Hey guys,

Thought i would share my story. I was coming home last night on the highway and went to take my exit when the truck died on me. I felt a little hesitation, got off the gas, sputtered once, then shut off while i was still rolling! Try taking an off-ramp going 70 with no power... I turned, slammed on the brake, shut the ignition off, put the clutch in and tried starting it again. My wait to start light would not shut off! took forever, and when it finally did, my truck wouldnt turn over(keep in mind im still rolling and turning, its a long off ramp). Now people are beeping at me, so i turn on my hazards and roll to the shoulder just at the end of the ramp. Took two hours to get home when it should have been 10 min.

Anyway, trucks at home, I need to look at it this afternoon when i get there.
I only had 1/4 tank, but i wasn't driving it hard at all. No check engine. Only codes were ones from an abs light that comes on every once in a while.
Thinking air in the system, maybe lift pump? Been checking out FASS on the internet anyway, seems pretty nice.

 

My '01 did it once, thought I had 1/4 tank of fuel, turned out to be empty. The infamous fuel guage problem got me. I wondered how I got an extra 30 miles outta that tank...

 

Same exact thing happened to me also. 1/4 tank bug got me too. I would check your lift pump and make sure its working. I would get a Fuel level Unit and maybe get a good lift pump.

 

Thanks guys, I went to my truck today put bout 5 gal in tried to start it and now my truck wont even crank. All the lights work but no start. I think the batteries are dead. I did try to get it sarted a couple of times last night. Maybe that did it. Was going to check the lift pump to see if that was the case, but no dice. Ill have to get a jump tomorrow. Keep you posted.

 

Don't get a jump, it won't start. Get a good charger and charge all the batteries. Then you will have to prime the fuel pump, lines, etc.

It's not fun running out of fuel with diesels. If possible I never get very low on fuel, my trucks very seldom see the Low Fuel lamp lighted up.

I would change your fuel filter also, just in case you picked up some "junk" from your tank bottom, it's $ 15.00 peace of mind.

 

Dually -
Your symptoms are exactly what happened when one of my VPs died. Did you do the key trick to check codes? Once you have juice again I would check that and go from there. I have killed 2 VPs where the check engine light never came on...
Good luck!
Jason

 

My '99s 2nd VP-44 died on me last Wednesday.
Same scenario.
Running one second...........silence the next.
No CIL, No Hiccup.

1st VP died the exact same way.

I'm hoping yours is a Out-Of-Fuel problem.

 

Mine has shut down like a few times and I traced it back to the drivers side positive battery terminal which had a crack in it. Try twisting it around and see if it'll fire. Start with the simple things and work your way up.

 

UPDATE:

Tested the lift pump last night, sounds like its working. It was dark so I didnt want to start cracking lines to bleed air. Ill wait until this weekend. But I had a question for you guys too. Would you Replace the lift pump with a fass (or oem) if you were in my situation and hope for the best? I dont want to sound like im just throwing parts at the truck, but i figure 700 is better then 1800 and at least it would be a step in the right direction.

 

Well im leaving work early to go pick up the fass. Tried to call my local dodge dealership for a vp44 tester but they gave me the run around. I know i saw a post saying that there was one, but as usual they didn't want to help me. Dont mean to complain just want take the right step. Will be installing it this weekend.
I called auto wurks diesel in caldwell nj. They guy was very helpful. He said that as long as it sputtered before it shut off, it should be the lift pump. Thats good news. But the lift pump was cycling after i cranked the engine.So maybe its just weak?
I plan to clean out the lines, change the filter, install the fass, prime the pump, cross my fingers.


Keep you guys posted. Thanks for all the help. Greatly appreciated. Wish me luck.

 

Dually,

For what it's worth, its NEVER a waste to replace the factory lift pump IF it gets replaced with something better like a FASS. I say this even if the VP44 is bad. Granted, maybe the stock lift pump is good and the VP44 is shot, but at the very least you just made your truck more reliable ten fold.

The only question is, is it in the budget? Throw a fuel pressure gauge on it, crack some lines and let the air out AFTER you fill the tank of course, and go from there. If you've got good pressure, then it's not the LP giving you your issues...

 

Agreed, a Full Time Fuel Pressure gauge is much cheaper than a 700 dollar fuel pump (and should be on EVERY VP equipped Cummins)

Good fuel pressure reading means you can wait on the FASS and start looking for a new Injection Pump.

I just finished replacing mine (Now on pump number 3) last night.

Huge props to Industrial Injection and Turbo Service for their SUPER quick response and shipping a replacement pump from their facility in Utah to my door in Arlington Virginia in less than 24 hours.

 

Good to know! Just let me know when you're ready, and I can email you some directions to my house, since after the New Year it's a full out air strike against my VP!

 

Look no farther that our very own Tech facts section for a great set of instructions.

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

It'll take anywhere from 4 to 6 hours for the average wrench-turner with a decent set of tools to perform the replacement.

 

Haha, I think you missed the point....but regardless when it does go I'll be doing it myself.

How long did the third one take you this time Ed?