Attention: TDR Forum Junkies 
1999 2500 Quad Cab 4X4 auto with 4" exhaust, 189k miles, one rebuilt transmission, one VP44 replacement after OEM lift pump failure, FASS DRP-02 in 2010...
I've been a DIYer on this truck and did a lot of stuff in hindsight I can't believe, because now-a-days I'm feeling pretty off my game and now we have a daunting situation.
Situation is, we went to get a load of hay about 25 miles away in the mountains, and the truck behaved fine on the way over. Gauge has always sat at 12 under WOT and 15 at idle. After loading the flatbed we started up fine and headed onto the highway which climbs up a ways, and that's when trouble began. The truck was surging and the psi's were fluctuating wildly between 15 and 0! I was freaking out thinking we were going to end up with another VP44 failure, stuck on the side of the road with a load of hay! Hubby said just keep going, so babied it up the grade to the summit and then coasted back down the other side. Idling, the pressure came up but would occasionally dip down again to 0/2/5 and then pop up. On the flats we limped the rest of the way home with some fluctuations but generally pressure staying high enough that I thought we'd make it home without killing the VP44. The truck never gulped or acting like it was running out of fuel, other than the surging. It idled normally at home.
A few days later we wanted to move it and wouldn't start, just got clicks, acting like the batteries were dead. We put the charger on and they weren't really down and charged up to 100% in short order. Still got only clicks upon trying to start. I also noticed the FASS wasn't humming as loudly as it would when the starter was bumped in the past. There was no chug on bumping the way it is supposed to, and the pump quietly hummed for a very short period and only gave around 2 psi on the gauge.
I changed the fuel filter and it didn't look bad and didn't have that many miles on it. When I bumped the FASS to try to fill the canister up, it again hummed briefly and quietly. Pulled the canister out again and there was no fuel in it. The FASS couldn't even push fuel that far. And then there was no sound and no pressure at the gauge. I figured the FASS had died and I ordered a replacement.
When I originally installed the FASS in 2010, I'm pretty sure there was no in-line fuel filter as is now shown in the instructions. The inlet banjo had a little metal screen inside of it. I decided to do the in-line filter, got the plastic 33007. Finally got the replacement in this weekend and...exact same response. Barely 2 psi, FASS running quietly for too little time, still got the clicks upon trying to bump the starter, and I could see fuel filling the little in-fline filter but then it would quit running and the fuel would drain out again. Batteries were charged up again. I cracked a port on the the top of the fuel filter housing to allow air to escape, hoping the pump could more easily fill the filter but that was never a problem in the past, and it didn't help.
It FINALLY occurred to me to check for codes, can't believe I didn't before this point. I've been pretty distracted and busy with work. Got P0382, glow plug/heater circuit B.
While trying to bump the starter and I left the key on and got additional chimes and then a blinking odometer, which then turned to "No buS," and the CEL came on.
Someone suggested checking the voltage at the pump, but that was before I found this code.
I'm hoping someone can shed light on this situation and that it is something I can do, because we are in financially straights these days, just don't have thousands to throw around. I'm feeling a little grateful that a VP44 code didn't come up with the other one.
I've been a DIYer on this truck and did a lot of stuff in hindsight I can't believe, because now-a-days I'm feeling pretty off my game and now we have a daunting situation.
Situation is, we went to get a load of hay about 25 miles away in the mountains, and the truck behaved fine on the way over. Gauge has always sat at 12 under WOT and 15 at idle. After loading the flatbed we started up fine and headed onto the highway which climbs up a ways, and that's when trouble began. The truck was surging and the psi's were fluctuating wildly between 15 and 0! I was freaking out thinking we were going to end up with another VP44 failure, stuck on the side of the road with a load of hay! Hubby said just keep going, so babied it up the grade to the summit and then coasted back down the other side. Idling, the pressure came up but would occasionally dip down again to 0/2/5 and then pop up. On the flats we limped the rest of the way home with some fluctuations but generally pressure staying high enough that I thought we'd make it home without killing the VP44. The truck never gulped or acting like it was running out of fuel, other than the surging. It idled normally at home.
A few days later we wanted to move it and wouldn't start, just got clicks, acting like the batteries were dead. We put the charger on and they weren't really down and charged up to 100% in short order. Still got only clicks upon trying to start. I also noticed the FASS wasn't humming as loudly as it would when the starter was bumped in the past. There was no chug on bumping the way it is supposed to, and the pump quietly hummed for a very short period and only gave around 2 psi on the gauge.
I changed the fuel filter and it didn't look bad and didn't have that many miles on it. When I bumped the FASS to try to fill the canister up, it again hummed briefly and quietly. Pulled the canister out again and there was no fuel in it. The FASS couldn't even push fuel that far. And then there was no sound and no pressure at the gauge. I figured the FASS had died and I ordered a replacement.
When I originally installed the FASS in 2010, I'm pretty sure there was no in-line fuel filter as is now shown in the instructions. The inlet banjo had a little metal screen inside of it. I decided to do the in-line filter, got the plastic 33007. Finally got the replacement in this weekend and...exact same response. Barely 2 psi, FASS running quietly for too little time, still got the clicks upon trying to bump the starter, and I could see fuel filling the little in-fline filter but then it would quit running and the fuel would drain out again. Batteries were charged up again. I cracked a port on the the top of the fuel filter housing to allow air to escape, hoping the pump could more easily fill the filter but that was never a problem in the past, and it didn't help.
It FINALLY occurred to me to check for codes, can't believe I didn't before this point. I've been pretty distracted and busy with work. Got P0382, glow plug/heater circuit B.
While trying to bump the starter and I left the key on and got additional chimes and then a blinking odometer, which then turned to "No buS," and the CEL came on.
Someone suggested checking the voltage at the pump, but that was before I found this code.
I'm hoping someone can shed light on this situation and that it is something I can do, because we are in financially straights these days, just don't have thousands to throw around. I'm feeling a little grateful that a VP44 code didn't come up with the other one.
