Archived 1st gen cranks, won't start

[Farmer_Matt]

Hi. I have an '89 D250 that is dead in the water, maybe you can help with advice!



A friend was driving it the other day, she hit the brakes really hard, and the truck stalled. Since then it cranks but won't start.



Here's what I tried so far:

Fuel filter had fuel, but I changed it anyway to be sure. I saw some rust in there. After cranking several times, the empty filter now has fuel in it.



I tried working the lift pump by hand, it seems kind of weak (not much resistance) but I'm assuming that if it filled the filter with fuel it is OK ?



I cracked the bleeder screw on the filter head and cranked the engine with a rag under the screw. No fuel came out even with several cranks.



The wire leading to the KSB (or is that the fuel shutoff solenoid?) on the injector pump is a little loose at the contact, but fiddling with that didn't give me any help. I jumped a wire from the positive battery terminal to the contact on that valve and it was drawing current (wire got hot) but I didn't hear anything moving in there, nor did it help the truck start.



The previous owner left a lot of funky wiring exposed below the dash, maybe something moved around down there when the truck stopped suddenly? I looked but didn't see anything obvious...



We have been messing around with home-made biodiesel, which is said to be a good fuel system cleaner. This means it has a tendency to loosen crud in the system and drop it in the filter. On my VW this resulted in a gradual starving for fuel that was rectified by a filter change. The stall of the D250 was sudden and an isolated event so far.



Well, any advice would be most helpful!

Thanks,



Farmer_matt

Chambersburg PA

1989 D250

1993 D250

 

[guava]

Hi. I have an '89 D250 that is dead in the water, maybe you can help with advice!



A friend was driving it the other day, she hit the brakes really hard, and the truck stalled. Since then it cranks but won't start.



Here's what I tried so far:

Fuel filter had fuel, but I changed it anyway to be sure. I saw some rust in there. After cranking several times, the empty filter now has fuel in it.



I tried working the lift pump by hand, it seems kind of weak (not much resistance) but I'm assuming that if it filled the filter with fuel it is OK ?



I cracked the bleeder screw on the filter head and cranked the engine with a rag under the screw. No fuel came out even with several cranks.



The wire leading to the KSB (or is that the fuel shutoff solenoid?) on the injector pump is a little loose at the contact, but fiddling with that didn't give me any help. I jumped a wire from the positive battery terminal to the contact on that valve and it was drawing current (wire got hot) but I didn't hear anything moving in there, nor did it help the truck start.



The previous owner left a lot of funky wiring exposed below the dash, maybe something moved around down there when the truck stopped suddenly? I looked but didn't see anything obvious...



We have been messing around with home-made biodiesel, which is said to be a good fuel system cleaner. This means it has a tendency to loosen crud in the system and drop it in the filter. On my VW this resulted in a gradual starving for fuel that was rectified by a filter change. The stall of the D250 was sudden and an isolated event so far.



Well, any advice would be most helpful!

Thanks,



Farmer_matt

Chambersburg PA

1989 D250

1993 D250

Couple things:



Prior to 92/93, all the fuel lines were made of something that BIOdiesel eats. In general the fuel lines develop holes, leaks, cracks... etc. Many people end up replacing complete fuel lines as they find the problem.



Since you pulled the filter, your going to need to bleed the lines at the injectors. Crack them one at a time and have someone turn the key to get the motor turning. Close the line when fuel is squirting out and making a mess of everything. Work from the front to the back.



If you can't get any fuel up to the injectors, its probably time for an injector pump. How many miles are on the pump?



Based on the filter filling up, I'd guess your lift pump to be just fine. Not as big a problem as the second gens.



Shut off solenoids are known to go bad. If you turn the key on and then remove the top wire (blue I think) you can hear the solenoid actuate. As long as it has voltage, it holds the solenoid open. Its possible to remove the solenoid totally and remove the plunger. This was how I confirmed that my injector pump was bad. Pulled the solenoid and it had metal shavings all around it.



I'll keep watching the boards. Maybe post in the 1st gen forum too for some more help.

 

[tp0d]

Possible the quick jolt loosened up any crap in the tank which was then sucked into the pickup, and clogged the fuel pickup in the tank? Mebe try a quick shot of air into the supply to loosen any crap on the pickup or in the supply line itself.



-j

 

[Gary - K7GLD]

These trucks have an inertia sensor that causes the engine to shut down in case of a collision - it is controlled by the computer as I recall, and CAN be activated by sudden severe application of the brakes - your problem has occurred before, but unfortunately, I forget how to reset the computer or whatever controls that function to clear the problem.



Maybe that rings a bell with others here?

 

[guava]

These trucks have an inertia sensor that causes the engine to shut down in case of a collision - it is controlled by the computer as I recall, and CAN be activated by sudden severe application of the brakes - your problem has occurred before, but unfortunately, I forget how to reset the computer or whatever controls that function to clear the problem.



Maybe that rings a bell with others here?

I'd forgotten about those. On my old ford bronco, the switch was located right behind the brake pedal in the foot well (up high). It shut off the electrical fuel pump in that particular application.