Archived 97 engine turns but won't start in Africa

[Riddick]

My 97 cummins engine will turn but will not start. This happens intermittently. Usually if I just turn off the key and turn it back on again two or three times it will start. Yesterday it still would not start after several tries. I turned the key to the on position and pulled up on the fuel valve and it stayed on and started right up. Can this be starter contacts? I am a missionary in Cameroon, Africa and my wife is afraid to go anywhere in the truck alone.



thanks for any suggestions,



Terry Riddick

 

[john colgan]

Terry, Sounds more like the fuel solenoid relay is acting up. Next time it does not start the first time, leave the key in the on position pull up on the fuel solenoid and try to start it again. If it starts you'll probably need to replace it.



John

 

[Riddick]

Thanks for the reply. It will stay open if you pull the fuel solenoid up by hand with the ignition switch on. In fact I have a wire tied to it so I can pull it up easily if it is hot.

 

[Joe G.]

It is probably the fuel solenoid relay. It may also be the blue wire in the positive post of the driver's side battery. The relay is the larger of the two on the firewall between the engine and the master cylinder. You can test by switching the relays. The smaller one is for the fuel heater. The fuel solenoid is rated at 70 amps. The fuel heater solenoid is rated at 30 amps. It will work for a while as a fuel solenoid relay but it will eventually give up. If the fuel solenoid relay is the problem you can order a new 70 amp one from Allied Electronics at http://www.alliedelec.com/Search/Pr...N=R51-1D70-12&R=235-0510&sid=47422380327A617F if you can't find one locally.



If the relay is not the problem then check the blue wire on the battery to see if it is loose or corroded. If it is then clean up the connection and it should work.

 

[Dave M]

My 97 had the same problem. Worked if pull up on solenoid. I removed the fuel solenoid and cleaned the plunger with brake cleaner (or carb cleaner) and lubed it with silicone lube (or a light oil) and its been working for a few months now. Worth a try and cleaning it up can't hurt.



You'll need to cut the tiewrap holding the grey boot on and replace it with another tiewrap. It was easier cleaning the plunger bore with the Grey boot off (If you still have the boot). Be carefull when pulling the solenoid cause the plunger and spring may fall out when removing it. At least thats what I did. If that don't work you can troubleshoot the circuit to find what the real problem is.



If that doesn't work then look at this site for parts and troubleshooting info. There are lots of links on the site to schematics and stuff:



LarryB's Dodge starting problems solved here.



When you turn ign to Start or Run position the fuel relay energizes the "PUll" coil of the solenoid. The relay gets its power at the battery post thru the blue fusible link Joe mentioned earlier. It takes more current to initially Pull the solenoid plunger up then to Hold it up. The "Hold" coil of the solenoid gets its power from Fuse 9 in the dash fuse panel (left side of dash drivers side) when the ignition switch is in the Run position. Since it takes more power to Pull up the solenoid than to Hold it up if the plunger is dirty it won't slide in the bore and can be intermittant.



If when you turn ign switch to Start and the plunger does not Pull up than check for 12v at the relay (with ign swtich in start). If 12v is there than the relay is bad or connection to solenoid or bad solenoid. If no 12v then check the blue fusible link at the battery for loose, corroded or blown link. It sounds like the PUll circuit is your problem if once it starts (when you pull plunger up) and then leave go and the Hold coil may work OK.