7.3 engine won’t start - seeking advice

cntyguy · Jan 13, 2023

A friend has a 2022 CCLB XLT non-Tremor with the 7.3 engine. Just got back from a several thousand mile journey to the Pacific Northwest, vehicle ran fine through the weather there. Went out to start the truck this afternoon (dry afternoon, roughly 60 degrees), it cranks but won’t fire. Half a tank of gas showing, fuel pump engages briefly as it does when the door is opened, there are no check engine lights and no OBD codes. Checking for gremlins, so turned everything off, let it sit and rest for awhile, tried to start it again, cranks but still won’t start. Gonna check fuel pressure in the morning when it’s light. Anyone have any ideas?

BroncOh · Jan 13, 2023

Was rain encountered on the trip through the PNW? Could be water intrusion in underhood fuse box issue.

cntyguy · Jan 13, 2023

Problem solved - after checking a few things over the phone with him, discovered the gas pedal wasn’t seating properly due to his boy improperly reinstalling the floor mat. Apparently there are parameters the gas pedal position must be within or the truck won’t start. Thanks @BroncoHooves for the fuse box reminder, that would have been the next logical thing to check if we hadn’t just found the gas pedal issue.

RedZilla · Jan 14, 2023

cntyguy said:
Problem solved - after checking a few things over the phone with him, discovered the gas pedal wasn’t seating properly due to his boy improperly reinstalling the floor mat. Apparently there are parameters the gas pedal position must be within or the truck won’t start. Thanks @BroncoHooves for the fuse box reminder, that would have been the next logical thing to check if we hadn’t just found the gas pedal issue.

This is good to know. There's any number of system functions the average person is completely unaware of, most of which are not mentioned anywhere in the owners manual. On a long trip something as simple as dumping crap out of the floor board and getting the mat against the accelerator could be a real frustration. Thanks for sharing the update.

HALL250 · Jan 14, 2023

RedZilla said:
This is good to know. There's any number of system functions the average person is completely unaware of, most of which are not mentioned anywhere in the owners manual. On a long trip something as simple as dumping crap out of the floor board and getting the mat against the accelerator could be a real frustration. Thanks for sharing the update.

Yes, this is very good to know.
I was at the car wash one day with my old F150. I rinsed off, and re-installed my weather tech floor mats. I then went to start the engine and it immediately went to about 6k RPM’s. I shut it off and tried to restart it again…same thing. My heart was racing and I was trying to figure out how I was going to get this thing home from the car wash without blowing it up. I took me about 5 minutes to figure out that my floor mat was on top of the accelerator. It was a very unsettling experience.