltage and wasn't actually defective since I never saw the flashing code before the low voltage existed. The previous batteries (which I kept, and which they insist are bad, and which I used to start the Excursion this morning) were replaced two weeks ago with new Ford batteries.
I'm picking up my Excursion at noon and will replace the dang alternator myself. It is easy, I'll use the Lifetime Guaranteed alternator from AutoZone ($167) and will replace it every six months if I have to. I won't be going back to the dealer again, and I will curse their name when I hear it mentioned (Spradley Barr in Fort Collins, CO). 
What else should I do? What would you do in this same situation? |
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Dave Sullivan
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• Kitchener, XX, Canada |
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• Registered on 2/27/2003 |
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• 199 posts |
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Posted:1/5/2004 18:01 |
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Hmmm.... Not sure if you have already changed the alternator yet but did you check the connection at the alternator? Is it loose at all. Is it brittle and look a bit cooked? If so, check the insulator on the terminal and peel of the brittle insulation on the wire connector itself and look for sines of corrosion and burrning of the connector. If all of the above is true, just tighten the first nut on the terminal so that the terminal on the alternator is tight and replace the connector on the wire with a good quality connector and reinsulate and reinstall with the second nut. Could save you 167 bucks. It saved me 200 and change not taking in to acount the 360 and change + tax at the dealer ship and MY EX is now running happily ever after.
Dave. 
P.S. There should be no play on that terminal. It should be snuggy tight.
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