johnrawdon

I am kinda new to diesels and very new to DTR. I have a 1999 dodge 3500 w the cummins motor. It has 168000 miles and I have driven it about 17000 of those. I bought a haynes manual and have checked the grid heaters and they seem to be working fine according to the manual. If I keep trying I can eventually get it started and it runs great and it will start right back up after shutdown but once it sits for a while it wont start back. Sometimes I can mash the accelerator about half way while turning it over and that seems to help but not everytime. Someboby HELP me!

johnrawdon

Well I read through some the older threads learned a few things.( I hope) I loosened fuel line at # 1 and cranked it over and got some air then fuel and then it started right up, ran rough till I tightened it up and then ran smooth. I waited about an hour or so and same thing again, didn't want to start. Somebody please help. John

wranglernick

Could be your check valve on pump. If you do a search you may find other's with this problem.

Rauschbo

Welcome to DTR, I know you will find a WEALTH of info here, and a lot of friendly advice / assistance -

First thing: Fill out your signature (User CP) so we know what vehicle / mod's we are dealing with, that will make it a LOT easier to diagnose.

No gauges?

Diesels need only fuel and air to run, so tracing both is the first step - check your air filter to see if it is totally plugged and not allowing air thru...

Now...do you have fuel (at least 1/2 a tank)? Do you use any additives (Powerservice, Stanadyne, etc.)? Are the batteries strong? Low voltage / sluggish turn-over can prevent starting....

Given your description of your issue, it sounds like you are dealing with the fueling system, so.....

.... on to the most troublesome section of these rigs, the fuel system. Start with changing the fuel filter, it may be plugged - HOPEFULLY, that is the issue. Is the CEL on? If so, get it to Autozone, they will read any codes stored, which is an immense help in troubleshooting....
The Lift Pump (LP) needs to provide adequate flow to the Injection Pump (IP or VP44) to keep it cooled and "alive", so if your LP has been marginal, you have killed your IP.....thus, monitoring fuel pressure at the VP is critical for these trucks. If you are still not starting after the fuel filter swap, and your fuel isn't gelled (how cold is the weather back in TN?), you need to get a FP gauge on it ASAP - you can set up a Schrader valve on top of the fuel filter for a quick look at the pressure, but at least as important is the fuel pressure under a load, or acceleration. I believe that 7 psi is a good "minimum" number, below which you need to take immediate action - you can swap in an OEM style pump (Holley Blue seems to be liked on this site), or go aftermarket; The Holley will be ~$150, the Walbro and FASS systems are ~$500, the FASS II (pump only) is ~$350. If the IP has been killed, you're looking at $1400-ish

Note: Pumping the pedal doesn't do anything during start up....

Give the truck a once-through as generally outlined above, fill in your User CP, and get the codes checked - let us know what you find, we'll help you get it sorted out and back on the road -
Again, welcome to DTR!

Rauschbo

johnrawdon

Ok I wil go down the list
1 I filled out the cp info
2 This is a 1999 dodge 3500 all factory, no mods that I have found. I have driven this truck for about 17k mi. It has 168k on it
3 Factory guages
4 fuel and air filters are new
5 fuel is at 1/2 tank w no additives
6 batteries seem to be strong ( motor sounds like it is turning over as fast as ever )
7 The cel , I'll show some more of my ignorance here but I suppose that is check engine light, is not on
8 The weather is warm around 60 f or so
9 I will get a fp guage on there tonight or in the morning

Pirate

From what you have stated, air coming out of injector prior to fuel and then happening again you may want to look for leaks along the fuel line that allows air to enter the system.

I know this has been discussed and the most likely locations. Others a lot more knowledgable should jump in and give you better information.

Good luck and Welcome to the best Dodge CTD site. A lot of very helpful people here!!

Rauschbo

- excellent, now we can (hopefully) find your Daemons....

The hard-priming condition may actually be sourced to pinholes in the line, you might crawl around underneath and trace it from the tank to the VP, see if you've noticeable leaks (this would be a nice, cheap fix!) -

Running an additive, especially with the new LSD (Ultra low Sulfur Diesel), is strongly recommended...

Everything else sounds good, no Check Engine Light - Autozone will only do the reading if the CEL is on; The VP44 sometime dies dies without triggering the CEL.....

If you've good pressure post-filter, there's a good chance that your VP44 is headed for the boneyard - I certainly hope this is not the case, that is a lot of $$$ -

Let us know what you find with the fuel pressure, and we'll go from there -

Thx for the update -
Rauschbo

RAM2940

By reading your posts, after cracking the injectors and getting air and fuel, it sounds like your losing prime(getting air in your fuel lines). Check the fuel lines for leaks. Possibly around banjo bolt washers and any rubber portion of the fuel line.

theonlyz

Dumb question but do you have enough fuel in the tank? I had a simmilar problem with only a quarter tank of fuel left and after I fueled up no problem. I have a new IP and my fuel pressure was dropping off. If you fuel is low fill her up and see what happens. Your sending unit might be picking up air or the IP may be getting ready to die. Do your truck a favor and pick up a glacier fuel system to save your pump. hope that helps.

johnrawdon

Well here's today progress. First thing this morning it would not start. Loosened up # 1, started in about 10 - 12 seconds. Went to the auto parts thinking I would just walk in and get a fuel guage (hmmmmmm) only if you drive a gas burner. So I went and topped off the tank and gave it some Lucas additive. Came home and started calling surrounding towns for a fuel guage, all to no avail. Could not find a guage anywhere. So I could not let a sunny day like this get by , I got under the hood and looked around and found that the ( I am quoteing the Haynes manual) fuel return line coming out of the IP going to the fuel drain manifold is loose in the tee at the manifold. Could this be a part of my problem ? Where do you suggest I get a fuel guage and what kind should I get since I am going to have to order one , I should get what I really need. Am I hurting anything by driving the truck like it is ? Thanks for all the replies. John

glenn-k

For a quick fuel pressure check just get a water pressure gauge at the hardware store - 30 to 60 lb would work. Adapt it down to male 1/8" pipe thread, remove the plug and screw it into the hole on the front portion on top of the fuel filter. This will give you a reading of the filter plugging also. If you put a needle valve or handle type shutoff valve you can just shut it off - unscrew the temporary gauge then put your permanent one in the same location later. The handle or needle can be partially closed to dampen gauge fluctuations.

I ordered my gauges from Gus at Farmboy's Diesel Performance 704-290-2289 - He was an advertiser here. Got the "A" pillar mount and steering wheel gauge mount for 4 gauges. He is very helpful and has always got the right parts for me. He got Autometer for me. There are others also. The green light covers make the light the same color as your other gauges at night.

I ran a manual gauge - diesel to the gauge - no transducer. They can cause problems and if there is ever a leak I can shut off the valve to stop it. I put mine in the bottom location on the pillar and ran the expensive Weatherhead push on hose from NAPA. I had an automatic so ran it through the clutch grommet through the firewall.

the_fox_man4

hey, just wanted to chime in since I had a problem like this. first off you can use a gas fuel gauge they are the same the one I use is a auto meter manual gauge 15 psi. should have got a 30psi but ya. I also run a 2 more gauges under the hood of the truck, that is a cheap gauge from northern tool. there 1 1/2" gauge for like $4, and I mounted that right on the fuel filter canister one pre filter and the other post filter right there on the 1/8 brass npt ports on top.

As for a fuel pump I run a walbro kit from Wide open diesel . www.wideopendiesel.com you can get a kit there for like $299 best price around , and jason is a great guy to work with.

now as for when my truck was doing the same thing it was a lose injector line on #6. there was no sign of leaking fuel the nut was just finger tight. but don't over tighten them thinking thats better. but ya take a look at the fuel line and look very close back at the tank at the draw and return fittings they like to leak there where the the disconects met the white plastic draw straw. hope the info helps.

johnrawdon

Hey fellows, thanks for the info. Work schedule won't allow me to work on this until about wednesday (will have to drive my dodge 3500 GAS burner) Will keep you posted so please check back.

johnrawdon

It is wednesday evening and I got in from work today and I put a guage in each of the plugs on the top of the fuel filter , got it started and the guages ran at 10 psi each with the truck idleing and droped to about 2-3 when I ran it up a few thousand rpm. They were a little hard to read with all the vibration. When I trun the ign. on without starting the lift pump runs for just a few seconds and the guages read 10 psi while it is running and drop to 0 as soon as the lift pump stops. Shoud it be holding pressure afterthe lift pump pumps up??? The guages on top of the filter is all that I could get my hands on today hope to do better tomorrow. Thanks for all the help. John

glenn-k

Just checked mine for you. Stock boost pump - key on jumps to 12 PSI for a couple seconds then drops to 0. Start - idles at 11 psi. Punch it - drops to 9 psi momentarily. WOT driving not under 7 usually. Minimum to ever see is about 4 psi or find out what's wrong is what I've read here and various places.