Ford 2002 7.3 check engine light

[jim]

Had my check engine light come on while pulling up a long grade near billings mt. Fluids looked normal and trans temp and water temp normal. Light went out after I got on level terrain. Any ideas what the check engine light actually looks at?

[Mike Clay]

Hard to say could have been an over boost code but they normally wont go out just because you got back on level ground. Have somebody read the computer and see if it left a code.

[jim]

It happened more than once. Took a few miles on level ground to clear. Hope the code is still there.
Thanks mike. I don't thing we have anymore long grades between here and home.

[Crazybear]

Might check the wiring harness under the valve covers, a common
problem on our "older" 7.3's.....if so, about 900 bucks will fix it

[bfast54]

Did it say "Check Engine"........Or "Service engine soon...".......???????? If " Service," it is a Emissions thing.....Polution control garbage............................Mine does it sometimes when cold///////////////,,,,,Check engine could be , wiring harness, bad altenator, .on, and on.................



Don't know if this helps, but that is what mine does.......................

[jim]

belieive it was check engine. it showed up as orange. read abt the wiring harness but haven't checked it out.
did take it to a dealer in kansas. they said everything checked out normal but suspected it was in the high pressure fuel system.
i'm going to give that harness a good check. it came on a third time while traveling on relatively level road in kansas. in all cases, it stayed on for abt 30 miles then went out.
technician at the ford dealer said it may be hard to find if it wasn't doing it while they were looking at it. i have a scan tool (for the 7.3) to hook up and see what is going on.
the only other thing is that the A/C that stops cooling at times. can usually turn it off 10 sec and turn it back on and it starts working. i suspect one of the pressure switches is bad. i've also heard the clutch will do this. now that they have sensors on several systems, i wouldn't be surprised if they weren't picking that up. (or a common problem in the wiring harness...if they happen to be in the same one...hummm).
we made it back from the nat rally aug 28. except for that light, no problems.

[mcdonell]

My 2000 7.3 wiring harness came loose on the drivers side. Engine only ran on passenger side cylinders and top speed was 55mph without a trailer. Ford has a fix kit for cheap but the labor is a job. The drivers side is the easy side and it took me 1/2 a day. I am old and almost everything takes me half a day.

My first suspect on a check engine light that resets itself, would be contaminated fuel causing a brief misfire..I would begin to wonder how long it has been since I changed my fuel filter or added some diesel service stuff to my fuel tank. I have an SCT programmer in my truck which gives me extra power and will also check codes.

[jim]

Mine did it again and turned out to be the wiring harness worked loose at the 9 pin connector under the valve cover.

[Rob & Cathy]

I am old and almost everything takes me half a day.

Amen!

Mine did it again and turned out to be the wiring harness worked loose at the 9 pin connector under the valve cover.

Thanks for the update Jim. Sounds like a good fix.

Rob

[bfast54]

Good to know..Will keep in mind

[jim]

My latest is the ck light came on in Nov 2015 (when I was going to pick up the trailer). This time it turned out to b #7 injector. Got the light first and it didn't reset after 100 miles. Then I could barley get it above 30 mph.
There was no outward indication of a problem ie no smoke. Just ran extremely rough and very little power. The loss of the single cyclander was much worse than I would have suspected.

[BMullins46]

Time to start looking for Ford 6.7 to pull that new trailer Jim. I know that 7.3 is supposed to be a great engine, but from the ones I've driven I like my 6.7 MUCH better.

[jim]

well....bill we mortgaged the kids and bought the 6.7 this past Tuesday (6-21). one thing i noticed (after i brought my stool over), the injectors and glow plugs are visible. i'm trying to get a few miles on it before i hitch the trailer to it.
Audrey isn't happy with the high first step to get in.

[Don Wilson]

well....bill we mortgaged the kids and bought the 6.7 this past Tuesday (6-21). one thing i noticed (after i brought my stool over), the injectors and glow plugs are visible. i'm trying to get a few miles on it before i hitch the trailer to it.
Audrey isn't happy with the high first step to get in.

Congrats on the new Ford Jim!

Don

[watkinsk]

I have 34K miles on my 2012 F350. Other than a very frustrating emission control sensor failure that left me stranded I have been very impressed with the 6.7 engine. I have found the transmission to be amazing and the manual option is handy for towing passes like Wolfcreek. The 6.7 engine and tranny (with minor tweeks) have been around since 2011. For the most part it seems very durable. I suspect you will enjoy it.
BTW, did you get a dually?