Early 2004 305/555 No modifications other than exhaust brake and full flow exhaust system.

I was parked 10 miles from the paved road and about 40 miles from the nearest hole-in-the-wall town.
Truck would crank but wouldn't start. Tried booster cables etc. no joy.

Out of desperation, I gave the truck a couple sniffs of ether (after disconnecting the intake heater grid) which fired right up and was able to run the truck home.

Cycling the key 3 times gives me the P-0477 code for the engine brake but that is it.
Googler tells me either it is the pressure relieve valve or injectors.
Considering the oil level is 3/16 over full on the dipstick and I doubt I would have over filled by that much last time I have a feeling it is a dribbly injector.....

Rather than blindly throwing parts at it I am looking for recommendations for shops in the Vancouver BC area that specialize in Dodge Diesel pickups.
Suggestions? good experience? Bad?

Thanks,

 

Solved my problem...
Replaced the common rail pressure relief valve. Cummins part 3947799.
Truck didn't fire right away (naturally) as when I changed the valve it let air into the system that needed to be burped.

After a short drive where the truck got up to temperature, the truck would start no problem.
The existing valve was original to the truck. 19 years and 290,000km. Hopefully the new valve lasts just as long...

 

So, after busting open my wallet and springing for a Cummins genuine part, I decided to take my original faulty part apart.

Valve Body, needle, valve spring and retainer (removed via a 5MM Allen key. The twizzled up wire is the helicoil that held the spring retainer in place. The banjo bolt for the fuel return also threaded into the helicoil.

Hard to say what made this fail. I can see where it would be VERY sensitive to contamination. It could also simply be wear. The needle or the seat could simply be worn to the point of no longer holding sufficient pressure....

 

Thanks for the update!

47

 

I moved to Puerto Rico and decided to have my truck shipped by Puerto Rico car transport. They had a list of necessities and obviously would not have picked it up if it was not running. But when I went to pick it up it was not. The first thing I noticed was the fuel light came on. I had left a quarter of a tank in it.
They were nice enough to give me 5 gallons of diesel. When I went to put the fuel in there was diesel all over the side of the truck, obviously a pour or hurried siphon job. On closer inspection there was mud in the wheel wells. I had it washed immediately before shipping. When I checked the mileage there were about 200 extra miles. After having their revered mechanic look at it, I did not get it started at the dock and had to tow it to my home by the revered mechanic’s tow truck who insisted on cash payment. I figured it was a fuel issue and I could fix that myself at home.

In the process of bleeding the fuel lines I noticed that the fuel pump was not coming on. I figured fuel relay which is located inside the TIPM on this truck. Throughout this whole process I had multiple mechanics look at it including the dealership with no real input on which way to go but the fuses and accessible relays were well checked as well as the lift pump. So I ordered the new TIPM and replaced it.

Most of the mechanics used a reader to check the codes and there was no comm to the ECM. The gauges did not work but were functional. I ordered the ECM and replaced it and it started right up. I am assuming since they ran the fuel tank completely dry as I checked the filter when I picked it up and it was empty. They either shorted it when they jumped it or hooked up a charger backwards as there was a ground wire that looked to have gotten hot.

There could have been a grounding issue but because I knew it was running before they shipped it I did not focus to much on that.

Puerto Rico car transport refused to pay for the parts cost. I now have to have the old TIPM and ECM sent of to be checked. I purchased their insurance but am using my insurance company to get reimbursed. The whole process took over 7 months.

Any tips on how to go after them would be appreciated.