dmcmill

My '95 has picked up the nasty habit of not wanting to start! At first it was a couple of grinds before it would hit. Now, it won't. <br><br>The first time this happened, I pumped the manual fuel pump and she hit first key stroke. The second time, I pumped the pump, ground the starter for a while (5 seconds), pumped some more, ground the starter, waited, ground the starter, pumped, started, etc. until I gave up and caught a ride. That afternoon when I got home, it hit first time I turned the key.<br><br>Now, we had a cool snap but nothing less than 48 deg F. What are your guesses? (please).<br><br>DAve

Don M

Fuel return line may have a crack in it. Overflow vavle may be weak.<br><br>Don~

Cummins2fast

What Don said, also try giving it a little throttle when starting and see if it helps but Im betting on the return line. They wont show signs of leakage but suck air into the fuel system.<br>John

Lary Ellis (Top)

Return line you may see traces of fuel on the frame and rear end dang things wont leak sitting still. You need to replace it with steel braided line or it will happen again soon<br><br>

berner

I just went through starting problems like yours. I got the diesel shop here to set my timing a couple weeks ago. ($72 vs. $300 CAN for the tools) They replaced the overflow valve so I ruled that out. I had pulled the plug on the pre-heater to check it. I could hear it sucking air with the plug out when I shut the truck down. I taped it up until the Cummins dealer here gets the parts in. I also replaced the return line. Someone before me had cut the return line down by the frame and replaced the steel line and original hose with about 3 feet of rubber hose. They ran the hose through a heater hose to protect it some. I bent the top steel line towards the engine a bit so the hose cleared the fuel filter. It was fairly easy to change. I also replaced the feed line. I undid it at the top and unclipped the steel portion from the bellhousing and pulled the hose out from under the truck to get at the bottom clamp. While I had it undone I carefully blew back through the feed line into the fuel tank with low pressure air. I bled the fuel system and it fired right up. It starts without touching the foot pedal again. A cheap fix for a change! Hope these tips help.

lilbigtruck

Just had a similar problem with my 95...Sometimes it would start and sometimes it wouldn't..Started checking around and found that sometimes my fuel solenoid would not open...My problem didn't happen all the time, use to drive me nuts...Finally my friend told me to leave the key on and push up on the solenoid and try to start it..yea, it started. Then the next thing was to try and figure what was bad, the solenoid or the relay...Mine happened to be the relay on the firewall ($54), thank god because the solenoid is not cheap.<br><br>Just another idea....Good luck....Fred

dmcmill

Ok<br><br>I've checked the return line and have not found any signs of wetness around the line at all.<br><br>I switched the fuel pump relay with another so that should test that. I'll try it in the morning and see how it starts.<br><br>How come no one has suggested the fuel pump? Is that a possibility? I understand they are EXPENSIVE, so I hope not!<br><br>Dave

Cummins2fast

Those pumps seldom ever go bad unlike 24v,s that eat them like candy

Smokee

Just a quick note about the fuel solenoid relays. Instead of paying big bucks for a relay, go to the local salvage yard. They will probably let you scrounge through the cars and pick up a few relays for a dollar of two.<br>I always carry a few spare relays for the many functions on our trucks.<br>george

berner

dmcmill,
You might not see any moisture if it's sucking air. My return line looked fine until I squeezed it and saw cracks running lengthwise down the hose. You could also check to see if your pre-heater screen is plugged. It spins off with an 11/16 or 17mm boxend wrench. If you do it from the top and you won't drink any diesel fuel.
I've read some people have replaced their fuel shutoff solenoids with an ordinary $15 choke cable. Works great as a theft deterrent too.
There's some great info on our trucks at Dave Fritz's page. dodgeram.org

Superduty12v

I replaced my return line last night. It was cracked and leaking fuel all over the tranny. Took about 15 minutes since the return line runs underneath the intake where it's hard to get a nut driver to undo the clamp. I just put a new piece of 3/8's fuel line in it's place.