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Hey guys. New to the site and the Diesel world. Always wanted to learn about diesel, me being more of a hands on learned i recently invested in a 99 single cab long box 5speed 24 valve.
Unfortunately the guy I bought the truck from had the jankiest battery setup I've seen in a long time.
It literally took two people to start the truck and the cables would spark.
Naturally, the first thing I did was replace them with a set of military style lugs from Napa.
Much safer and happier now except the truck won't start. It cranks at normal speed and wants to fire but not quite. As far as I know, everything is hooked up correctly and I'm not getting any check engine light.
Have you done any other maintenance like changing the fuel filter, or anything with the fuel system? If you did, then you most likely have air in the fuel system.
You only need three things to start; air, fuel, and compression.
Since it started before, compression must be adequate. Unless the filter is completely clogged, it's getting air (wide open intake, no throttle plate). That leaves fuel.
The injection pump (VP44) needs only 12 Volts, steady source of fuel with no air bubbles, and rotation (starter). The VP44 will start and idle with those three things. It's independent until shortly after start when the ECM powers on and the sensors come online, then the ECM takes over.
So unless you did any maintenance on the fuel system, you may have a leak causing you problems.
BTW, that is the worst looking battery connection I've ever seen , glad you changed it!
crack a couple of injectors while cranking , that will tell a lot,
if you have no or very little fuel there then check the fuel pressure going into the vp44 ....if you have fuel at that point then suspect a bad injection pump.
If it started before you fixed that disaster then it sounds like something accidentally got left out when re-connecting all the cables and connections. Or battery condition isnt as good as you think.
And that clearly sounds like to me that the starter is dragging or that there's a problem with one or both of the batteries. Do you happen to know if the OEM starter was ever replaced with a parts store starter? If so, you may want to explore replacing it since they're much weaker than OEM, BUT dont replace it if its the OEM Denso starter.
All diesels have to crank at specific cranking speeds in order to generate enough combustion pressure which will then generate the optimal heat necessary for combustion. So a dragging starter or weak batteries will slow the cranking speed enough that combustion wont occur. Your truck sounds very weak in the video.
And that clearly sounds like to me that the starter is dragging or that there's a problem with one or both of the batteries. Do you happen to know if the OEM starter was ever replaced with a parts store starter? If so, you may want to explore replacing it since they're much weaker than OEM, BUT dont replace it if its the OEM Denso starter.
All diesels have to crank at specific cranking speeds in order to generate enough combustion pressure which will then generate the optimal heat necessary for combustion. So a dragging starter or weak batteries will slow the cranking speed enough that combustion wont occur. Your truck sounds very weak in the video.
I agree. Your cranking speed is way too slow. Bad batteries, voltage drop, or starter problem.
Alright so I had both batteries bench tested and charged seperately. They both came back good. Talked to my neighbor who knows a little more about diesel, we went ahead and opened one of the injectors. I'm not getting any fuel and the truck is still cranking at the same speed as in the video. Still not firing. Lift pump issue?
Then I have to ask again..... Did it start and run before you messed with redoing that mess of cables and wiring? If so then you need to make sure the fuel pump is still working. I'm thinking you may have accidentally left something out of getting electricity or unplugged something when you were revamping.
If you had a fuel pressure gauge (even a test gauge) then you would have a better understanding of the fuel situation. That said, can you hear the fuel pump cycle? When you turn the key on you should hear it run for approx 2 seconds. Then when the key is in the ON position and you momentarily "bump" it over to START, the fuel pump should run for approx 25 seconds. If you cant hear it then its clearly not running.
But if it is running then you'll want to make sure there's actually fuel pumping. First by making sure there's fuel in the tank (common mistake) and by also opening the water/fuel drain on the fuel filter housing while the fuel pump is running as described above. If fuel shoots out then you're getting fuel.
If you're still not getting fuel at the injection lines then you need to first make sure the large VP plug is actually fully connected.
If everything checks out and you're still not getting fuel then for some strange unexplained reason, the VP seemingly quite.
But I'm still going to lean towards the most obvious above all other possibilities because I'm still thinking that it ran before you tore everything apart.
What about the starter? Its very easy to remove it and then you can get it tested. Seems to me that a fuel issue wouldn't cause your slow cranking. Plus the only thing you changed was the electrical not the fuel system. I don't have as much knowledge and experience as Katoom or jrs, but I have recently been through some similar issues while trying to track down a few hard starting conditions of my own. First, I would make sure you got everything wired up correctly like Katoom suggested, especially if the wiring is not exactly stock. Then I would ensure you got your batteries load tested separately and off the truck. I know you mentioned getting them tested but ensure they are load tested. AutoZone has a couple different methods, one is to load test, one is just a charger that then indicates the condition of the battery, no good. I had a bad battery test good on their charger/tester, but the load tester indicated it was bad. Next, i would also make sure your batteries are the highest CCA available for your application. Mine were not, far from it in fact! Then I would move on to the starter. It is easy to remove and then you can get it tested. Beware of places like auto zone testing something like this as well. They have no way of putting a load on it while they test it. I would look for a local shop that specializes in electrical components. Also find out if it is a Denso or not. If it is, follow Katoom's advice and do not replace it, rather rebuild it. I have been told that Larry B has some great kits for this. Also, what gauge is your crossover cable? It should be 2/0 I believe, hard to tell but in the pic it looks kinda small...
What is the small black wire on your positive terminal?
Alright so I had both batteries bench tested and charged seperately. They both came back good. Talked to my neighbor who knows a little more about diesel, we went ahead and opened one of the injectors. I'm not getting any fuel and the truck is still cranking at the same speed as in the video. Still not firing. Lift pump issue?
Ok, while that starter is not optimal ( and for future reference, don't keep cranking like that, especially as the batteries go down ), it should have easily started.
Since it started before you messed with the cables, make bloody well sure that you got ALL the wires reconnected. Think back, as you were replacing the ends, did you perhaps pull another wire?
Finally, and this bites a lot of non-Chrysler guys, make SURE each and every single ground is present and good. This is IMPERATIVE with these things.
, glad you changed it!
