UHaul E350 fusable link?

Hi guys, happy new year! Me and my daughter are stranded in Brandon Manitoba. I'm helping her with her move from Toronto to Saskatoon. The truck, a 15 foot E series ford box truck, would crank but not start. Called Uhaul and they had a local towing company come to give me a boost.

So the driver came and hooked up to the battery. Still the same, cranks but not firing.  
So the driver got another truck to come and they attached 2 sets of cables, still 12 volts but more amps. This almost got it running but still no bueno. And then, no starter sounds at all. 
I'm  assuming that a fusable link has been blown? 
Anyhoo, we're still stranded in Brandon and waiting for next instructions from Uhaul. 

Anyone have any suggestions? 

Up until now, the truck has been running really well. It started in -25 no problem, but -35 was just too much for it. It's unfortunate that Uhaul does not have block heaters installed. 

Thanks, Paul 

Is the fuel pump running? 

So I just tried it again and the starter is once again turning. I'm assuming that when the two sets of jumper cables were attached that maybe we overheated the starter motor? 
 

I cannot hear if the fuel pump is running. But I'm assuming my first thought about the fusable link was wrong? 
 

it's just so goddamn cold outside. 

Is there a place nearby to get starting fluid? If the starter turns the engine, next we need to know if it's a spark issue or a fuel issue.

stay warm. Man I hate cold.

Yeah, I wish I had a can of it. I'm pretty sure it would start with that  

We're OK though, we are still in our hotel room. Might need to pay for another night though. 

So after a lot of futzing around, we are getting it towed into a heated shop. We'll see how things are in the morning. Hopefully that'll do the trick. 
 

This is the last leg of a 3000 km trip, we have 600 km remaining. Looking forward to completing the journey. 

If something doesn't start the first time at 35 below, it's not going to without some heat applied.  

Daughter going to school here?  I'm around if you have any needs once you hit Saskatoon.

Thanks, but we should be well sorted as long as we can make it out of Brandon! :-)  The truck was towed to its inside home for the evening.  I'm certainly hoping this issue can be resolved with an overnight warm-up. I appreciate the offer though! 

My daughter accepted a midwife job at the Children's Hospital in Saskatoon. So this is a relocation for her.

Cheers, Paul 

She will be introduced to the glory of a dry cold, anyway.

My daughter is an lpn next door, currently in the covid ward.  

Keep me in mind, even though she will be just fine... but you are a Dad, so...I'm here.

Ooof, not great timing with the weather. Good luck, let me know if there's something I can do to help, I'm in Winnipeg.

Thanks guys, I really appreciate this. Will reach out if needed. 

Man I can really relate, but -35 is crazy cold. Have worked on many broken vehicles in winters down to 0F in Idaho.  That's  one of the reasons we moved to Florida.  
If it makes you feel warmer, we rode around the golf course today in shorts & T-shirts & turned the A/C on when we got home.  
Hopefully Uhaul is picking up all the extra bills.

Thanks, yes, uhaul is picking up the tab for this and they've been trying hard to get us back on the road. It's just a bad break regarding the weather. 

I remember reading a column in Autoweek by Satch Carlson waaay back. He was still living in Alaska at the time and I think he said that -25 was the magic number when it came to staying home. He said that the engine would still start with a block heater, but the flat spots wouldn't come out of the tires when it was that cold, and the tires would literally break apart as you tried to drive away. 
 

I hope you resolve this quickly. 

Thanks Woody! I remember when I was still living with my parents in the Eastern Townships of Quebec. This was in the early 80's and I was working my first job. There were many days where the outdoor thermometer registered-40. The bias ply tires on my 1980 Toyota pickup felt square for the first few km. You had to drive pretty slow until they became round again. 

I'm just waiting for the call from the towing company. The guy is supposed to pick me up shortly. 

Woot! We are on our way again. 

Nice.   On the road again, I just can't wait to get on the road again 

Yeah we made it and unloaded and dropped off the truck. We're all done. Phew!

Glad to hear you made it ok 

what was the problem and how long did it take the shop to find the problem and fix it ?

californiamilleghia said:

Glad to hear you made it ok 

what was the problem and how long did it take the shop to find the problem and fix it ?

It was 35 below, and the shop was warm, I'd imagine.

Yup, the truck finally said: "That's it, find me a warm place to take a nap". So having it parked overnight in a heated shop allowed all the ice that was caked on the underside to melt and gave the oil a chance to become liquid again. We also got a break today and the temperature improved slightly. So even with losing a day, we still got off pretty well. Uhaul even reimbursed the hotel charge for our nights stay. So I cannot complain. Although it would be nice if they'd install block heaters on their trucks. 
 

Thanks, Paul

In reply to Streetwiseguy :

I pm'd you yesterday. Does your shop perform licensing inspections? If yes, I'd like to give you a call. 
Thanks, Paul 

eastpark said:

In reply to Streetwiseguy :

I pm'd you yesterday. Does your shop perform licensing inspections? If yes, I'd like to give you a call. 
Thanks, Paul 

I replied to the email.  If it didn't go through, I will resend the information.  Let me know.

In reply to Streetwiseguy :

Got it, thanks and replied!