Would that be why my cb picks up the knocking with the engine runnin? I was hoping I could fix that.

 

I have been using an internal VR for the past 3 years with NO problems.

Check this thread for more info

 

Truck => 1989 W250, 5spd. Cummins.


I had the same prob happen yesterday, by the way newbie just joined the forum because of this prob.

Driving down the road, interior lights got HELLA bright. Dome light lew up, then the low fuel went on, and then smoked up.

Then the truck just died, nothing...

Coasted to the side, while pulling a edit trialer. Opened the hood to find serious hole in the battery. Emergency action ASAP, pulled out a USMC bayonet from under the seat, pried off the terminals from the batt because the truck wouldn't shut down. The engine wasn't running, but turning the key off did not stop power to the truck and I did not want the battery blowing more than it already did.

I put in a new batt, and the truck would turn over, but would not start. I will replace the VR, becasue according to some of your experiences that's prob it. However, the truck should still fire ??? right??? Or have I possibly damaged something else???

 

Check to make sure you have power to the shutoff solenoid (on top of the pump towards the back) when the key is on. If not, jump power to it and the truck should light right off.

 

I fill that the ground fix works, knot becuse there is a ground loss but becuse the ground becomes vary pore or highly resistant.
the reason why......brace your self here comes a story!!!


Trying to make may cuda more consistent,....and faster I wanted to fined a way to make my alt.,to not charge, going down the track, but still charge all the rest of the time, with out me haveing to add one more thing to my routine, like turning a switch at the starting line.

one day at the track my alt. quit charging and i had to put my spare VR on. in a hurry i just left the one on the fire wall and hook it up and left it on the eng,VR was insulated from ground by the ign.wire(with i didn't realise was nescessary at the time )no charge of cource, but had to get back in line for 2nt round of competition.
after that round(witch i lost, cus my cuda ran quicker by 0.20 of a second )
while siting back in the pits licking my wounds, I bolted the VR to the fire wall and alt. started to charge!

Long story short i insulated the VR from the fire wall and added a ground wire from the VR to a relay.
when the relay is deactivated it brake the ground signal for the VR and alt.quits charting.
Used a hood alarm sw, added to the throttle causes the alt to quit charging when under full throttle
this system has been on my car for 3 years now and with out a single problem!!!
ground, from VR thru relay,is atach at the block,were the negative side of the bat.cable ataches to block!

 

Yup, bingo. Fuel solenoid on the back of the injector pump.

looks like it melted the connection right off. Good adive bud. Thanks.

New from cummins it's a $200 part, checker has em aftermarket for about $100.

Anyone know of a cheaper source, pretty pricey little part.

 

https://www.dieseltruckresource.com/...n&onlynewfaq=1

Go here, tech faqs which can be found at the top of the page, then to misc 1st gen part numbers is where the link is to. about half way down the page you'll see

"Fuel Shutoff Solenoid
028-130-135-B
36.00 from
Valley Wagon
Carson City NV
Phone Number 775-882-2350"

Which is a volkswagon dealer ship.

 

If you want it quick, go to your local VW/Audi dealer, lie to 'em and tell them you have an '85 Golf. That price is out of date, it cost me a hair under $50 with tax last year.

If you have time to wait for it, this is the lowest price I've seen.

http://rep.racepages.com/parts/racep...owdc=false#top

You can take the solenoid out, remove the plunger and spring, put the solenoid back on, and drive the truck while you're waiting for parts. Just use the manual shutoff on the side of the pump to kill it.

 

I did something dumb and fried the original VR on my truck. I then bought one from a parts outfit.. probably napa, then it went. I got some from a local wrecker, off of old vans mostly. They work well and last and last.... if they are really original. The only dud I got was the nice shiny new one with electonic parts are not returnable stamped on it. The one I like best puts out lowish voltage... 14.5 tops. I don't think it will hurt anything. I am just glad I don't have a newer truck where, apparently, the ECM controls voltage.

I remember the old relay and points type regulators. The Bosche ones on my old Volvo's were pretty good. I remember having to give one a smack somewhere in Eastern ND. It started charging again any never did quit again. I guess it just wanted a little recognition.

 

Thanks a lot for the info on the ground. I installed a cable and hooked it to the block. Walla every thing works fine. The VRs are cheap (12.95 ) but just a pain in the edit to install.

Charliex25

 

Thanks, good info on the parts resource, and nice little trick on the shutoff solenoid to get back home.

Thanks gents.

Love the forum, lot of good info and experience here.

 

The big problem with the 89-93 is that whenever the hood is raised in the rain the water drips right on the VR. Bad bad design that lasted 1974 to 1993 and Dodge still did not learn. Relying on a steel screw thread to sheet metal for a ground causes loss of "ground reference" wrt to the negative of the battery. The VR then puts out full voltage and fries. The ground strap is the best but also dab some vaseline (does not attack rubber) on the connector for VR. This prevents corrossion. My last VR has lasted 12 years from WalMart.

I put this in the same category as the windshield washers that do not hit the windshield at speeds over 20 mph. After 16 years of same body design they had ample time to figure out the faults. Only design improvements that happened were those that cost them directly on warranty repair. Fortunately that attitude improved in 1994.

 

Hey Sootblower, you make a lot of sense. Remember though that Mopar was set to abandon it's trucks altogether when they came up with the idea of sticking a Cummins in their obsolete old truck line. They did not have the money for a new line until cummins sales perked up interest in Dodge trucks. They almost pulled the same stunt again with the new trucks, not making some badly needed safety and crash resistance changes till almost ten years into the new model. I saw what happened to a late 90's Dodge gasser when it went head on with an early 90's (forgive me) ford. The ford and it's driver were way better off than the Dodge. BUT all is better now. Saw some tests of the newer ones and they came out beautifully.

 

MY '92 PCM gave me 16.5 volts so I put a separate VR in and get 14.5 Volts. I had an extra wire so I coincidentally put 2 grounds. VR to Alt and to Engine.
Seems to work well except the Check engine light does not go out.
I don't have a code reader and have touble counting flashes. Any help?
The engine and trans are installed in a 1972 Commander. I need gearing too!

 

The PCM has noticed that the field circuit is open. Time for electrical tape over the light.