itchyjo

My IP started failing 6 months ago when I started getting a code 216 and the pedal would go flat ocassionally. I didn't know what was wrong at the time so I continued to drive the truck and recently started reading DTR as a guest and have learned a lot about the problem I was having. I was so impressed by the forums that I have joined and this is my first comment to the forum.
I bought a fuel pressure test gauge from Vulcan and checked my fuel pressure at the intake to the IP and it was 13 psig at idle and 9 psig at WOT which seemed adequate to me and made me wonder why the IP was failing. I took the truck to the dealer and he replaced the IP, filter and put a new FP inside the tank under warranty (my truck has about 77,000 miles on it). The truck now drives great, no more flat pedal. Out of curiosity I checked the fuel pressure at the intake to the IP and it is now 8 psig at idle and 6 psig at WOT and the truck is running fine with no codes. Based on the above and the reported IP failures from the forums, I wonder if there was a fault or design flaw in the IP that came on the truck. Any thoughts on this would be appreciated. 2002 stock Dodge 2500, 4WD, slider bed, lear camper shell

24vCTD

Yup, apparently they had issues with cracked solder joints in the Fuel Pump Control Module (part of the VP44 injection pump). I drove mine for well over a year with the same problem without knowing what the problem was before I found this site myself. Unfortunately, I wasn't aware of the extent of the Cummins engine warranty until after it was actually out of warranty, so I paid $1700.00 for my new injection pump (mine is an upgraded, higher output version of the pump-they start at around $1100.00 for a stock pump) and put it in myself along with a $610.00 FASS system to replace the stock lift pump/fuel filter. On the upside, I'd rather have the FASS than the in-tank lift pump any day. Unfortunately, the in-tank pump they have is not all that great of a setup (by the numbers you posted it looks like your pressures are lower than with the engine-mounted lift pump.) If I were you, I would go to a salvage yard and get a spare fuel tank module without the pump in case you have to upgrade to a FASS or other aftermarket setup down the road, since the dealer no longer sells the module without the pump. As far as the injection pump is concerned, you should be OK now because there have been a couple of revisions in the electronics over the years and they supposedly are no longer susceptible to that type of failure. Just get some in-cab gauges (fuel pressure, boost, EGT) if you don't already have them and make sure that IP gets plenty of fuel (no less than 7 psi under any circumstances.) The gauges are going to be the next thing I do to my truck. Good luck, and welcome to DTR!!!

itchyjo

Thank you for the information and the welcome. I really appreciate it.
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Stock 2002 Dodge 2500, auto, 4WD, maroon and silver, slider bed, Lear camper shell

PaulDaisy

Welcome!
Its too bad that they seem to have replaced your stock lift pump with the one that's worse. I would recommend to put a FP gauge in the cab and observe it. VPs fail for no reason too but people here seem convinced that low FP is a definite cause for failures, so why risk it? Pressure gauge and a reliable lift pump are so cheap compared to VP44 cost, it doesn't make sense to not take care of them.
-P

itchyjo

Thanks for the information. I am looking at gauges now and plan on installing some in the future.
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Stock 2002 Dodge 2500, auto, 4WD, maroon and silver, slider bed, Lear camper shell