Truck Shut off while driving (Died on my way to work...)**FIXED**

I've got an 01' xtracab that decided to die on my way to work. I was taking off from a red light and the truck just shut down. Here is what I'm left with... Starter turns strong but no start, 12.75V at battery... 1.5v showing on my voltmeter in the truck (clock conversion, so it feeds off of cluster power)... No hazards, locks or lights... But do have illumination on the instrument panel. At first I thought it was timing belt, but I pulled that off first, still good...

Any relays I should check first? I'm at a loss

 

Check all the fuse outside in the relay box. Also check your body grounds good

 

I had my AM2 fusible link blow when I pressed the gas from a stop light once. Truck wouldn't try to crank at all after that. I replaced the fuse and it never happened again. I'm not really sure what caused it.

 

Do you have gas? Is the fuel filter clog? Did the fuel pump go out. All possible options.
Do you have spark? Possibly a coil pack went out.
Both will have yoir car seem like nothing is wrong but won’t let it start

 

ohm test coils, must be within spec

 

This happened to me in my '99 Prerunner when my MAF sensor was bad. Would stall on me when taking off from a stop. You getting any check engine light codes?

 

Am I the only one who read the title of this thread and thought, "well how is he posting this then"??

 

No, I thought the same thing .

 

exactly what i though also!

 

nope. I was like uhhh so how'd you manage that?

 

Ghost ride the whip

 

I almost read it like you did but realized this is a truck forum and not a life support forum.

 

Similar thing happened to me in my 3.4L engine when the fuel pump died suddenly on a trip. I'd consider having that checked if all the relays and electric parts are looking good.

If it is the fuel pump would consider changing both the pump and the fuel filter as a dirty filter leads to the pump wearing out.

 

I was wondering how you got onto the internet

 

I'm just posting from the afterlife guys... back to haunt TW for life!

So went back to the truck and got her started, but haven't really pinpointed what the problem was. It was just odd that I had some power, at least enough to light up the cluster panel but not enough to even get my scanguage to turn on, and the Voltmeter in the truck read 0.03, but at the same time my starter turned over well and my AGM battery read a strong 12.5+ volts Anyways, we didn't find any blown fuses but did wiggle around my ground leads which I think is my culprit... because she randomly got power again and started. Where is the ground to the fuse block, I'm thinking when I get back home I'm gonna undo all my grounds, clean them up and make sure it's all in order, just don't wanna die randomly again while doing 65 on the highway!

 

I would (nearly) bet the ground is bad at the terminal, broken wires, corrosion under the sheathing or something.

I've never followed mine out but some cars had grounds with a bare spot in it with a clamp that kind of makes a tee type ground.

Notorious if hidden to corrode and stump you.

 

She up and did it again, this time in the driveway though, so no sketchy tows by my wife

Anyways, I spent an hour or so cleaning up my ground connections this afternoon making everything tight, neat and clean. Reconnected it all and drove it to the store an back without issue. Just went to leave for a midnight snack, she started but then i noticed my Voltmeter jumping around 13.5... 13.2....13.7...13.9.... I've seen fluctuations in my voltage depending on the temp, but never this drastic and sporadic, enough to catch my eye you know... then after about 20sec of running, she cut out... dead.... no interior lights, no dash, no headlights... but she'll crank hard so it's not the battery.... and I'm not certain its a loose connection since I wasn't moving in my driveway... I freakin hate electrical bugs!

 

No you aren't the only one.

 

Alright... the rabbit hole gets deeper. Still no start... I have checked every fuse possible, all seem good. I've got a good 12.6V going to the fuse block in the engine bay... I've got a good 12.6 V going to the fuses and relays in the engine bay. I've got headlights and dash lights.... But no interior lights, no stereo. I've pulled out the head unit to check wiring, nothing seems out of place... I've got no clue where to go from here.

My instinct is some kind of relay that controls most of the internals.... I've played with the three relays that are located on my driver side interior fuse block but I haven't found a good wiring diagram that tells me what these are for. I can't imagine any EFI or fuel related issue would cause the interior lights not to work. All my accessory wiring and switches are wired independently to a bluesea fuse block, 100amp fusible link that connects directly to the battery.

I'd much rather weld my frame back together 10 times then chase electrical bugs... what a PITA

 

When my old truck would randomly quit it ended up being the fuel pump relay. Good luck sorting it out!