Engine/Transmission (1998.5 - 2002) '99 Ram won't stay running, but there's more to it... please help!

[NBA_16]

So here's the situation...

The truck ('99 3500 4x4 auto 24v) has been sitting unused at my parents house for a about a year now because of a problem my dad found with it where he claimed it would randomly shutoff and he'd have to wait about 30 minutes before he could start and run it again. I just finished grad school and have some time before I start my new job so I've been over to their house and started troubleshooting the truck. We have owned the truck since about 2007 and have replaced the injection pump and the transfer pump around 162k miles. The truck now has 208k miles on it and has never had any other problems.

I have started the truck, driven the truck, allowed the truck to run continuously for about 4 hours, and I haven't seen it shut off or anything else troublesome. My dad reported that the shutoff problem came once while driving in stop and go traffic, and once while idling after driving for about an hour. Thinking that the problem likely was brief fuel starvation from the transfer pump (because we all know about how great these stock transfer pumps are), I installed a mechanical fuel pressure gauge and BD Power fuel pressure warning light. The truck has great fuel pressure. The bump/start test yields 5-7 lbs, idle yields 14-15 lbs, and wide open never drops below about 10-12 lbs. Now, with a way to monitor the pressure, I began driving the truck. I made a few trips totaling about an hour each and then let the truck sit and idle for a few hours. No issue, and no drops in pressure while having my eyes glued on the gauge the whole time. Thinking that my dad must've invented this problem somehow, I though the days of worry were over.

So a couple weeks ago after Hurricane Matthew barreled through Florida and left use without power, I decided to buy a surplus 45kw generator in VA. I decided to take the ram to go get it because it runs great now! ...or so I thought.

Driving the 11 hour drive was no problem. The truck did fine in stop and go, cruise control, 85+ mph, passing people, and had plenty of power to spare. No hiccups whatsoever. At least until I got to VA where I entered the warehouse property and let the truck idle while the genset was loaded onto the trailer. The truck died. I thought, "oh ****." I went back to the cab and restarted the truck. It started after a few cranks. It ran a bit more and died again. I restarted and it seemed fine so I put it in gear and began to leave the property with my new genset. While turning around on the property, the truck died again. I knew it was hopeless at this point. Luckily, they let me park the truck and trailer on promises that I'll be back to get it in the coming weeks.

I'm baffled. The truck did great for 11 hours of highway driving. Let it idle, it dies. It starts back, but won't stay running. I had it towed to the local dealership to run the codes but wait for it..... they told me my batteries were dead and wanted $2000 for new batteries and cables!!!! WTF?! Not happening. I'm heading up to get the truck with another dually this weekend.

Where should I start to trouble shoot this thing? What do you think is wrong? To me, it seems to defy any kind of logic. My best guesses are:
1) Loose or dirty electrical ground causing the injection pump to shutoff.
2) Air in the fuel system
3) Clogged strainer for the in-tank fuel pickup

More details and thoughts:
*One of the batteries doesn't hold a charge and does need to be replaced
*The crank position sensor on the bottom of the block is covered in oil splatter from use over the years
*CCD is displayed in the overhead console
*The 'wait to start' feature hasn't worked since I've been driving the truck. It's Florida so it still starts right up. However, it did used to work.
*With all the electrical issues, it must be part of the shutoff problem. If it were the injection pump again, it wouldn't start back up at all, right?
*No check engine light and no OBD-II codes (this is why I took it to the dealership so they could check for DRB codes)
*ABS and BRAKE light are on, but I think that's unrelated and a back 4x4 hub sensor.

So...for my sanity...please give me your experiences, suggestions, thoughts, and any other relevant information on the matter. I don't know where to start.

 

[klcammie]

Change fuel filter. Check grounds, there are a lot of them. check the connection at the vp it has been known to come loose. check the two big connectors on the fire wall. check the blue chip diesel site for some great trouble shooting. here is a pix of the firewall connector the white bale needs to be all the way left.

 

[mweiman]

Also get it scanned there may be a fault code that will give you a place to start.

 

[hcole]

I don't have a wiring diagram in front of me but do you think it might be in the ignition switch? Seems to me if it was intermittenly opening the wire that powers the VP44 (and maybe ECM), that would shut off the engine and of course show no codes. Do you lose any of the dash lights or gauges when it quits? Why don't you try hot wiring the VP44 ala Blue Chip's website and see if it dies then? That wire (forget which one but Blue Chip tells you) could be getting inconsistent power. Also,when the truck idles, that allows the ECM to call for fuel heating and grid heaters to come on if the temperature calls for them. That puts a load on the charging system.

 

[JR]

Fuel system problems generally result in a no start/hard start after the engine stalls.

If your batteries are roached absolutely start there. Replace them and test your alternator to make sure it's charging properly. Check all battery connections and grounds including the ECM ground which is on the driver's side of the engine block above the starter. This is an important one that often gets overlooked and one that I check and clean if I have to remove the starter for any reason. I'm not positive without looking if it can be accessed with the starter in place.
Also as mentioned get a good code reader and check for codes. Cheapo code readers like the ones auto parts stores use don't always retrieve all codes. Preferably one that reads live data.


As to your questions, a faulty crank sensor will not cause an engine to stall. When they fail the tach will generally flutter or quit working all together but the truck will run until you shut it off. At that point they generally will not start again.
Funky WTS lights are generally attributed to flaky ECM's and could explain your intermittent stalling issues.

 

[SAndreasen]

Get new batteries and redo the cable ends if they are broken or look bad

 

[Kelliharper669]

Hello. I'm also having issues with my 1999 24v 5.9l cummins, I replaced the crank shaft sensors and it didn't start after that? So I replace the vp44 and then replaced the fass I have a new tuner but my truck will start will some help of ether but I only did it twice to get it up to my mechanic. I can not figure out what is wrong. My truck ran befor I changed everything but didn't have much power to it and it wouldn't black smoke. With the new parts I started with ether seems to have power now but once I turn it off it will not start again just cranks. Any help pls I already spent 2000 dollars in new parts if I can't figure the issue out by Friday I'm taking it to diesel performance

 

[JR]

Could be as simple as air in the line. Need a fuel pressure gauge to properly diagnose what is going on here.

 

[Kelliharper669]

99 dodge cummins 24v 4x4 5.9l

Could be as simple as air in the line. Need a fuel pressure gauge to properly diagnose what is going on here.

I ran a fuel pressure and I'm relieving pressure so that's limited