1st Gen. Ram - All Topics Discussion for all Dodge Rams prior to 1994. This includes engine, drivetrain and non-drivetrain discussions. Anything prior to 1994 should go in here.

she wont fire

Old Mar 20, 2010 | 06:03 AM
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From: Connecticut
she wont fire

hi everyone

lately i been working at my friend welding shop to pay off a 91 non-ic motor. well i finally own it and tried to start it yesterday. its been sitting for a while but we hung it off the excavator, bleed out the injector lines, cranked it over and nothing. every now and then it would puff a little black smoke but thats all.

2 things a diesel needs to run are fuel and air right? its got that but just wont fire off. my guess is its sucking air somewhere. oh and we put 12volts to the fuel shutoff so thats def. not it

any tips? or am i missing something?

thanks in advance
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Old Mar 20, 2010 | 07:13 AM
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From: Land of milk and honey.
Justin, you're sure you put it to the solenoid, not the KSB?
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Old Mar 20, 2010 | 07:23 AM
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Actually, you need 3 things. Fuel, air and compression. But it's a given that you have compression, so yes, either you've got a fuel supply problem, or you're sucking air. Did the engine run before it was taken out of it's donor? You said you cracked the injectors and got fuel from them, right? I don't believe we have a pressure regulating valve on a return line, do we? Do we even have a return line?! I'll have to go check. Well, even if we do, surely the engine would fire and idle.
Well, no visible fuel leaks means invisible something, and we can't see air very well unless it's cold, so that's my guess. Good luck!
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Old Mar 20, 2010 | 07:42 AM
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From: Land of milk and honey.
There are 2 spade connectors on the pump, energize the top one.
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Old Mar 20, 2010 | 03:08 PM
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yes we do have a return line and im sure its the solenoid b/c we pulled the same wire on my truck and it shut it off. plus i cracked the injectors while cranking it over and it was shooting out the lines.

im lost, all advice is welcome
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Old Mar 20, 2010 | 03:29 PM
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I'm guessing there is no power going to the grid heater. These engines are cold natured some times. If you are not energizing the grid heaters in any way, start cranking it and give it a small shot of starting fluid. If all is good, it'll hit on the starting fluid.

One other important point. Since this engine most likely has been out of service for a while, make sure the turbo inlet is open and you have a piece of 2x6 or thick plywood handy, just in case it decides to "run away" if it fires. In case of a run away you can cover the turbo inlet to shut down the air supply.
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Old Mar 20, 2010 | 04:56 PM
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I went by a fire station in CT the other day and there was a dodge in the yard with paper towels all over the windshield. Looked kinda silly.

If your getting good fuel squirts then it should run. I have started my trucks as low as 10 degrees with no grids. Stock injectors start much better then big pigs like my 93 has. I would just keep bleeding. A buddy called me up once and said he changed his fuel filter and he got an air bubble in it. It never started after he changed it. It took me about 4 rounds of bleeding everything before it went. Sometimes they are a pain.
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Old Mar 20, 2010 | 05:04 PM
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good news: think i figured it out, timmy22 had a darn good idea, put the return line in the fuel jug. did that bleed everything out got a tiny puff of black smoke.....lost prime, re-bleed, lost prime, re-bleed. come to find out the lift pump is junk! so 42 bucks from genos garage for a new one and i will hopefully get her running!!!

the lift pump on it now is sucking air a fuel is coming out the bottom, so i would def. say thats the problem, thanks for all the help ill keep everyone updated on how it comes
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Old Mar 20, 2010 | 07:59 PM
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From: Land of milk and honey.
Trouble is, once you fire it up, you're going to want to put it in something. That's what happened to me.

I can try to find you a rust free Ramcharger with a blown motor for about $600 to put it in. Hahaha
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Old Mar 20, 2010 | 08:12 PM
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i need money lol. one of tods friends saw it sitting in his barn and offered 1200 if it ran!
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