1997 Ford F250 Owner's Manual - Page 136

Starting Fuel-Injected Engines NOTE: For owners of diesel-powered vehicles, refer to the Diesel Engine Owners Guide Supplement for information on starting your vehicle. When starting a fuel-injected engine, the most important thing to remember is to avoid pressing down on the accelerator before or during starting. Only use the accelerator when you have problems getting your vehicle started. See Starting Your Engine in this chapter for details about when to use the accelerator while you start your vehicle. Because your vehicle's engine is electronically controlled by a computer, some control conditions are maintained by power from the battery. If you ever disconnect the battery, install a new battery, or experience a dead battery, you must allow the computer to "relearn" its idle conditions before your vehicle will idle at its best. To let the engine do this, apply the parking brake, put the gearshift in P (Park) (automatic transmission) or Neutral (manual transmission), turn off all the accessories, and start the vehicle. Let the engine idle for at least one minute. If you do not let the engine relearn its idle, the idle quality of your vehicle may be adversely affected until the idle is relearned. Your vehicle will eventually relearn its idle while you drive it, but it takes much longer than if you use the previous procedure. 137