Help! Stumbling/Stalling on cold start after rain

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iscrni

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Hi All,

I have been having an intermittent issue that seems to only be happening after it rains and is progressively getting worse.

to give some back story the problem started about a month ago where if it rained the night before or is raining after the truck has been sitting will have a stumbling idle where it'll stall and then catch itself to increase the idle to 1.2k rpm like a cold start and work its way down and would repeat this process randomly. Occasionally it will just stall completely, again this only seems to be after it rains and does not throw any codes when it does this.

Situation #2, about 2 weeks ago same situation where on a cold start it would continuously stumble and act like it was going to stall but catch itself and rev back up to 1.2k like it does on a cold start. but this would keep happening but this time it threw a wrench and went into a limp mode. threw a scanner on it and popped up with a U0300 code. turn the ignition off and back on to start the truck, code went away and truck ran fine.

Situation #3, Yesterday, it was raining, started the truck, it warmed up ok, had one small stumble, put it into reverse and the truck stalled. started the truck again, idled fine, let it run for a minute to see if it'd happen again which it didn't. while driving now, after about 10 minutes I noticed it seemed like it had some popping coming from the exhaust for a brief second under normal driving conditions, steady throttle at about 35mph. was only for a split second and didn't seem to do it again. continued driving for another 30 minutes where I hopped on the highway. truck was running ok until I hit about 75mph where it seemed to shutter every time I would hold the truck at that speed. like it cuts the power for a split second and returns. about 30 seconds later the truck throws a wrench code, goes into a limp mode and I coast off an exit ramp. truck is running like it's on half of its cylinders with no power. I hook up a scanner while its idling like this and got the codes P013E, P014A (O2 Sensor Delayed Response – Rich to Lean, banks 1 & 2) it also had a code for P0600 (communication error with PCM). turned the truck off, restarted the truck, and runs like nothing happened.

Truck has 135k miles, all stock besides wheels and a muffler delete. Checked the FPDM and it's ground which seemed to be ok, Had someone from O'Reilly's hook up a battery tester and said it was at 75%, terminal connections were fine. Truck has had the fuse 27 relocation by prior owner.

with the U0300 code it threw a few weeks prior I am thinking it's something to do with PCM but any insight would be greatly appreciated. These symptoms only show it's face for Rainy weather. when it's sunny and dry I can't get it to replicate the symptoms.
 

The Car Stereo Company

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i had a similiar issue a few years back. going through puddles the truck would run like crap and go into limp mode and had to wat a while for a while before it ran normal, but took some time for it to fully return and not have the issue come back. the pcm harness was at fault. i had the entire harness replaced and it was fine afterwards. the connection to the pcm was getting wet and water would short out the pcm. i would drive around until the water finally left the pcm but it would be intermittent until it fully dried. i would check there first. maybe pull the harnesses going into the pcm and add some dielectric grease to help keep the water out and see if it persists. if it goes away, then it will be the same problem i had. if not, we will figure it out. plenty of people here who can help more than me. but i did experience something similiar so its at least a starting point for you
 
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iscrni

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I tried putting some dielectric grease on the connections and went to visually inspect connections and this morning it started doing it again. Instantly got codes for P060A, P0600, U0300. I know these are all PCM codes, any thoughts on what to check. unfortunately I am leaning towards it is a PCM issue and might be looking to swap a new one in but would like to rule out possibilities before i dump money at a stealership for one.
 

The Car Stereo Company

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it has to be a bad connection somewhere. at least thats where i would start...... broken wire, or shorting wires. maybe try moving the pcm wire harnesses around and see if it starts. these trucks are getting old and the protective loom gets brittle and doesnt protect the wires anymore. the wire holdes can break and the wires can move around. this would damage the wires eventually. maybe @FordTechOne can offer some help. he can get you going in the right direction if its not a wire/harness. alsoz what does your air filter look like? as well as the maf sensor and plug/wires going to it?
 
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