i have a 99 2500 cummins and it just all of the sudden decided it would not crank on its own. i finally had to crank with either and it runs fine then.
does anyone know why it is doing this?

i have changed the lift pump and crank sensor and still no good. any ideas would be helpful-i am in a bind here.

 

yall i really need some help with this one. if anyone can take a shot at it i would really appreciate it.

 

what do you mean it wont crank? like it turns over and wont start? is it stock? do you have a "dead pedal" at times? (no response when accelerator is pressed) do a KEY ON, KEY OFF, KEY ON, KEY OFF, KEY ON sequence. that will bring up your codes on your odometer, write em down and post them here. also if you are trying to start it and it doesnt start, crack an injector line at the head with a 3/4 in wrench and see if your getting fuel..

 

May have a bad starter solenoid or could you have bumped the wiring at the starter to loosen it while doing the lift pump? Check the starter relay as well. Should be able to swap it with the horn relay or a/c relay .

 

it will turn over fine it just want crank on its own.
i have bleed the injectors and have fuel to each.
like i said when it cranks on ether it runs fine no dead pedal or nothing.
i havent had it but about 1.5 months and i put 4inch exhaust,juice/edge and cold intake,new lift pump,and 14cmturbo housing to get rid of wastegate.

after i done all this work it performed/crunk fine now it just want fire at all.
i have been looking for answers and even the dealership doesnt know,they just want to charge me for what they think it is which is a retro fit fuel system for 1200 $ and i cant afford that now after all the other mods.

 

I think this guy is saying it will crank but it will not run. After a shot of ether, it will fire but then stalls.
1. The key trick will not work on your 99.
2. Don't use ether with the heater grids connected.
3. Take it somewhere and have the codes checked.
4. Is there any white smoke while cranking without ether?

 

yes a little bit but like i said it runs fine once it cranks no stalling at all.
it is starting to become more of a mystery than a problem.
i know it is bad using ether on it and it doesnt have any codes?

 

on that last question i didnt read it right, no white smoke until i use ether and it fires up.

 

injectors?? i had same problem. replaced lp. still no start, just crank. ran fine after using ether. replaced my injectors and starts just fine. 9 days and counting, fingers crossed.

 

I was thinking that the fuel was not atomizing enough during cranking. Would this be injectors or IP? I was assuming there would be white smoke if there was unatomized fuel. I'm no diesel expert but I have always seen white smoke during cold starts and when I had air in my system.. It seems like he has good fuel pressure after the motor fires and runs up a bit.

 

Is it temperature sensitive? like does it do it when its hot, cold, or all the time?

 

maybe the heating grids are not working

 

it does it all the time hot cold, start up and run fine with ether and shut down, same problem.

if i was to change the injectors to try and cure the problem would i be okay with a step up? or would i have to put a bigger turbo on also?

 

you could upgrade to a 275 or even a 100 horse injector but you are going to need gauges. also if you decide to pull the injectors change the connector tube o-rings, having a bad one of those will cause a hard start also, but since you havent messed with the injectors i wouldnt see you having a bad one now.

 

i just got back from the dealership and the deisel guy said that my lift pump was a little slow but once it come up it had great pressure. and they couldnt find anything wrong.
i left it there yesterday morning and the tech check it over and said it started fine every time with him. so i went back up there today and went out there to fire it up with the tech and it wouldnt crank.

here is the deal all this time i thought i had a fuel issue and all along it was a wire in the steering column grounding out causing not to start when you get in and tilt the wheel down. with the wheel up it starts fine.

talk about disgusted! so now i will have to pull the column down and see what is going on with it.

this is a relief in one way and another headache in another!!!