Hodge

I erroniously posted this question in the 1st gen section, so I will try here.
I have a 94, with 224,000+ miles on it now. I replaced the fuel shutoff/relay last year with a unit from Geno's. It has worked fine, up until about a month ago. Of all places, the truck wouldn't start back up in a bank drive-thru. That's not the easiest place to get out and mess with the shutoff. I just had to lift up on it until the magnet grabbed it. After that, it would refuse to work very sporadically. It has never malfunctioned on a cold start; just once it has been running. I had contacted Geno's, and they told me about a gazillion things it could be, and I am pretty electrical-illiterate.
The rep at Geno's mentioned two solenoids, the fusible link, the relay, and the rest I can't remember.
To summarize, it always starts cold. Up until today, the plunger very seldom refused to go up- maybe once or twice a week (always the most inconveinent time, of course). Today, it started once (out of about 8 times) without needing to lift the plunger. The magnet always holds, once lifted up. There is abnormal resistance when lifting the plunger.
Can someone give me a laymen's explanation of how the shutoff system works? What should I look for as a likely culprit? The boot is in perfect condition, and I have put maybe 6,000 miles on the truck since replacing the shutoff.
I have driven a Toyota Landcruiser pickup down in Haiti that had a manual fuel shutoff- that has been a tempting thought. Anybody done that?
Thanks in advance!

oliver foster

I answered your question in the 1st gen section.
I have 1st and 2nd gen 12Vs...

Hodge

Thanks!

oliver foster

That should help as they usually don't go bad, they just start binding due from lack of use or lube.

Hodge

I lubricated it twice today. I drove it, stopping and starting it probably half a dozen times. So far, it's started. Time will tell- not that I doubt your experience or advice, I doubt my luck- things are seldom this simple. I lead a Charlie Brown life.

oliver foster

It is still working for me.
Good luck with it, sometimes simple is all these old trucks need.

Hodge

3 days now with no issue- I even took it through the bank drive-thru yesterday! That was the real test- getting out of the truck is a pain with the restrictions on both sides! I assume that the bank does that to deter carjackings while customers are in the lane- hard to jerk a door open when 4' high poles are in the way...

oliver foster

I have found that non working P-pumped FSS usually work again with some lube and working them through the range of movement.
Glad to here the truck is working for you so you can take your money to the bank and not the parts store.

Hodge

I prefer taking my discretionary money to the local gun shop, instead of the bank.

Hodge

After weeks of functioning fine, the no-start is back. The rod and socket are dripping with oil, so that isn't binding. I have installed a new fusible link, and while doing that, I found a red wire, also with a fusible link, that comes off of the positive side and goes into the same wire bundle as the blue. That red wire, between the link and the end, was almost broken in to. What is this wire? Two fusible links, side by side and going into the same bundle, one red wire and one blue, the red almost broken.

patdaly

Best guess based upon what I could find in my 95 service manual is it might be to the ignition switch thru the PDC. Is it a large red wire, say 6 gauge?

If so I would fix it and see........ because that feeds the shutoff relay as well as some other stuff.

Hodge

It is the same gauge as the power feed/blue wire.
Either way, it needed fixing. I bought another fusible link and repaired it. So far, it is starting fine, but that means nothing at this point. A month of starting, and I will start to believe it might be conquered.

Hodge

It wasn't the fusible links. It is ambient temperature related. On cool days- say in the 70's, it starts. When it gets up in the high 80's, no start. Yesterday was unseasonably cool, and coincidentally, it started fine each time. Today, once the truck had been run and it is hotter, no start. So, I have replaced the relay and the fusible links. I have lubricated the knuckle on the solenoid. Next, I will install another solenoid and see it it starts.
A young man in our church replaced the solenoid on his 96 CTD at approximately the same time I did, and he also got his from Geno's. His started acting up, just like mine. He has reinstalled his old solenoid, and it is working now. If replacing my year-old Geno's solenoid solves the problem, I believe there might be a pattern. Incidentally, I have spoken with Geno's- they said it could be a number of things, and wrote it off. I do agree that it could be a number of things, but I would have appreciated an "if it is the solenoid that turns out to be bad, we will take care of you", or something to that effect.

Hodge

I replaced the shutoff solenoid, and it is starting great, even hot. Time will tell.

patdaly

Wow, something to keep in the back of my head...... appreciate the info, keep us informed.