HI people,
I have an 05 Ram with a 24 valve Cummins. We took a long trip and for most it ran fine. Last 300 miles it started acting up. Ran a little ragged, picked up a much louder rattle that occured under a load mainly at first, then even at idle. When shifting (standard 6spd) the RPM's would increase after letting off pedal for 2-3 seconds, then come down. Definite loss of power.
I figured it to be a clogged injector, but I am new to diesels.
I took them all out, took off the nozzle tips, cleaned them, reassembled everything, made no valve adjustments or disconnected any wires.

Won't start. Not even a pop or rumble.

Cranks over great, has fuel to the high pressure supply tube. I don't know what pressure though, no gauges.
Have been cranking and cranking, attempting to bleed air even though manual says not needed. No luck.
Anyone have anything insightful?
Thanks for any ideas.
Woody

 

Check for codes

 

if its a converted truck will it be able to show codes.

 

Truck was completely rewired for diesel. ECM too, although I have one for auto, not standard, which has other not as critical issues. An issue for another time....

Related codes shown are:

0088- fuel rail/ system pressure too high

0148- fuel delivery error

After working on it this morning, it appears that it is getting good fuel and pressure to the injection pump, but fuel to the common rail is less than ideal. Really only a light stream. I am not sure it is achieving the 1450 psi needed to open the injectors. I took out the injectors again and went through them looking for obvious errors, couldn't find any. They have power to them for firing as well.
I even tried dragging the truck in gear to pop start it...nothing at all.
If it were a high pressure injection pump failure would it definitely throw a code, or just quietly pass away? Would the pump failure have symptoms like I experienced, ie; low power; excessive valve rattle; RPM fluctuation?

 

Big Iron, Thanks for the link. Very helpful stuff. I don't have the resources for all the testing, but will attempt what I can.

Is it possible for a "electronic fuel control actuator" to fail slowly, then catastrophically? In other words, do they just crap out suddenly, or can they limp on in a corrupted form for a while, then die?
Further, is the EFCA located on my CP3 pump w/ the two wire connector, or elsewhere?
Thanks

 

fca is on the back side of cp3, can't remember for sure but I think it will click when power is applied from key on. It is a likely cause of your problem

 

im having the same issue Woody has! Truck ran fine before replacing injectors (put in F1 injectors)

pressure seems to be very low in the rail, i bleeded it too.

btw, is it normal that the injectors tick, with just the ignition key on?

thanks for any input.

 

Sorry to hear that 12v,
Have you had any luck? Its been a handicap with the holiday weekend too.
My injectors tick too w/ key on. I think its the ECM going " Ready?"
I am testing the high pressure inj pump for fuel volume today. See what happens...
Is there a specific test for the fcm failure? Hate to just spend over $100 on "could be it" philosophy. Although the truck sitting in the barn does nothing for me.
Thanks to all for the input.

 

re check your fuel transfer tubes, (the ones going to the injectors) one or more may not be seated properly

 

how do you check them? i loosened the injectors yesterday again, and the conector tube, and retightened again! still no luck. i believe one must still be leaking, how do you find out which it is? pulling all injectors is not so much fun.

 

I have had my injectors and tubes out a couple times. Followed procedure which I believe is (don't have manual with me), put clean oil on o-ring, firmly seat injector, seat delivery tube w/ball seats at 12o'clock, snug bolts on injector, torque delivery tube lock nut, torque injector bolts, replace fuel lines. I checked all the tubes for cracks and such, o-rings as well, and it all worked before?? Can't find any obvious air leaks. Do you need to check fuel return volume to verify a leak?

 

Does anyone know if the two wires going into the back of the high pressure injection pump (which I assume is the fuel control actuator) should have power to them at any time?
I checked them with a tester to ground with key off, key on, and cranking, and got no power signal. Would the codes 0088 or 0148 promote an ECM shutdown?
I did the fuel flow test to both lift pump and high pressure pump. Both passed the test.
Thanks for the help

 

Woody, Sisnce you said you pulled all the conector tubes, and injectors for inspection i suppose your problem is different then mine!

i got the truck running today!! What i did was go to a diesel mechanic, and get a piece of injector line (cut to 3 inches long) with the fitting, hammered the end together with a hammer, to close it, so it serves as a plug. to put it on the outlet of the fuel rail. close one rail at a time, and crank the engine, whenever the engine starts (it will start on only 5 cilinders) you know the line you plugged is the one with a leak , at the connector tube, or injector or where ever.

i found my #5 injector conector tube was damage, while installing the injector without removing the conector tube first. so i gotta get another connector tube, and i will hopefully all work out. truck runs great on 5 cilinders now (rail outlet number 5 is plugged) but of course i dont run the truck like that!

Good luck

 

Good thinking 12v!
I'll see about giving that a try. Right now I am VERY frustrated with my rig. Really glad you found your problem and got running again. I'll keep at it.

Any feedback on the two wires at the cp3 connection?

 

I don't think I would try that idea on a CRD because the pressure is so high. If you are checking for leaks, remember to use cardboard.