Motor died while driving

[smurfslayer]

The Tech is on the ground with your truck. We’re all speculating. Due deference to the actual tech on site.

 

[slimwhitman]

The Tech is on the ground with your truck. We’re all speculating. Due deference to the actual tech on site.

This is before looking at the truck. I was trying to avoid a diagnosis if I could just put a battery in it myself. My tow bill was $1700 so trying to save anything I can….

I was just curious if FordTechs explanation would cause it to shut off while driving even with alternator supplying power.

 

[GordoJay]

So test the battery. That's a logical first step. If you can't do that yourself, you need a tech anyway so you might as well take it in. Part swapping is a really crude and expensive technique for fixing things.

 

[smurfslayer]

Thanks for clarifying. +1 @GordoJay
You spend a few bucks getting a battery test, you rule the battery in or out. Or you spend a few more bucks on a new battery and hope it is the cause, and if it’s not, you’ve spent that money on a part that only marginally needed replacing.

How the heck was towing $1700?

 

[The Car Stereo Company]

This is before looking at the truck. I was trying to avoid a diagnosis if I could just put a battery in it myself. My tow bill was $1700 so trying to save anything I can….

I was just curious if FordTechs explanation would cause it to shut off while driving even with alternator supplying power.

ford road side assistance is a free tow to a dealership. i just used it on my gen one a couple months ago

 

[slimwhitman]

ford road side assistance is a free tow to a dealership. i just used it on my gen one a couple months ago

I was a little limited on my options to figure out at the moment. I was in a winter storm on a mountain pass with no service. Only way I was able to make a call was someone stopped with a sat phone then had to leave. The battery is definitely dead as a door nail now after sitting in my truck for 7 hours in weather that was in the teens trying to stay warm and keep my phone charged.

I’m not trying to diagnose the truck just trying to gather opinions and get background on this. I was a mechanic in a past life and now an engineer. I just like to understand this kind of stuff instead of blindly give my truck to a dealership that I’ve already had challenges with in the past.

 

[The Car Stereo Company]

I was a little limited on my options to figure out at the moment. I was in a winter storm on a mountain pass with no service. Only way I was able to make a call was someone stopped with a sat phone then had to leave. The battery is definitely dead as a door nail now after sitting in my truck for 7 hours in weather that was in the teens trying to stay warm and keep my phone charged.

I’m not trying to diagnose the truck just trying to gather opinions and get background on this. I was a mechanic in a past life and now an engineer. I just like to understand this kind of stuff instead of blindly give my truck to a dealership that I’ve already had challenges with in the past.

i see you are in colorado. im currently in thornton. which dealership did you go to?

 

[slimwhitman]

i see you are in colorado. im currently in thornton. which dealership did you go to?

Phil Long Ford in Motor City

 

[The Car Stereo Company]

Phil Long Ford in Motor City

thats your problem right there. i have have horrible experiences with phil long. when i lived in the springs i always drove up to groove ford on arapahoe in denver for anything service related. i would avoid phil long at all costs

 

[GordoJay]

thats your problem right there. i have have horrible experiences with phil long. when i lived in the springs i always drove up to groove ford on arapahoe in denver for anything service related. i would avoid phil long at all costs

+1 Saying that Phil Long Ford sucks is like saying that the Mona Lisa is a painting ... and don't bother trying Chapel Hills. They're worse than Motor City.