I posted a while back about my truck leaving me stranded and failing to start about 30 miles from town yet the next morning the tow truck driver started it just fine before towing it to the dealer who said nothing was wrong and they couldn't repeat the problem.

Well, after running fine for a couple of months I had it act up again on me this weekend. Again I had been driving it on the highway for about 45 minutes and after running in to see someone it wouldn't start but after about 3 tries it fired up and ran fine the rest of the day. Then the following day I had to go back down to KC which is about 45 minutes away and this time it wouldn't start for an hour and a half then fired right up. Then on the next day I drove it about 10 minutes and it started fine but then after driving it another 5 it wouldn't start until I waited about 15 minutes.

It will always crank but it acts like it isn't getting fuel into the cylinders. I have a lift pump gauge and it shows good pressure but I have noticed that when it acts up the lift pump only runs a second or two after you start pumping then it shuts off. If you bump the starter the lift pump will not cycle. I have tried new lift pumps but the problem is that the pump isn't being sent a signal not that the lift pump is bad. Since the truck has had an ECM replaced and I have checked the grounds I am thinking that this might be a fuel solenoid in the VP44. Does this sound feasible?

I found a salvaged VP44 and I am thinking about buying it and trying to tear mine apart and fix it if possible. I have never taken off or put on a VP-44 but have found lots of instructions with pics of how to do it.

Thanks for any help,
Keith

 

You're not getting a check engine light? I'm having very similar issues. The hard starting is intermittent and not consistent. It happens less when I park facing down hill and happens even if I've had the vehicle off for 5 minutes - way too fast to lose prime considering when the key is turned on the fuel pressure is 18psi.

If you're getting a check engine light you need to run the codes because that'll help a lot. I'm pointing to the vp44 on my machine but by no means does this validate yours being bad.

 

Nope no codes at all. The pump has 60,000 miles on it but it has had some weird timing problems since I got it put on and has idled rough. A Bosch man told me it was most likely one of the pumps made around 2002, which is when I got it, that had a timing ring made out of a material that didn't slide like it was supposed to so they went back to what they had been using before.

I will let you know if changing the pump fixes this. Then if it does I will see if I can break it open and fix what is wrong. Nothing to lose as far as I can tell. If it doesn't fix the problem I will really be scratching my head. I figure it is either the solenoid sticking or a computer issue. Seems to act up more on cooler days but it is so random that it is hard to tell.

Keith

 

My ’01 was doing the same thing, it would crank and crank, but would not start. I traced it back to a loose cartridge fuse in the big fuse box under the hood. It was either the fuel relay or ECM fuse, which had loose terminals, but was not blown. Replaced it, and all the other fuses, for good measure, and problem solved. Might be worth a try. . .