Hey fellas. Need a bit of insight. Trying to help my uncle out. Hes having some issues with his truck. Work is tight for him and I dont want him to just go throwing parts at his truck to try and fix it.

Truck is a 2001 3500 4x4 NV5600. I do not know if its a SO or HO and Im looking into this for him.



Previous tidbit of info. Bout a year ago his fuel pump died on him and took the VP44 out with it. New lift pump and VP44 and it ran pretty decent for a while.

Truck had an EJA when he bought it. He took it off when the VP gave up the good fight. Stock now.

Now he is getting what he can best describe as a split second loss of power. He describes it as if someone where to shut off the truck and then turn it right back on before it finished shutting down. He said it is really quick though. Like a second or less in duration. Highway speeds, town driving. Happens in all locations. Was pretty intermittent, but is slowly getting more and more frequent. He said its like it looses the "want" to run for a split second then pics back up.

He does have three codes that came up:

P1689 No Communication Between ECM & Injection Pump Module

P0230 Transfer pump circuit out of range

P1693 Generic fault indicating a fault in the bus or PCM/ECM interface


Im thinking its the ECM going out. Hes hoping its not the VP44 again.

What do yall think?


Blake

 

Blake, go simple first. Have him check all the connections at the pump and every connection and wire tap that may have been made to connect the EJA.

 

Thanks Rick

That was the first thing I had him do. No obvious issues though....

 

Read here:
http://www.bluechipdiesel.com/vp44_diagnostics.html

It does not sound good...

 

Sounds like exactly what happened to mine a few summers back.

My vp wasn't involved, but the ECM and LP were replaced.

I will try to find the service order and my notes on what codes were thrown, but the three you have look familiar.

 

P0230 Transfer pump circuit out of range

I'd chase that one first unless he had the lift pump unplugged and turned on the key.

if the VP comes unplugged completely and turn on the key, you'll get 8 or so codes, i did that once by accident.

 

I would unplug the main connector on the back of the VP44 and have a look at pin fit on all the terminals. Years ago, Chrysler engineering reported some trouble with that connector on that type of problem, and on a few trucks, I took a small seal pick, and carefully "caved in" those terminals very slightly so they would grip the pins tighter. It seemed to solve some problems. I would also disconnect the ECM connector and hose off all the terminals with electronic cleaner, then blow it dry with compressed air and give it a fresh coat of dielectric grease and reseat the connector. Not saying this is your problem, but I think it would be a good first step.

 

Thanks for the help guys. Ill pass the info along and see if we can get something solved.

 

Ok, back on this again. Reviving from the dead.

Im back home and trying to get him his problem solved.

An Airdog 150 was installed, along with dads old EJA for monitoring purposes. Fuel pressure is good. A solid 15-16 at all times.

Still getting codes, P1689 and 1693.

Truck will start fine, idle like a champ. Runs good at lower RPM's

When running it up, not aggressively either, around 2300 or so RPM's it will hesitate for a second. Like a split second stall and then recovers. Still cant figure what it is.

Have pulled every connector I can and check for corrosion, fit etc. Nothing odd found.

He brought it to a mechanic, who used what I am assuming to be a Starscan, and it is his belief that the ECM is bad.

Just wanted to run this by those in the know, and see if any ideas are out there before he drop the coin on a new (reman) ECM.

They aint cheap.

 

It sounds like it could also be a problem in the APPS. Do a reset, undo th battery for 30 minutes. Then turn on the key when battery is hooked back up and very slowly push the pedal to the floor and slowly let it up. You can also adjust the voltages on the APPS but if it is idling smooth that should be OK. But a small blip can happen with the APPS going south. If you replace it go with the Timbo APPS.

 

Ill relay the info, thanks bud!


And for sure on the Timbo APPS. We put one on Dads 02, works great.