Archived changed fuel filter, now no fuel

[Abranham]

changed fuel filter, bumped key and heard fuel pump run, did this 5 times. Tried to start, ran for about 4 sec/ then stopped. Took cap off of filter can and no fuel in can. If lift pump did quit, there was no check engine light. Also, I probably drove 3-400 miles with pump gone. Heard a high tone whine from back of engine but had no warning lights and was about 300 miles from home. Suggestions? Thanks for any help.



truck is 01 3500 with no upgrades

 

[ILIANBG]

The check engine light(CEL) will not come on when your lift pump quits. That is why almost everybody here has or will suggest having fuel pressure gauge to monitor psi. My truck is 02 and this is my lift pump #3 at the moment, my CEL never came on when those were dying. I monitor the pressure constanty in the cab with a gauge. Cummins will have a replacement for you, or there are other aftermarket options: FASS, Airdog, GDP, Vulcan Performance, RASP... Do a search for any of those and there is plenty of info available. That's why this site is so amazing- if you have any questions, just ask, there are people who know so much about these trucks.

Ilian

 

[SMcFarland]

I had the same thing happen to my 2001 2500 on a fuel filter change. The lift pump would try to prime but was very noisy and could not get fuel into the filter bowl fast enough for the engine to start. I concidered myself lucky to catch the pump on its was out as they generaly give no warning and fry the VP44. I too may have run the truck with low fuel pressure to the VP44. This site has an amazing amount of information on many ways solve the fuel system issues on these trucks. I choose a less expensive lower tech solution. I contacted Steves Diesel and they sold me an OEM Cummins gen 2 type high quality pump that is supposed to offer less flow resistance if it ever fails to pump to help protect the VP44. They strongly recomended a low pressure warning light led and sender which I bought also. The new lift pump went in from the top with the fuel filter assembly moved out of the way. Next I added a Scottys Smart Fuel System high flow line kit. IMHO I believe the restricitve factory fuel lines and fittings contribute to the lift pump failure rates by puting extra stress on the pump bearings with the reststance of the fuel trying to circulate thru this factory system. The Scotty system looks stock, fits well, and makes the factory pieces look like the garbage they are. 70% of the fuel pumped to the motor recirculates to cool the VP44. So the resistance to the lift pump is lessened dramatically and the VP44 electronics run cooler potentially with the higher recirculation rate. I have 32,000 kms since this upgrade and have had no VP pump codes or issues since. You can spend a lot more also with a aftermarket relocated lift system too as mentioned above. Good luck.

 

[JKinney]

I had the same thing happen to my 2001 2500 on a fuel filter change. The lift pump would try to prime but was very noisy and could not get fuel into the filter bowl fast enough for the engine to start. I concidered myself lucky to catch the pump on its was out as they generaly give no warning and fry the VP44. I too may have run the truck with low fuel pressure to the VP44. This site has an amazing amount of information on many ways solve the fuel system issues on these trucks. I choose a less expensive lower tech solution. I contacted Steves Diesel and they sold me an OEM Cummins gen 2 type high quality pump that is supposed to offer less flow resistance if it ever fails to pump to help protect the VP44. They strongly recomended a low pressure warning light led and sender which I bought also. The new lift pump went in from the top with the fuel filter /QUOTE]



I believe you are talking about the $64. 00 campaign lift pump. There is a thread on here called the 70. 00 lift pump that discusses this pump in detail. I did install one on a friends rig today utilizing a vulcan kit and put the pump on the rail. But I was not impressed. the pump is pushing 8 psi under load. He could have a guage that is off or it could be that the bypass carter pumps dont have as much pressure. I was on the verge of also recommending the draw straw, but the tank was below a 1/4 and fuel was flowing good when we cut the line.

 

[SMcFarland]

The pump I mentioned was a Cummins OEM lift pump and was over 250 can dollars. I am not familiar with the 70 dollar lift pump deal. The Cummins pump was a quality part with a Cummins part number on it.

 

[Bob Cochran]

There was earlier posts and the campaign pump($70) maybe over with. Knock on wood I ran my VP with "0" presure for about 100 miles pulling a 14,000 lbs 5er and thus far after about 60,000 more miles no problem with the VP( I have a gauge). If I had lost prime I would not have been able to go this 100 miles for sure. I took one of those campaign pumps and the Vulcan 1/2" relocation kit and things are going okay so far(the campaign pump was the 3rd one). New pump should be running closer to 15 PSI. But run it a bit for some reason, right after a fuel filter change, mine runs a little low then build back where it belongs. Not sure why but that is how mine works.

 

[JA1]

The same thing happened in my '02. Had to fill the fuel bowl myself. My lift pump was at min. pressures and had to replace the injector pump(still under warranty). Went with the FASS no more problems. .