Stalling, Loss of Power & Lights Dimming

[Soarer]

2004 (early production without HO motor) Ram 2500 CTD regular cab, 4x4 with automatic trans. Currently has 236K. Bought the truck with 220k and was told from the previous owner that he did injectors, and lift pump at 200k. I did fuel filter with an oil change at 230k. It's been running great for the 16k I've had it until last week. I drove the truck about 30 miles to work with no problems. I went out for lunch and when I started the truck and put my foot on the brake to shift into reverse, it stalled. It's never done that before. I was suspicious... I started driving to the pizza place about 2 miles from my office and when I approached a stop light and hit the brakes, it stalled again. It started right up and I drove another half mile when at another light, it stalled again upon hitting the brakes. I started it again and pulled into he pizza shop parking lot. I put it in park and listened to the motor. It was louder than usual with a prominent diesel "clackety clack". I thought maybe I had lost a vacuum line so I popped the hood but couldn't see anything obvious.

I had my lunch and came back to the truck about 30 minutes later. It started easily but now had a CEL. I gingerly drove it home about 30 miles. The idle remained noisy and rough. The engine sound was loudest at lower RPMs and got quieter as the motor revved up a bit. Above 1200 RPM it sounded normal. Above 1450 RPM it was quiet without any typical diesel clackety clack. At 1500 RPM it lost power quickly.

When I got home I pulled the code P0088 with my code reader. I then found out that all you have to do to pull codes is switch your ignition from off to on 3 times fast and the codes will come up on the dash. The code that came up when I did this was the same as my reader pulled.

From what I found, the code means:
P0088 Fuel Rail/System Pressure - Too High

I did some reading up and was directed to the Fuel Control Actuator (FCA). I inspected mine and saw that the female connector on the back of the FCA was broken off. The pins were still there and connected to the plug but I figured, this thing is obviously busted so it could very well be my problem. I ordered a new one, installed it and the truck ran fine. I took it for a 3 mile test ride and had no CELs. There was one funny thing I noticed though. The interior lights were dimming for a few seconds and then would go bright again for a few seconds and then dim again, and on and on. It was as though some heavy electrical draw was kicking on and off.

The next evening, I jumped in the truck to go out for some food and one mile down the road it started losing power and stalling. I limped it home and it was still doing the lights dimming thing. It did not throw a CEL. I parked it and now I'm stumped as to what's wrong. I'm going to change the fuel filter tomorrow and see if that helps.

Anyone got any ideas? What to check? How to diagnose?

 

[Ozymandias]

Lights going cycling dark is usually an indicator for a working grid heater, it draws so much amp that the alternator can't keep the power up.
If your batterys and battery connectors are also weak then the grid heater can pull the whole electric system down.

 

[HPSimpson]

Lights going dim is the grid heater cycling, have you check battery cables for corrosion, clean them all up and use dielectric grease to keep them clean, how old are those batteries?

 

[DonFitzwater]

With that many miles you should probably put an fca on it. Oops, didn't realize you had put a new fca on it.

 

[Soarer]

I just got done cleaning up all the battery connections. I removed each terminal, brushed it well, removed any corrosion which there was little of really only on the passenger side battery negative terminal. Connected everything back up. Didn't fix my issue. I did notice that the thick red lead coming off the alternator is corroded green and the insulation is starting to crack.

I checked the grounds I could see and they looked fine. The ones that go to the fenders all look completely clean and solid. I took a quick look at the batter crossover cable and it looked fine.. no obvious breaks.

I thought that maybe air got into the system when I replaced the FCA so I read up on how to bleed the system. It's a "self-bleeding" system and all you have to do is turn the key to crank for a split second (not enough to start the truck but just enough to engage the starter for a split second) and then the lift pump will run for 25 seconds which should prime/bleed the fuel system. I did this a few times then started the truck. It ran poorly, was hesitant to rev, varied between smooth idle and a loud detonating idle and then stalled. This time it threw a CEL for P0088 fuel rail pressure too high again.

Also, I noticed that the voltage gauge on the dash was registering 12v upon start up and would jump to 14 after running a little while and revving the motor. I'm wondering if I have an alternator diode failure causing AC noise type issue that I've read about on the forums.

 

[cerberusiam]

Also, I noticed that the voltage gauge on the dash was registering 12v upon start up and would jump to 14 after running a little while and revving the motor.

That is normal, the gauge is fake and only says what the ECU tells it to. The grid heater cycle process happens whether the grids cycle or not and the gauge behaves accordingly, cycling up an down as if the grids were drawing power.

The lights dimming is an electrical problem somewhere. One potential issue is the grid heater relays sticking and causing an actual amp draw. Disconnect the wire from the positive cable on the passenger side battery and see if that changes anything, that will pull the power from the grid heater circuit.

This can also happen if you have a bad battery and\or bad battery cables with corrosion under the sheath. The power cables are notorious for this type of failure and it is hard to find unless you peel the sheath back the battery post clamp. The cross over cable will look good and NOT function due to the same problem. Just cleaning connections will not solve a lot of electrical problems, frequently you MUST replaces cables and ends.

You also need to have your batteries load checked, they may be bad and shorting causing the same issues.

 

[Soarer]

I'll try pulling the passenger side + battery terminal tomorrow and see if it affects the lights dimming.

The batteries in the truck are about 3.5 years old and genuine Chrysler units. They have the window which glows green on them and they are both glowing green to indicate that they're good. The motor turns nice and fast when I turn the key which tells me that the batteries are strong as well. I cleaned all 4 terminals today and they are all secure connections free of any corrosion. I didn't peel the sheathing back but they look clean.

Could an electrical issue such as a bad alternator or battery cable be causing my stalling/loss of power issue as well as the lights dimming issue? By the way, the lights only dim a little bit. I was working under the assumption that the stalling/loss of power issue was a fuel issue and the lights dimming was a either normal or a small wiring issue.

 

[PWong]

This time it threw a CEL for P0088 fuel rail pressure too high again.

Also, I noticed that the voltage gauge on the dash was registering 12v upon start up and would jump to 14 after running a little while and revving the motor. I'm wondering if I have an alternator diode failure causing AC noise type issue that I've read about on the forums.

Fix the code P0088. It could be a defective FCA or defective rail pressure sensor.
The voltage gauge reading were normal if you started a cold engine at ambient temp below 66F.
It's the grid heater operation.
The grid heater operation would go away once you drive it to a speed over 15 mph.

 

[cerberusiam]

I'll try pulling the passenger side + battery terminal tomorrow and see if it affects the lights dimming.
Could an electrical issue such as a bad alternator or battery cable be causing my stalling/loss of power issue as well as the lights dimming issue?

Don't pull the battery clamp completely, that will interrupt charging. There is a feed wire the grid relays bolted to the clamp, that is the one to pull off for testing.

Entirely possible a bad cable or even alternator will cause power fluctuations that will cause light issues and stalling\power loss. Need to check the AC clutch activation wire for scuffing also.

Unless you just got bad parts, which is rare, it is an electrical issue throwing noise into the system and causing the DTC's.

 

[Soarer]

This issue got beyond my abilities to fix as I don't have specialized diesel testing equipment or advanced scanning capabilities so I took it to the local diesel specialists, a shop called Lisi's Automotive in Brewster, NY.

I told them the entire history and they looked the truck over and ran some diagnostics. First they said that the rail pressure sensor was bad. They could get one from Chrysler for $600. I took a look around and got a complete fuel rail with sensor and overflow valve from Geno's Garage www.genosgarage.com. for $300. They were even kind enough to get it shipped out overnight even though I called for the part at the end of the day. The part got to Lisi's the next day and they installed it. No change. Problem still there. :-( Then they tried replacing the FCA with a used one they had on the shelf and they said that it ran fine!!! They wanted to make sure the gremlins were gone so they let it sit for a day and test drove it again the next day. They said it had one minor hiccup but overall drove fine. So, we figured we got a bad FCA even though it was a genuine Bosch part. I ordered another Bosch FCA and got it overnighted to Lisi's. They installed it and the problem was back. Stalling, no throttle, knocking sound, bad, bad, bad. At this point they are pretty stumped. Two new FCAs and the only way the truck runs well is with their old used FCA.

From the reading I've done, people say that electrical noise from a failing alternator can wreak havoc on a cummins. I asked them to ripple test the alternator. I'm praying that it comes back as bad and I can put a new alternator in this truck and get it back. I can't come up with a good reason why an old FCA would work with a failing alternator and a new one wouldn't besides maybe the worn FCA is easier to open and close??? I don't know.. Just hoping this gets resolved soon.

 

[mfurrh55]

CRAP, be sure and keep us updated on the fix, in case someone else runs into this problem, Good Luck, hope u find a fix soon, Monte

 

[inlinesix3million]

Did you repair the corroded red cable on the alternator that you mentioned in post # 5 ?

 

[nibroc]

any updates?

 

[Soarer]

Update.... They ripple tested the alternator and said it was 100% fine. They swapped in some new batteries to see if my somewhat weak batteries were to blame and that didn't change a thing. They put their used "known good" FCA back in the truck and it ran well for a little while and then even that FCA started acting up and wasn't working right. It started stalling and losing power.

Now the shop is saying that the CP3 pump could be going bad and sending fine metal particles into the FCA and making them go bad. Even though the CP3 is making excellent pressure, they are hypothesizing that something is grinding away in there and sending debris into the FCA and causing it to fail. Now I'm in for another $1500 for them to replace the CP3 with a reman unit. I wanted to get one from Industrial Injection but they are now saying that they won't let me buy my own parts and I have to buy parts from them.

They should be done with it tomorrow and I've got my fingers crossed that this straightens everything out. This whole issue has now run up almost $3,000 in bills and I'm not even sure it's resolved yet. Not happy!!!

 

[Soarer]

They replaced the fuel rail with pressure sensor and overflow valve. That didn't fix it. Then they replaced the CP3 pump and said they'd fixed it. I got it back, drove it 50 miles and the exact same problem is back. So far it has cost me $3000 and I'm back at square one. It's going back to the shop now. I'm furious.

 

[Soarer]

It's back at the shop and they're still stumped. They've got one used "known good" FCA that they keep on the shelf for testing purposes that will get the truck running right but they're worried that the truck will eat up that FCA after not much longer. Their next steps are to pull the fuel filter and cut it open to look for contamination.

After that, I'm sure they're going to tell me that I need to replace the ECM.

I've got a few questions of you diesel gurus:
Does anyone know a way to bench test a FCA?
What is the voltage range that a fuel rail pressure sensor should read from 0 psi up to 26,000 psi?
How can I test the FCA output signal from the ECM to the FCA?

Here's my logic in asking these questions.... If the rail pressure sensor (which is brand new) signal is not reaching the ECM correctly, then the ECM won't be able to calculate proper fuel pressure. If a wire from the pressure sensor is shorting out and the ECM is seeing a false zero rail pressure signal, then it will call for more and more fuel and this would explain my symptoms.

If the ECM is getting proper signal from the pressure sensor then I should be able to test the output of the ECM to the FCA to see if it is sending the correct signal to it. I believe this is pulse-width modulated so I'll need to use a real big boy scanner tool.

If I can measure these two things, then I should be able to diagnose whether the problem is in the ECM or the wiring to the ECM.

 

[Soarer]

They cut open a fuel filter and found contamination so next they dropped the tank and found more contamination. They sent the tank out for a flush.

Got the truck back after another $800 bill bringing my total expense for this problem to $4,000 including parts and labor. After the tank flush, another new FCA and an inline filter before the OEM filter, the truck is running right again. I've put 250 miles on it and it seems fine.

I just don't feel right that the shop banged me for $4k to figure out that there was fuel contamination. Shouldn't that be one of the first things they'd check???